Church Headmen of the Orthodox Churches of Ekaterinburg According to the Materials of Regional Press (Second Half of 19th — Beginning of 20th Century)

Abstract

The article deals with the mechanism of functioning of the institute of churchwardens in the Orthodox temples of Ekaterinburg in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries, including the study of the main directions of the activities of churchwardens. Particular attention is paid to the efforts of church headmen, aimed at solving economic problems of churches and their supply of icons, various necessary utensils, clothing for the clergy. In addition, their activities to improve the property status of the clergy, the creation and maintenance of church choirs, and the decoration of churches during the most significant church festivals are studied. The author also examines the participation of churchwardens in the life of church parishes, their role in organizing charitable assistance to the parish poor, as well as their activities in organizing and maintaining parochial schools and literacy schools. The article attempts to establish the number of townspeople who held the posts of churchwardens in the Orthodox churches of Ekaterinburg in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries, analyses the class composition of Ekaterinburg residents elected to the posts of churchwardens and concludes that parishioners mainly delegated wealthy townspeople, most often representatives of the merchant class, to this post. In addition, the noblemen, peasants and burghers elected to the posts of headmen, as a rule, were directly related to business. In rare cases, members of the intelligentsia and bureaucracy became headmen. The article notes that effective and useful activity of church headmen brought them the gratitude of parishioners, as well as gave them the opportunity to receive various church and state awards, including orders and medals. The research was carried out with the involvement of various sources, with the main emphasis on the use of information contained in the mass media. For this purpose, both religious (Perm and Ekaterinburg Diocesan Gazette) and secular (“Ekaterinburg Week”, “Trans-Ural Region”, “The Urals”, “Ural Life”) newspapers were used.

Keywords

• ekaterinburg
• orthodox churches
• church headmen
• parishioners
• media