The regional branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in Penza region at the beginning of the 21st century (2018–2023): structure, main directions and content of work 

Alena B. Shigurova, Candidate of philological sciences, associate professor of the sub- department of literature and methods of teaching literature, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), E-mail: abshigurova@gmail.com 

Background. The history of the regional chapters of the Imperial Orthodox Pales-tine Society (IOPS) begins almost immediately, only a few years later, after the emergence of the society itself (1882). As spokesmen for the ideas of society in the regions, the chapters played a very important role in the implementation of educational and charitable activities, organizing pilgrimages and raising funds for the implementation of large-scale tasks of the IOPS. The history of the regional chapters of the IOPS is insufficiently covered in science. In recent years, scientific works have appeared on the prerevolutionary history of the Penza branch of the IOPS. However, the modern period of activity of this social and religious organization in Penza region has not been the subject of study until now. The aim of the work is to study the structure, main directions and results of the activity of the Penza regional branch of the IOPS, which was recreated in 2018. Materials and methods. The implementa-tion of research tasks was achieved through the use of materials from the official issues of the Penza diocese “Penza Diocesan Bulletin” (2018–2023), “Penza Orthodox Interlocutor” (2018–2023), official websites of the Penza diocese, IPO IOPS and the Penza branch of IOPS, as well as materials from the archive of the Regional department of the IOPS in Penza region. The methods of historical analysis and content analysis were chosen as the main methods. Results. The research explores the history of recreation, identifies the main directions and analyzes the content of the activities of the Penza branch of the IOPS at the begin-ning of the 21st century (2018–2023). Conclusions. The reconstituted Penza department of the IOPS is organizing charitable activities in Penza region; creates and implements programs and projects for the development of religious tourism and pilgrimage to holy places; organ-izes research, cultural and educational, information and publishing activities in the fields of history, religion, culture; contributes to the implementation of programs and projects of the Penza diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, IOPS, social and religious organizations, charity, Penza diocese 

Shigurova A.B. The regional branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in Penza region at the beginning of the 21st century (2018–2023): structure, main directions and content of work. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Povolzhskiy region. Gumanitarnye nauki = University proceedings. Volga region. Humanities. 2023;(4):150–163. (In Russ.). doi: 10.21685/2072-3024-2023-4-14