The Initial Stage of the Establishment of the Orthodox Church in the European North-East

Abstract

The Orthodox Church has played a major role in the history of many nations of the Russian state. Historians believe that the beginning of Christianization of the European North-East is dated to the second half of 14th century. Archaeological discoveries over the past 35 years have provided new data for researchers. The article deals with a collection consists of 11 Christian symbols obtained during the study of medieval settlements in the European north-east. All the artifacts have been dated to the 12–13th centuries. The publication defines the typological and chronological composition, provides analogies from the excavations of other archaeological sites in Russia. These findings indicate that the ancient population of the region was acquainted with Christian culture before the 14th century. The author suggests that Christianization of the region began together with Old Russian colonization in the early 12th century. The spread of items with Christian symbols and ideas of Christianity was associated with the inhabitants of settlements in the valleys of the Vym, Vychegda and Sysola Rivers. These settlements were founded by immigrants from the territory of Russia and became centres of population concentration.