Missionary activity of the co-religionist clergy of the Samara province in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century

Abstract

The article presents an overview of the activities of the co–religionist clergy in the context of the struggle of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Old Believer schism in the Samara province of the second half of the XIX – early XX century. The co-faith is considered as a missionary platform, on the basis of which it became possible for Old Believers to reunite with Orthodoxy on the conditions of preserving the pre-Canonical liturgical practice. During the pre-revolutionary period, the diocesan authorities developed a certain strategy in relation to the coreligionism, which contributed to its spread in the province, and actively involved the co-religionist clergy in anti-schismatic activities. The article analyzes the forms and methods of missionary service of co-religionists, provides statistical information reflecting the successes of the “Orthodox Old Believers” in countering the schism in the Samara province. The main source base of the study was archival documents and materials of official missionary reports.

Keywords

• co-belief (edinjveriye)
• old believers
• struggle against schism
• missionary activity of the russian orthodox church
• samara province