Особливості церковно-релігійної політики російського самодержавства у Подільському регіоні наприкінці XVIII – на початку 30‑х рр. ХІХ століття

Abstract

The work analyzes the peculiarities of the political activity of the Russian autocracy concerning the representatives of confessional and religious communities in Podillya at the end of XVIII – at the beginning of the 30s of the XIX century. The research methodology is based on the principles of scientificity, objectivity and historicism, and involves the use of general scientific methods (internal critique of sources, analysis, synthesis, generalization). The scientific novelty consists of the formation of the complex vision of implementation of religious politics of autocracy toward the representatives of non-Orthodox clergy and believers of Podillya. The analysis of legislative acts, incorporation and corporate governance documents that regulated the activities of religious communities was conducted. Based on the historical, ideological and political aspects of this policy, as well as the religious views of monarchs (on confessional and religious communities), and the status of the state religion (Orthodoxy), the main aspects of church and religious policy of the autocracy in Podillya were clarified. Conclusions.It is defined that the church-religious politics of the Russian government toward the confessional communities of the Podillya governorate were executed to get control over the confessional communities of the region and their full subordination to the autocratic government. The legal basis of religious and confessional policy was a series of imperial decrees, statutory documents and orders that defined and coordinated the activities of religious and confessional organizations. Their publications were based on the legal and ideological substantiation of the religious and confessional policy of the autocracy throughout the Right-Bank Ukraine and Podillya in particular. The implementation of the given policy led to the changes in the confessional hierarchy of the Podillya governorate; restrictions of activities and the influence of the Roman Catholic and Greek-Catholic denominations of the faithful of the region. As a result, it was the change of religion and confessional affiliation of the population of the region. Orthodoxy was recognized as the main religion by the government in the region, which depended entirely on secular authorities, the will of the emperor, and became the basis for the subordination of the Orthodox population of the region to the policy of the Russian state.