Family drama of the priestly wife Lyudmila Kapitonova (based on the materials of the state archive of the Republic of Tatarstan)

Abstract

Introduction. The article uses a concrete historical example through an anthropological approach to make one of the first attempts in Russian historiography to highlight the problem of the place, role and position of women within the family and intra-church relations of the early XX century. Materials and methods. The analysis of archival material demonstrates a complex system of communication and deep psychological and cultural contradictions in the environment of the provincial parish clergy of the period under review. A woman was assigned a subordinate role in it, while her violation of the traditional order turned into adverseconsequences. Results. The increase in the level of education of women and, as a result, the strengthening of their intellectual, legal and cultural emancipation in the post-reform period, ran into patriarchal attitudes of the church environment. The clash of tradition and innovation resulted in acute interpersonal and intragroup conflicts, during which the parties often annihilated basic ethical rules. It is noteworthy that, acting as an arbiter in the clashes of subordinates, the hierarchy sought to counteract the penetration of cultural and psychological innovations into the Orthodox community. It happened that such protectionism went against the canons and legislation of the church, turning into a violation of the key principles of justice. Nevertheless, thanks to this orientation and practical approaches, the church sought to achieve mental homogeneity of the clergy and internal stability of the system in conditions of external social turbulence. Conclusion. The author comes to the conclusion that the church society was a closed system with a very peculiar matrix of norms and rules, hanging in a stable disequilibrium between traditionalism and post-reform modernism. The church, which was based on a patriarchal way of life, was not ready for the correction of gender roles in the conditions of innovative changes, even where this did not pose a direct threat to its cultural tradition.