Holy Women of Russia: A Historical Note
May 26th, 2008 by michelle
I have recently begun reading Holy Women of Russia, and would like to share highlights from each section. This book reveals the lives of five Orthodox women who served the Orthodox church in Russia.
After reading the section titled “A Historical Note”, which precedes the sections on the lives of these holy women, I better appreciated our freedom of religion here in America. Under the rule of Catherine the Great (1762-1796), churches and their priests were controlled by the Russian government so as to eliminate excess churches, clergy and monasteries. By 1764, only 385 monasteries remained of the original 881. In addition to this, those who wished to join a monastery were forced to pay a fee to enter and then had to “fend for themselves”. This made it quite difficult for women to enter monasteries and even harder for poor women. This caused the arrival of the zhenskie obshchiny, or religious communities, in the late 18th century. By the middle of the 19th century, these communities were formed not only by pious, wealthy women, but by the poor as well.
During the second half of the 19th century, such communities spread through the Russian countryside. Women were able to develop not only spiritually, but they were given opportunities to manage agricultural properties, to run schools, almhouses, and orphanages. One of the greatest non-spiritual benefits of these communities was the teaching of reading and writing. The literacy rates of peasant women who resided in monasteries was well above the national average.
Interesting Facts:
- Of the 385 monasteries that remained in 1764, 318 were men’s and only 67 were women’s
- During the reign of Catherine the Great, monks lived mostly in private cells rather than together in community
- When a monk transferred to another monastery, the cell that he had “purchased” would have to either be sold or “dismantled”
- Over two hundred women’s religious communities were established in Russia between 1764 and 1917
- In 1897, in the Tvorzhkovo monastery, 89% of women could read and 35% could read and write
Meehan, Brenda. Holy Women of Russia: The Lives of Five Orthodox Women Offer Spiritual Guidance for Today. New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997.
Did you see that the ROCOR is hosting a conference in NY on just this topic?
Here’s a link to the brochure:
Orthodox Women’s Conference
Thanks, Deb!!
Oooh, what an interesting topic!
[...] Almost a month ago, I began reading Holy Women of Russia. I started reading it again today and decided to finish it during the Apostles Fast. I plan to blog each day to share highlights from the sections I have read. [...]