FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF ORTHODOX FRATERNITIES OF THE RIGHT-BANK OF UKRAINE IN THE SECOND HALF OF XIX CENTURY

Abstract

The article is devoted to analyzing the specifics of financial support of Orthodox fraternities on the territory of the Right-Bank of Ukraine during the second half of the XIX century. The main aspects of forming and filling the monetary budget, which ensured the fraternities' functioning, are revealed. All the multi-vector educational work of the fraternities was regulated by the statutory documents, which fixed the members' responsibilities, the management of affairs, and the disposal of money. In addition, the statutes of each fraternity prescribed specific amounts of monetary contributions of the founders of the fraternity and other members of the fraternity. Each fraternity set a different amount of membership fees, which was formed based on the material capabilities of the inhabitants of a given town or village. An essential source of income was donations from wealthy residents and prominent public figures in the area. A significant part of the income was formed based on donations from philanthropists from different cities and well-known patrons from other Right-Bank of Ukraine provinces. Such forms of income accounted for the primary income and formed the accumulation of fraternities during the year. An additional form of income was material assistance from members of the imperial family, from the consistory, and sometimes from the Holy Synod. However, in the vast majority, this type of assistance fell only to those Orthodox fraternities that functioned in large cities. The peculiarities of the financial content of their budget are shown in the example of different fraternities of Volyn and Podil, Kyiv provinces. Church fraternities reported on income and expenditures during the year at the final annual meeting of the council. Detailed information, which contained a detailed analysis of the fraternity's activities and data on receipts, was published by the chairman of the fraternity council in the annual reports and periodicals of the province.