MALE MONASTERIES OF THE EPARCHY OF LVIV IN EARLY MODERN SOCIETY: RELIGIOUS ASPECT

Abstract

Summary. The purpose of the research is to find out aspects of the religious function of male monastic communities of the Eparchy of Lviv (Orthodox and Union) in the local environment at the end of the XVI ‒ first quarter of the XVIII century. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of historicism, interdisciplinarity. Methods inherent for the study history of local social groups are used. The scientific novelty is in an attempt to study the religious function of monasteries in the Eparchy of Lviv, with the involvement of little-known and unpublished sources. Conclusions: among the most important aspects of religious activity of the monasteries of the Eparchy of Lviv was pastoral work, which was uncommon during the period under study. The pastorate of monks in parishes was initiated by church hierarchs or the founders of the parish, less often by the parishioners themselves. An important religious function of monastic communities was funeral services, which were held in monasteries at the request of the faithful inscribed in commemoration books. On the example of Pidhorodyshche monastery commemoration book, it can be stated that small monasteries were popular mainly with peasants or clergy from nearby settlements, to a lesser extent with burghers or gentry. The important role of monasticism in the religious consciousness of various classes of early modern society is confirmed by testamentary gifts in wills for monasteries. The personal religiosity of specific individuals played a significant role in their making. The nobility and burghers often chose monasteries as the place of their burial. Both family ties to monasteries and personal religiosity were decisive in this choice. An important place in the religious consciousness of the society of that time played the celebration in the honour of the monastery patron with the representatives of all classes of the society of that time taking part in it.