The state of women’s monasteries of the Stavropol (Caucasian) diocese at the beginning of the 20th century

Introduction. Orthodox female asceticism in the North Caucasus is a special page in the history of the region, about which little is known. The reason is that while the stavropegic women’s monasteries of Russia were included in all-Russian processes, and information about them has been preserved, on theoutskirtsofthecountrytheyledasolitaryChristianlifeandrarely became the centers of public attention. Appealing to fragmentary information from archival documents, the authors managed to trace the general trends of their development in the region, highlight the specific features of the situation of some of them.

Materials and methods. Using the example of the situation of women’s monasteries in the North Caucasus, the authors analyze their activities, determine the specifics of their position and status depending on the region of their location. Particular attention is paid to the role of the founders of the monastery and the personalities of their abbesses, which determined the fate of the monastery itself and influenced the nature of monastic everyday life.

Analysis. Despite the apparent isolation of the monasteries, their alienation from the secular world, the events taking place in our country at the beginning of the 20th century also influenced their monastic way of life. Problems of society, decline of morals, low public morality destroyed the established way of life for centuries, but many women’s monasteries were able to resist this merger, preserve traditions and, despite revolutionary events, revive Orthodoxy in society. The study follows the principles of an interdisciplinary approach, which allowed us to consider the problem in its entirety, combine data obtained in different areas of monastic life, look at the problem of the place of monasteries in Russian society of the 20th century. The method used allowed us to conduct a modern historical study from the standpoint of historical anthropology.

Results. As a result, the authors come to the conclusion that the influence of the outside world on the inner life of women’s monasteries led to certain manifestations of deviation, but their original way of life and deep involvement in the system of social relations did not allow them to become a support for revolutionary sentiments.

1. State Archive of the Krasnodar Territory. F. 249. Inv. 1. D. 2869.

2. State Archive of the Stavropol Territory (GASK). F. 135. Inv. 26. D. 796.

3. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 7. D. 195.

4. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 1. D. 51.

5. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 1. D. 877.

6. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 14. D. 13.

7. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 28. D. 558.

8. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 54. D. 307.

9. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 71. D. 1032.

10. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 72. D. 907.

11. GASK. F. 135. Inv. 8. D. 268.

12. GASK. F. 361. Inv. 1. D. 134.

13. GASK. F. 361. Inv. 1. D. 83.

14. German RE, Lukyanov GI, Malyavina GI, Mironova EN, Nemashkalov PG. Problems of organizing missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the North Caucasus in the first half of the 19th century. Voprosy istorii. 2022;3-2:70-76. (In Russ.).

15. Goncharov VN, Kolosova OYu, Nemashkalov PG. Cultural and historical factors in the formation of the Russian education model in the 19th century. Nauchnii almanac stran Prichernomoria. 2023;1(33):38-44. (In Russ.).

16. Zyryanov PN. Russian monasteries and monasticism in the 19th – early 20th centuries. Moscow, 2002. 319 p. (In Russ.).

17. Kirichenko OV. Women's Orthodox Asceticism in Russia (19th – mid-20th century). Moscow: Alekseevskaya Pustyn, 2010. 637 p. (In Russ.).

18. Kryzhanovsky PN. Historical essay on the Black Sea Convent in the name of Mary Magdalene the Monastic for 50 years of the hermitage's existence from September 21, 1849 to September 21, 1899. Stavropolskie eparhialnye vedomosti. 1902. June 16. No. 12. (In Russ.).

19. Kryzhanovsky PN. Historical essay on the Black Sea Convent in the name of Mary Magdalene the Monastic for 50 years of the hermitage's existence from September 21, 1849 to September 21, 1899. Stavropolskie eparhialnye vedomosti. 1902. July 1. No. 13. (In Russ.).

20. Material for historical and topographic research on Orthodox monasteries in the Russian Empire with a bibliographic index / compiled and published by VV Zverinsky. Part 1: Transformation of old and establishment of new monasteries from 1764-1895 to July 1, 1890. St. Petersburg, 1890. 294 p. (In Russ.).

21. Prayer Books of the Caucasus: History of the Stavropol John-Mariinsky Convent. Orthodox Shrines of the Caucasus: Book 2. Stavropol, 2005. 54 p. (In Russ.).

22. Nemashkalov PG. The Contribution of the First Abbess Mitrofania to the Establishment of the Black Sea Mary Magdalene Convent in Research Fields and Contexts of New Local History: From Locus to Civilization (for the Anniversary of Professor TA Bulygina): Collection of Scientific Papers / ed. IV Kryuchkova, KR Ambartsumyan, ME Kolesnikova. Stavropol: NFCU, 2022. P. 144-152. (In Russ.).

23. Nemashkalov PG. Development of the Black Sea Ekaterino-Slebyazhye Nikolaevskaya Hermitage and the Cossack Military Administration. Izvestia Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. 2017;7(120):171-175. (In Russ.).

24. Nemashkalov PG. Formation and functioning of the diocesan governance system of the Russian Orthodox Church in the North Caucasus (late 18th – 60s of the 19th centuries): thesis. Stavropol, 2020. 555 p. (In Russ.).

25. On the establishment of a convent in the Black Sea Cossack army in the name of St. Marina Magdalene (December 11, 1848) in Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire (1825-1881). Vol. 23. No. 22812. (In Russ.).

26. Polsky LN. Essays on the history of the Caucasian diocese (for the 130th anniversary of its foundation). Stavropol: Publishing house of the Stavropol Theological Seminary, 2018. 142 p. (In Russ.).

27. Sentinsky temple: an Alanian monument over the Military-Sukhum road. URL: etokavkaz.ru/istoriya/sentinskii-khram-alanskiipamyatnik-nad-voenno-sukhumskoi-dorogoi (Accessed: 06.06.2024). (In Russ.).

28. Von-Wolfram FH. Kizlyar Holy Cross Monastery in Collection of Statistical Information on the Stavropol Province. Stavropol, 1868. Issue 1. P. 25. (In Russ.).