Catholic Missionaries on the Southern Russian Outskirts in the First Half of the 18th Century (on the basis of documents of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire)

Introduction. The article concentrates on the religious policy of the Russian Empire in the Early Modern Time. For the first time in historiography, a study was carried out concerning the place of Catholic missionaries who settled on the southern outskirts of Russia, in the religious policy of Russian secular and spiritual authorities. Materials and methods. The base of the study was the correspondence of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs with the Holy Synod, as well as other institutions and officials, characterizing the scale of the presence and direction of activity of Catholic orders on the territory of Russia. The methodology of the study has been determined by the structural and functional approach to the system of state bodies of Russia. In combination with this approach, a historical-genetic method was used, which is optimal for understanding the evolution of the structure of power in the Russian Empire from the time of Peter the Greatto the middle of the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. The results of the research are presented in the section “Catholic missionaries in the south of Russia by the middle of the 18th century: political and diplomatic aspects”. In it, the Capuchin Order is designated as the most active force of Catholic missionary work in the Russian south, which managed to prevail over others Catholic orders in dispute for influencing on the ethno-confessional groups of the studied region. It has been determined that the Capuchins in Russia gained constant diplomatic support from the Austrian monarchy. The activity of missionaries in Astrakhan and Nizhyn was traced, the place of the Armenian communities in the missionary plans of the Capuchins on the territory of Russia is shown. The influence on the position of the Capuchins of Russian-Austrian relations is emphasized, in particular of the “Austrian system” — the orientation of Russian diplomacy towards the Austrian court. The idea is carried out that the attitude of the Russian authorities in the capital and in the localities towards the Capuchins in such conditions was indifferent or patronizing, while in fact the Russian secular authorities did not take into account the violation of the prerogatives of the ruling Orthodox (Greek-Russian) church. In order of discussion (part “Missionaries in the Russian Borderlands: source study andhistoriographical observations” of the abovementioned section of the article), the main interpretations of Catholic missionaryism, found in the literature on Catholicism in Russia, have been identified. Conclusion. The author states that the reasons for the interest of Catholic missionaries to the southern Russian outskirts and their population were objective.  The reaction of the Russian secular authorities to such an interest was little, and their awareness of the legal necessity of appropriate regulatory measures developed slowly.

1. AVPRI — [Archive of foreign policy of the Russian Empire].

2. Actory 2016 — [Actors of Russian Imperial Modernization (from the 18th century through the beginning of the 20th century): regional dimension]. Ekaterinburg, 2016. 316 p. (In Russ.).

3. Amburtsev, Kolodina 2016 — Amburtsev R. A., Kolodina A. K. [The Catholic community of St. Petersburg in the 18th century: a study of the issue in historiography] // Gumanitarnye nauchnye issledovaniya. 2016. № 6 (58). Pp. 25–31. (In Russ.).

4. Andreev 2010 — Andreev A. N. [Russian “foreigners” in the 18th century and Western Christian influence] // Vestnik Yuzhno-Ural’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. 2010. Seriya “Social’no-gumanitarnye nauki”.Is. 15. № 28 (204). Pp. 6–11. (In Russ.).

5. Beltramini 2021 — Beltramini E. Roman Catholic Government and Mission to Tibet: A Historical and Theological Study // International Bulletin of Mission Research. 2021. Vol. 45. Is. 1. Pp. 68–72.

6. Coccia 1873 — Coccia, P[adre] Rocco da Cesinale.[History of the Capuchin Missions. Vol. 3]. Roma: Tipografia Barbèra, 1873. 711 p. (In Italian).

7. Kuchumov 1996 — Kuchumov V. A. [The First Catholic Mission in Moscow, 1684–1689 (according to the Diaries of Irji David)] // Drevnyaya Rus’ i Zapad. [Ancient Rus’ and the West]. Moscow: “Naslediye” Publishers, 1996. Pp. 183–186. (In Russ.).

8. Kuznetsov 1898 — Kuznetsov N.D. [The field of administration of Foreign Religions in Russia in its Historical Development]. // Vremennik Demidovskogo yuridicheskogo litseya. 1898. Is. 75. Pp. 65–104. (In Russ.).

9. Mackiewicz 2012 — Waldemar, Mackiewicz (OFM Conv). [The History of the Catholic Church in the Astrakhan land]. Astrahan’: LLC “The typography “New Line””, 2012. 245 p. (In Russ.).

10. Petruhintsev 2010 — Petruhintsev N. N. [The path of a foreigner in the military elite of Russia (I. B. Weisbach, General of Emperor Peter the Great)] // Voina i oruzhie: Novye issledovaniya i materialy. [War and Weapons: New research and materials]. Nauchno-prakticheskaya konferentsiya 12–14 maya 2010 g. St. Petersburg. Part. II. Pp. 210–228. (In Russ.).

11. Pierling 1907 — Pierling Р. [Russia and the Holy See; diplomatic studies.Volume 4: Peter the Great. The Sorbonne University.Princes Dolgoruky. The Duke of Liria. Abbot Jubé de la Cour]. Paris; Plon-Nourreitet C-ie, Imprimeurs-Editeurs, 1907.464 p. (In French).

12. Poberezhnikov 2018 — Poberezhnikov I. V. [Frontier modernization in the East of the Russian Empire: regional variations] // Ural’skii istoricheskii vestnik [Ural historical journal]. 2018. No. 4 (61). Pp. 72–80. (In Russ.).

13. Ryazhev 2018 — Ryazhev A. S. [The Religious Policy of Peter I on the Southern Borders of Russia before and during the Great Northern War] // Novyi istoricheskii vestnik [The New Historical bulletin]. 2018. No. 4 (58). Pp. 88–100. (In Russ.).

14. Sobko 2006 — Sobko E. M. [Russia’s participation in the war of the Austrian Succession, 1740–1748] // Voprosy istorii [Issues of history]. 2006. No. 1. Pp. 156–159. (In Russ.)

15. Samylovskaya 2016 — Samylovskaya E. A. [On the issue of the number and national composition of the Roman Catholic community of St. Petersburg in the first half of the 18th century] // Vestnik Udmurtskogo universiteta. Seriya “Istoriya i Philologiya”. 2016. Vol. 1. No. 1. Pp. 76–81. (In Russ.).

16. Solov’iov 1993 — Solov’iov S. M. Istoriya Rossii s drevneishih vremion. Vol. 18 [The history of Russia from the ancient times] // Solov’iov S. M. Sochineniya. Kniga IX [Selected works. Vol. 9]. Moscow: Mysl’ Publishers, 1993. 671 p. (In Russ.).

17. Tolstoy 1876 — Tolstoy D. A. [Roman Catholicism in Russia: a historical study of Count Dmitry A. Tolstoy]. St. Peterburg: V. F. Demakov Publisher and printing house, 1876. Vol. 1. VIII, 538 p. (In Russ.).

18. Toropitsyn 2017 — Toropitsyn I. V. [Participation of Astrakhan governors in the implementation of the country’s foreign policy in the south-east direction in the 18th century] // Kaspiiskii region: politika, ekonomika, kul’tura. 2017. No. 3 (52). Pp. 217–221. (In Russ.).

19. Verducci 1979 — Verducci C. [The role of the Illyrian college in the relations of the Papacy with the Balkans] // Godišk društva istoričara Bosne i Hercegovine. 1979. Godina XXVIII–XXX. 1977–1979. Sarajevo. Pp. 295–302. (In Serbo-Croatian).

20. Wessels 1992 — Wessels C., S. J. Early Jesuit travellers in Central Asia 1603–1721. New Delhi; Madras, 1992. XVI, 346 p.

21. Winter 1964 — Winter E. [Papacy and Tsarism]. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1964. 536 p. (In Russ.).

22. Yakovenko 2006 — Yakovenko S. G. [The Jesuits and Russia: historiographical aspect, materials of the Russian archives on the history of the Jesuits in Russia] // Rossiya i iezuity. 1772–1820.[Russia and the Jesuits. 1772–1820] Ed. by Marek Inglot (S. J.), E. S. Tokareva. Moscow: Nauka Publishers, 2006. Pp. 27–47. (In Russ.)