THE TOBOLSK BISHOP’S HOUSE AS THE ACTOR OF THE COLONIZATION OF SIBERIA IN THE 17TH CENTURY

Abstract

In the course of the development of Siberia the Russians created an authentic “living space” on the colonized lands, relying on their religious traditions and practices. The article shows the role of the Tobolsk bishop’s house in the formation of the socio-cultural environment in the territory under development in accordance with the norms of the Christian way of life. The “bishop’s house” is understood as a regional institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, which organized and controlled the spiritual sphere of the life of the local society. The Siberian diocese was created in 1620. The bishops used the centuries-old experience of the Russian Orthodox Church and, at the same time, responded to specific “challenges”. These “challenges” were associated with the huge scale of the controlled territory and its considerable remoteness from the center, the lack of priests and their doubtful moral appearance, peculiarities of the sex composition of the first Russian settlers, disagreements with secular administrations on the issue of power-sharing. The main concern of the 17th century Siberian bishops was the maintenance of the moral state of society, regularization of the church sphere, as well as anxiety about the population of Siberia, including the indigenous people. During the 17th century a system of the diocesan administration was created. The regional features of this system were expressed in the variety of principles for the division on the tithe districts and the replacement rates of secular decals by spiritual customers (representatives of the white and black priests). The church court of the law, organized by the Tobolsk bishop’s house, was an important tool for curbing “disorder” both among the clergy and in the secular community. The Orthodox landscape was formed on the territory under its jurisdiction to satisfy the spiritual needs of the local society. By the end of the 17th century, there were about 225 churches in the diocese, including monasteries. Most of them were located in Western Siberia, which was the most developed part of the diocese and closest to its center. The problem of providing parishes with priests was solved, and widely revered regional shrines appeared. The christianization of the indigenous population was carried out mainly by the forces of the monasteries. Using various forms of the influence on the society, the Tobolsk bishop’s house exerted a great influence on the religious and moral condition of the local society and became one of the leading actors in the colonization process.