BISHOP'S AND MONASTERY SPHRAGES OF 1690 – 1735, AS A SOURCE FOR THE STUDY OF HISTORY OF MARAMOROSH ORTHODOX DIOCESE AND THE MARAMOROSH UNION VICARIATE

Abstract

The article examines sphragistic sources directly related to the activities of the Maramorosh Orthodox Diocese and the Maramorosh Union Vicariate of the late XVII – first half of the XVIII century. With the help of auxiliary disciplines, the authors attempt to fill in the "white spots" in the pages of church history of the region. The period of the history of the Mukachevo diocese chosen for study is characterized by the institutional development of two new dioceses, which separated from the ancient Mukachevo diocese - Mukachevo Greek Catholic and the new – Maramorosh Orthodox Diocese. As a result of the active proselytizing activity of the episcopate in 1723, the former of these units created a union vicariate in the Maramorosh County, which in time acquired the status of a diocese. The active development phase of both ecclesiastical units lasted from 1690 to 1730. During this period, vital institutional processes took place, which contributed to forming and establishing two countег centers. The results of the research article innovatively present the vision and analysis of sources that are inextricably linked to the formation of two church centers. Based on the elaborated episcopal and monastic sphragis, new adjustments are made to the existing paradigms of administration and management of dioceses. The detailed methodology opens a wide field for discussion and further study of the history of the Church in Transcarpathia in this period. The principles of heuristics used in the study allow us to look in a new way at individual processes in the construction of ecclesiastical centers. These include episcopal ordinations of monks, de facto jurisdictional statuses of vicars, processes of concluding land lease and loan agreements, monastic epistolary heritage, diocesan activities to open new monasteries and renovate the leading segment of existing ones, the reaction of parishes during the introduction of the union in Maramorosh, etc. At the same time, the analysis of monastic and episcopal sphragis also allows for a broader analysis and research of the specific topic of the development of the document flow of dioceses, the legal component in the formation of dioceses, and the formation of their church-canonical status. In addition, the topic significantly develops sphragistics directly as a science in terms of its narrow specialization in the study of church-administrative components and their development. Discovered and processed documents state the fact that church sphragistics in this period was in the process of self-development, identification, verification, improvement, and legitimacy, which required the then church situation.