Kamchatka in the fate of Irkutsk archpriest P. V. Gromov (1801–1880) and in his academic and memoiristic heritage
Abstract
This article is devoted to archpriest Prokopy Vasilyevich Gromov from Irkutsk, the church historian and spiritual writer, the author of the fi rst general works on the history of Orthodoxy in the east of the Russian Empire. Gromov’s personality and scientifi c activity aroused steady interest among Siberian historians and experts in local history. However, a bibliography of his works and their study is not completed. In particular, a complex of works related to the topic of Kamchatka needs a systematic description. This article gives a bibliographic review and a brief analysis of these works. It provides data about their evaluation by the contemporaries (censors, reviewers) and looks at the attitude to them in current historiography of the region. The conclusion is that the specifi city of Gromov’s historical narrative is due to a combination of historical and memoiristic discourses, while the recurrent theme of works on Kamchatka is a narrative about St. Innokenty. Archpriest Gromov’s works are particularly signifi cant from historical and spiritual points of view because this narartive is based on his personal experiences. The article mainly draws on materials of East-Siberian periodicals and regional archives.
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