Term Papers by Students of Kazan Theological Academy as a Buddhist Learning Source: Analyzing Materials from the State Archive of Tatarstan. Part 1.

Introduction. The article examines some activities of Russia’s leading spiritual institution — Kazan Theological Academy — which was training missionaries throughout the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. Goals. The article seeks to characterize research endeavors of the Academy’s students in the field of Buddhism. Our review and analysis of term papers attest to Russian spiritual institutions adopted elements of classical comparative theology — including denunciation of other doctrines, description of Christianity’s superiority over other faiths — and taught would-be missionaries certain methods of converting non-Russians to Christianity. Materials. The study focuses on archival documents contained in Catalogue 2 of Collection 10 (‘Kazan Theological Academy’) at the State Archive of Tatarstan, and is first to introduce the latter into scientific circulation. Results. A total of 62 documents happen to deal with the topic under study within Catalogue 2. Term papers authored by students of Kazan Theological Academy indicate their appeals to the theme of Buddhism were fuelled by practical concerns. Materials covering various aspects of Buddhism and translations of Buddhist religious texts proper are of undoubted interest. Conclusions. In the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, a distinguished school of comparative theology took shape in K azan. The students would turn to theoretical and methodological foundations of new trends in religious studies (European religious teachings and comparative theology), meticulously investigate historical documents and primary sources, undertake prominent efforts of translating Buddhist religious texts to conduct comprehensive research that has no analogues in theological science. Competent argumentation, convincing logic of presentation, critical insights into both Christianity and the alien (to them) Buddhist doctrine were characteristic of those works. The subject of research would be explicitly comprehended and carefully explored by the authors. Many such studies in comparative theology actually aimed at denying Buddhism the status of religion, which is evidenced by their titles. The Revolution and subsequent closing of Kazan Theological Academy interrupted the scholarly traditions of an oldest spiritual institution but its legacy in the form of students’ term papers is still of utmost interest and needs further study.

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