Reservation of positions in parishes for the clergy who joined the army of the Russian Empire during World War I: raising the issue
Abstract
This article discusses the issue of reservation of positions in parishes for Orthodox priests who joined the acting army of the Russian Empire during World War I. The analysis of historiography has shown that questions related to the conscription of the clergy in the acting army are practically not studied, while available works contain fragmentary and non-verifi able information, which is due to an insuffi cient base of sources and lack of historiographic tradition of studies of the military clergy on the whole. Despite the fact that during World War I the military clergy in the acting army was represented by Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, Evangelical-Lutheran, Evangelical- Augsburg, Armenian-Gregorian, and Old-Rite priests, the issue of reservation of parishes was very topical for Orthodox priests. The reasons for this were the state of the Orthodox priest on the whole (family, fi nancial, and offi cial) and their number in the acting army, as the Orthodox military clergy were included in the staff of most military units and organisations. In dealing with the problem of reserving positions in parishes for Orthodox priests, the Holy Synod had the key role. It not only took decisions as to sending Orthodox priests to the acting army, but also examined requests about reserving the parishes. Many priests went to the battlefi eld without permission to keep their parishes. As a result, by the autumn of 1916 it was decided that parishes should be reserved only in the case of conscripted priests, or by special orders of the Holy Synod. At the beginning of 1917, the role of diocesan archpriests was strengthened in the question of reserving parishes. They decided whether the parish is reserved with or without income. In the second case the income was transferred to the person who temporarily substituted the parish priest.
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