Orthodox missionary in interfaith interaction in the south of Western Siberia in the second third of XIX - beginning of XX century

Abstract

The paper considers the problems of the Christian doctrine spread in the context of incorporation into Russia and the cultural development of the Siberian territory. The object of the research is the Orthodox missionary; the subject is the specifics of the missionary activity of Orthodox adepts in interfaith relations and contradictions. The author sets a goal to determine the role of Orthodox missionary in interfaith interaction in the south of Western Siberia in the second third of XIX - beginning of XX century. The paper focuses on the traditional and innovative tactical methods of improving preaching, which was transformed under the influence of changes in the state course with regard to national outskirts, and the intensification of confessional rivals. In the paper on the example of changes in the religious situation at the beginning of the XX century the author characterizes reaction of the Altai spiritual missioners to the public manifestation of the Burkhanist movement, which was a regional syncretic variation of Northern Buddhism. The author concludes that as a result of its purposeful activity, Orthodox missionary actualized the ideas of monotheism and messianism in the traditional religious consciousness of the indigenous people, but they were more successfully interpreted by Buddhist adepts in the dogma of Burkhanism. This fact contributed to the transition of missionary work from predominantly flexible methods of Christianization and to more hard and intensive methods of dogma spreading.