Views of the orthodox clergy on the problem of national drunkenness and the need to fight for sobriety
by the materials of Penza diocesan journal (the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries) 

Sergey V. Domnin, Rector, Penza Theological Seminary of the Penza Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (4 Perekop street, Penza Russia),  serafim.mitr@gmail.com

Background. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the need of resistance the stable negative phenomena of Russian everyday life such as drunkenness and alcoholism. The purpose of the study is to analyze the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in overcoming national drunkenness, as well as the forms and methods of the struggle for sobriety in a historical retrospective. Materials and methods. The article analyzes the views of representatives of the Orthodox clergy on the problem of national drunkenness and the need to fight for sobriety, as well as the practice of social interaction of the Russian Church by different stratum of society in organizing the fight for sobriety. The materials of the Penza Diocesan Journal (1866–1917) were used as a source for studying this problem. The research methodology is based on the principles of a systematic approach to the consideration of the history of everyday life in Russian society. The diachronic method was used to analyze the problem in historical retrospective, while the synchronic method made it possible to show the activities of the Russian Church against the background of ongoing historical
events. Results. The attitude of the Orthodox clergy to the problem of public drunkenness in general is investigated, and the views of specific clergy on the causes of the spread of social vices in society and ways to overcome them are characterized. The practices of social interaction of the clergy with parishioners in the post-reform period – after the abolition of serfdom and in the conditions of the beginning revolutionary crisis (1866–1917) are described. In organizing the struggle for sobriety, the Orthodox clergy preferred the method of persuasion through preaching (teachings, religious and moral readings, etc.). However, the creation of numerous sobriety societies confirms the desire of the clergy beyond the framework of liturgical activities to draw public attention to this problem and unite all classes to eradicate social vices. Conclusions. The analysis of publications in the Penza Diocesan Journal convinces that the Russian Church has historically treated drunkenness as a vice of society, which it sought to fight, relying on the healthy moral forces of society itself. The Orthodox clergy, participating in the life of the people on a daily basis, were more acutely aware of the perniciousness of the spread of alcoholism among all strata of society, including children. The Church not only appealed to the flock with the condemnation of pernicious vice through the word of preaching, but also called for the cooperation of the state, zemstvos, public organizations, the people’s school, the intellectual. The Church movement for the creation of sobriety societies turned into one of the influential factors of public life at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. 

 Russian Orthodox Church, Penza Diocesan Journal, Orthodox clergy, sobriety societies

Domnin S.V. Views of the orthodox clergy on the problem of national drunkenness and the need to fight for sobriety by the materials of Penza diocesan journal (the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries). Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Povolzhskiy region. Gumanitarnye nauki = University proceedings. Volga region. Humanities. 2023;(2):54–66. (In Russ.). doi: 10.21685/2072-3024-2023-2-6