On religious activity of churchgoers during World War I with the sacrament of Eucharist as an example (based on materials from Tobolsk diocese)

• Main Author: Pavel Belous
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University 2018-12-01
• Series: Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Svâto-Tihonovskogo Gumanitarnogo Universiteta: Seriâ II. Istoriâ, Istoriâ Russkoj Pravoslavnoj Cerkvi
• Subjects: Евхаристия; Первая мировая война; причащение; религиозность; Тобольская епархия; духовенство; Русская Православная Церковь
• Online Access: http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/6726

World War I led to signifi cant changes not only in the political, economic and military spheres, but also in the social and religious conscience of Russian society. Due to the all-pervading impact of this global confl ict on all sides of the state, social and church life, the questions of world outlook were also undergoing changes. This paper examines these changes with Tobolsk diocese as an example. It attempts to analyse the religious activity of Orthodox churchgoers during the years of World War I. The indicator of religiousness is the sacrament of Eucharist, which is due to its central and decisive meaning in the Christian’s life. Accordingly, the positive or negative trend in the number of those taking part in this sacrament during a certain historical period demonstrates the increase or decrease in relisious life on the whole, which might have resulted in certain events. The aim of this article is to study the trends in the religiosity of believers of Tobolsk diocese in 1914‒1918 with the sacrament of Eucharist as an example. The main source for the study is confession lists of churches in Tobolsk diocese, the data of which have allowed us to trace the situation with the churchgoers’ participating in Eucharist in churches of a number of uyezds (administrative districts): Kurganky, Tyumensky, Tobolsky, Surgutsky, as well as of staff members of Tobolsk gendarme offi ce. The situation with the sacrament in question was extremely varied. The decrease in religious activity in some parishes was in contrast with the increase in others, which confi rms the established opinion about sharp diff erences and splitting in Russian society in the early 20th century and during World War I.