Monk bulletins of 1724 as a historical source: information potential and degree of reliability

Abstract

The article analyzes the monk bulletins of Vyatkaand Great Perm Diocese created in 1724 inaccordance with the Spiritual regulations that restricted the circle of persons for the admission to monasteries. The bulletins became one of the first mass sources on the history of Russian monkhood, which is unique from the point of their descriptiveness. They help to consider the tradition of making vows and schemes in old age and the system of monastic obedience, to estimate the number of hieromonks and hierodeacons in monasteries, to analyze the development of crafts in monasteries, to identify the frequency of monks’ transitions, the influence of a monastery on the neighboring regions, the degree of the openness of a priest position for tax-paying classes, the tradition of “family vows”, the ratio of male and female monks, and the representativeness of different social groups among Ural monks. Such studies allow to highlight the specifics of the all-Russian processes in Ural monasteries in the first quarter of the 18th century, and the features ofPerm andVyatka monasteries. In the comparison with similar bulletins of 1735, they provide an opportunity to trace the dynamics of the realization of Peter the Great's reforms after his death. At the same time, the information in the bulletins is not always valid and therefore should be checked and refined by the comparison with the documents of monastery record keeping and other sources.