| Sumario: | Background. In recent decades, Russian historical science has shown an increased
interest in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and clergy. The parish clergy
played an important role in the interaction of the state and the population, in the process
of formation of religious and civil identity in general. The purpose of this work is to consider
the main official functions of the parish clergy in the second half of the 19th century.
Materials and methods. The implementation of the tasks was achieved through the use of
unpublished documents from the Russian State Historical Archive, as well as materials
from the local periodical press – publications of the Penza diocese “the Penza Diocesan
Gazette”. A special place in the source corpus is occupied by the information contained in
the annual reports of the bishops of the Penza diocese. The methodological basis of this
study was the principles of the main historical research methods, chronological, problematic
and historical-statistical methods were used. Results. In the course of writing the article,
the main official functions of the parish clergy of the Penza diocese in the second half of
the nineteenth century were studied, which included preaching, making demands, maintaining
parish documentation, etc. Conclusions. In addition to the liturgical tasks, the clergy
had the difficult duties of promoting the ideas of Orthodoxy, constant communication with
the flock, and taking care of the maintenance of churches. Pastoral activity ensured the
mental succession and moral development of the people (preaching), formed the subject
environment of religious and civil everyday life (organization of parish holidays, religious
processions, etc.).
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