Educational Level of Parish Priests in Pyriatyn Protopopy in the Second Half of the 18th Century

Abstract

The article analyzes the educational level of the parish priests in the Pyriatyn Protopopy in the second half of the 18th century. The paper discovered that the protopopy was one of the largest administrative units of the Kyiv Metropolitanate. It is determined that the education of the clergy in it began in the 1720-1730s. The Kiev Metropolitan Petro Mohyla was at its origins. Legislative norms were traced and guidelines of church hierarchs concerning the level of education of the Metropolitan's hierarchs in the 18th century were considered. It was determined that the candidate for a priest had to have a philosophical or theological degree. Based on statistical information, the educational level of the priests of the Pyriatyn Protopopy is determined and analyzed. It has been established that more than half of them did not meet legal educational norms. This was conditioned by the influence of the parishioners and the traditions of heredity during the ordination of the priest to the parish in the Metropolitanate. At the same time, it was proved that the church leadership took into account the level of education when choosing parish applicants. The geography of obtaining education by priests of the protopopy is established. Factors influencing the choice of place of study were identified as well. It was found out that the Kyiv Academy was the basic educational institution for the protopopy priests.