PRIMARY THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CLERGY'S CLASS FORMATION (THE 18TH AND THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURIES)

Alexey Nikolaevich Krasikov

Vologda Theological Seminary, St. Tikhon's Orthodox University for the Humanities, Vologda, Russia Istorik

Email: Istorik-vologda@yandex.ru

Issue: № 4 (32), 2025

Pages: 120

Annotation

The article attempts to analyze the formation of the primary theological educational system in the context of the forming of the Russian society's class structure in the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries. The process of the clergy's "enslavement", launched by the adoption of the "Church Regulations," was of great importance in the general policy of the state to form the class structure of the society. The key criterion for belonging to the clergy was special theological education that allowed clergy to fulfill their direct duties. The reforms of Peter the Great, legislative initiatives of the palace coups' epoch, projects for theological educational transformation during the reign of Catherine II, the adoption in 1814 of the Charter for theological schools, and attempts to reform the system of theological education under Nicholas I are considered as key stages in the formation of the class primary education for the clergy.

Keywords

theological education, theological school, clergy class, clergy, class qualification, educational qualification

For citation

Krasikov A. N. Primary theological education in the Russian Empire in the context of the clergy's class formation (the 18th and the first half of the 19th cent uries)// Ipatievsky vestnik. 2025. № . 4. Р. 120–130 (In Russian). https://doi. org/10.24412/2309–5164–2025–4–120–130