Material support of churches in the 19th – early 20th centuries as exemplified by churches in Volokolamsk deanery of Moscow diocese
Abstract
The article deals with material support of churches and with problems of church land ownership exemplifi ed by Volokolamsk uyezd in the 19th — early 20th centuries. Material support of the clergy was one of the most discussed issues in the last fi fty years of the Synodal period; all contemporary researchers of parish clergy have to deal with this subject. Land was a secure means of support for parish churches and the clergy. But in practice, the implementation of rights to land property encountered the long-established tradition of land ownership, and the problem was not solved. Having considered Orthodox parishes in one of the districts of Moscow diocese, one can attempt to reconstruct the picture of church land ownership and of the position of the clergy in more details. Volokolamsk district is rather typical of Moscow diocese; therefore it is highly appropriate for analysis. In absolute fi gures, parish clergy were provided with land better than the average peasant. However, landowners in the diocese did not seek to transfer the land to churches preferring to pay the allowance. This land was distributed unevenly between the clerk and the priest. The clergy themselves could not cultivate land as actively as peasants because children of priests, as a rule, studied at theological seminaries and could not help in agricultural work. In addition, the necessity to give children education did not require less money than to keep them at home, even when the cost of education and/or the accompanying expenses were covered by the state.
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