The Tambov clergy's concern about the morality of parishioners in the late 19th - early 20th centuries

Abstract

After the reforms of the 1860s, the processes that changed traditional views and behavior in Russian society accelerated. The breakdown of traditional morality affected both rural and urban residents. The political storms of the early 20th century exacerbated the negative trends in the transformation of existing morality. The Orthodox Church was alarmed by these processes. Therefore, the issue of parishioners' morality was included in the reports of the dean fathers and in the annual reports of the diocesan bishops compiled on their basis. These reports are a comprehensive historical source on a number of issues in the history of the Tambov diocese. They testify to the good level of education of those priests who hold the positions of dean fathers. Many of them are characterized by good literary language, a variety of observations, and emotionality. In this article, the author analyzes a random sample of surviving reports for the years 1891-1917, and comes to the conclusion that the Orthodox Church was able to record the gradual departure of the population from traditional morality for almost twenty years. But, despite fairly objective ideas about the changes and their causes, it did not have the means to resist the growing negativity. As countermeasures, pastors used "suggestions and admonitions." Their insufficient effectiveness was associated with the inevitable modernization of society and the parallel process of declining religiosity of the population, especially among warring men and youth. The inability of Russian society to compromise on moral transformation turned out to be one of the reasons for the national tragedy of the 20th century.