Priests-farmers: the role of agriculture in the life of the Olonets diocese parish clergy (18th and early 20th centuries)

Abstract

The paper discusses the problems of providing clergy with land for farming. It was revealed that the sources of replenishment of land allotments used by the clergy differed markedly depending on the specifics of individual parishes. There is detailed information about the church land received by the clergy from parishioners immediately after taking office (ordination). Another source of land replenishment was the own work of priests and clergy in clearing land from the forest and draining swamps. State measures aimed at improving the financial situation of the clergy and endowing clerics with land sufficient to maintain a stable economy have not been successful for a number of reasons. The Church authority believed that work on arable land brings clergy and laity closer together, contributing to mutual understanding. Among rural pastors, the conviction gradually grew that the basis of a priest’s income should be a government salary.

Keywords

• farming
• priesthood
• church
• clergy
• peasants
• agriculture
• labour
• income
• economy