Tomsk Theological Seminary as an object of local history

Based on scientific publications, historical sources and archival documents, the article presents the process of formation and development of Tomsk Theological Seminary (TTS) as an object of the local history of Tomsk. The purpose of the article is to analyze the role and significance of Tomsk Theological Seminary in the cultural life of the city. The methods used in this research are archival-historical, comparative, and analytical. The analysis of scientific publications and archival documents made it possible to trace the history of the formation and development of TTS, its connection and interaction with the universities of the city in historical and modern contexts. It is noted that the high status of teaching and training of seminary graduates allowed Metropolitan Makarius Nevsky to take the initiative to open the Theological Academy in Tomsk in 1896. The results of the study include the identification of the main historical stages in the development of TTS. The first one covers the years 1858-1899 reflecting the formation of the theological school since its opening. The second stage began in May 1899 with the consecration of the new building of TTS in honor of St. Innocent of Irkutsk and ended with its closure in 1918. The ensuing years brought forth such names of new martyrs from among the teachers and graduates of TTS as Metropolitan Agafangel (1854-1920), Archimandrite Prokopiy (1877-1937), Priest Innocent Kikin (18781937). The year 1992 marks the beginning of the third stage, when classes at TTS were resumed. The article mentions the activities of the first vice-rectors of the Seminary in its third period - Archpriest Leonid Kharaim (Archimandrite Silouan) (1945-2011) and Archpriest, Candidate of Theology Oleg Bezrukikh. The process of training clergy in Tomsk in the Soviet period, when the seminary was closed, is sometimes referred to as “Pivovarov’s stoke room”. Therefore, the spiritual and creative activity of Archpriest, Candidate of Theology Alexander Pivovarov is also described. Information is given about the graduates of the Seminary who made a significant contribution to the development of the socio-cultural life of the city: Professor K. Zavadovsky, M.B. Shatilov and others. The final part of the paper highlights the contribution of the seminary students and teachers to the development of education and enlightenment of the citizens of Tomsk, and their role in social life: work with deaf and hard of hearing people, children and youth. It provides some statistics on the dynamics of the educational processes in TTS from the moment of resumption of classes to the present and the publication activity of TTS students and teachers. The article also presents the results of joint academic work of Tomsk Theological Seminary with the Administration of the region and the city, and with the Council of Rectors of Tomsk universities. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Keywords

Authors

References