Educational stream took place at BelSU

BelSU Media holding carries on university stream tradition. This time the director of the State archive of the Belgorod region Pavel Subbotin gave a lecture about financial position of parish clergy on the eve of the revolution of 1917.

During the lecture stereotypes about clergy in public consciousness, little-known problems and calls in life of one of the most numerous and noticeable estates of pre-revolutionary Russia have been discussed. Pavel Subbotin has shown the unique archival documents and records of priests demonstrating financial position of parish rural clergy on the eve of the revolution and has told about priests‘ land tenure, their salary, property, the capital, education of their children and life in a parish.

The audience of the stream consisted of representatives of clergy, historians, local historians, theologians, students of historical and philological and social and theological departments of BelSU. Questions arrived also from the audience of a stream who watched a lecture online. The audience was interested in the questions of spiritual education, features of expenditure of church means, and problems the priests and their families faced in revolutionary years. Pavel Subbotin has answered all questions in detail and has given the examples supported with historical documents, many of which are stored in the State archive of the Belgorod region.

In conclusion of the lecture he urged the audience to leave stereotypes about clergy life in Russia, to peer quietly and attentively into historical documents and not to be prejudiced.