К вопросу о роли Спасо-Каменного монастыря в карательной политике Российского государства (XVI–XVII вв.)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reveal causes and features of punitive practice of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery in the pre-imperial period when there was a rapid separation of the state and church jurisdiction in various spheres of society. The article tries to define the most significant events which determined the inclusion of this monastery in the punitive policy of the state. Another task of the research is to determine the peculiarities of the exile to the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery at the early stage of its development. Due to its special geographical location, initially it was used for punitive purposes rarely and rather selectively. The complexity of the research work can be explained by the limited availability of the sources related for the period under consideration, which did not allow us to recreate a complete picture of the functioning of the prison premises and the everyday life of prisoners. It was possible to create a more detailed picture only by turning to the documents of the era of the regular state of Peter the Great. Therefore, the accent in the research was made first of all on generalization and analysis of the most striking and at the same time insufficiently studied facts of exile to the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery of various well-known persons, including Metropolitan Zosimus, Metropolitan Varlaam, Archbishop Arsenii, and Archimandrite Ivan Neronov, who played an important role in the history both of the church and of the state. The author analyzes the causes and conditions of exile in the context of the events of that time. The conclusion is made that the content of punitive functions of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was constantly changing. The basis for these changes was the desire of the grand-princely power to see the monastery as a supporter of the spread of its own influence. A peculiarity of the first stage in the punitive activity of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was the fact that representatives of the religious elite were exiled there. It was explained by special natural conditions and geopolitical location of the island monastery. Later this trend continued, but the contingent of exiles significantly expanded.