RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH OF THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST IN POST-SOVIET PERIOD

Abstract

Introduction. Persecutions of the Christian Church in Soviet period inRussia had a negative impact on religious education being neutralized and assigned a specific status as illegal for a long period of time inRussia. Since rebuilding of church life in Post-Soviet period called for the highly educated clergy. This task was laid down on the spiritual schools and seminaries brought back in different regions of the country.Aim. There are three primary aims of the publication: to consider the process of rebirth of spiritual and religious education in the southern part of the Russian Far East; to show the results achieved today; to consider the prospects of theological education development in the near and distant future.Methodology and research methods. The methodological basis of the research consists of: a systematic literature review of studies, based on the system and historical approaches, to present detailed analysis of the research topic; the data received during the polls and interviews of participants and witnesses of educational spiritual religious institutions’ establishment in theFar East.Results and scientific novelty. The centers of spiritual education in the Far East are designated –Vladivostok,Khabarovsk andBlagoveshchensk. The educational policy of representatives of the church elite presented is not always positive while under the influence of the processes currently occurring in secular educati on. In the context of reform, there is a search of the new organizational solutions and ways to deal with a problem of shortage of specialists in regional dioceses. In this research, for the first time, an attempt was made to describe the Post-Soviet stage in religious education. The end of the recovery period, a historical milestone of development of spiritual education, is recorded.Practical significance. The materials and conclusions provided by the author can be used while designing and developing the courses in History of the Russian Education, Ecclesiastic History, and Regional Studies as well.

Keywords

• religious education
• far east
• history
• spiritual school
• theology
• seminar