Diocesan Vedomosti is a church newspaper published from 1860 to 1922. 63 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church took part in this project. This project was developed in 1853 by the Kherson Archbishop. And presented to the Holy Synod only six years later. The synod liked the idea, and the approval of the program was signed in November 1859. And at the end of December of the same year, a decree was sent to the dioceses on the beginning of the publication of the Diocesan Gazette. The history of church newspapers is very interesting and informative, it is worth studying in more detail.
The essence of the church project
Filing a petition to start a new church project, the Archbishop of Kherson stated the following considerations:
- The publication of Vedomosti significantly reduced the need for rewriting numerous papers and documents.
- "Vedomosti" could reduce the numberfalse teachings, they brought the diocesan administration closer to the flock.
- Vedomosti will save the local clergy from various trips, and the main news will be available from the publication.
It is known that after the launch of the newspaper, the number of church correspondence decreased by half. The publication made it easier to inform the local clergy. Vedomosti covered information about the state of religious schools, deanery congresses, the election of clergy, and there was also a discussion of general Christian issues.
Local Vedomosti
Starting from 1860, thanks to the intercession of the Bishop of Yaroslavl, local "Diocesan Gazette" began to be published. "Yaroslavskiye Vedomosti" was ahead of Kherson by a couple of months. After that, other local editions of church news began to be printed: Polish, Lithuanian, Arkhangelsk, Yenisei, Caucasian, Stavropol, Kamchatka, etc. Some editions or part of them had a non-standard name. For example, "Spiritual Herald of the Georgian Exarchate", "Arkhangelsk Diocesan News", "News of the Kazan Diocese", "Riga Diocesan Leaflet", "News of the St. Petersburg Diocese", "Kholmsko-Varshavsky Diocesan Bulletin", etc.
Vedomosti came out twice a month, and some of them - every week. The magazines consisted of two parts: official and unofficial. The official edict covered the decrees of the diocesan authorities and state institutions, regulatoryacts of the emperor, various reports and other information of church organizations and diocesan institutions.
In the second part, publications of the Holy Fathers, sermons, teachings, spiritual advice, conversations, church history works, historical information about dioceses and much more were printed. Some editions of Diocesan Gazette have been issued in the form of books, brochures and leaflets.
Voronezh publications
"Voronezh Diocesan Gazette" was issued from January 1, 1866 to 1909. At first, newspapers were published twice a month, and since 1910 - weekly.
The publication was issued by the Zadonsk and Voronezh eparchies. In addition to the magazine itself, appendices to it were also printed. The magazine covered important decrees and official acts. In the appendix, articles of an instructive nature were printed. Beginning in 1868, the journal was divided into official and unofficial parts, with separate appendices retained. And in 1877, the publication took the old form, in which the unofficial part was located in the appendix. Later, such applications became known as "unofficial part".
In the first years of the life of the publication, it published translations of the works of Clement of Alexandria, the Apostle Hermas, Origen, Blessed Augustine, etc. From 1872 to 1883, the publication printed the "Months" of the saints, and also covered a lot of information about local saints. For example, about Tikhon of Zadonsk and Mitrofan, about the Bishop of Voronezh. Numerous articles were published about church holidays, certain Gospel events were described, events that took place in ancient churches,historical facts about local churches. Some of the articles were not published immediately, but after a long time they were still printed.
"Voronezh Diocesan Vedomosti" did not pay much attention to the history of local churches, since several other newspapers were published in Voronezh, which paid full attention to the history of their region. More attention was paid to the publication of the history of all Russia and the Russian Church. A cycle of stories about the enlightenment of Russia and the Russian people was printed, attention was paid to the Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667. A description of local monasteries, churches and religious schools was nevertheless published. Often, biographies of various local spiritual figures were printed in the bulletin.
The appendix included works of clergy, teachings, talks, unofficial descriptions of sacred gatherings, and much more. The publication existed until 1918.
In 1990, the "Voronezh Diocesan Bulletin" began to be published again, since 1977 - the newspaper "Voronezh Orthodox", and since 2001 - the newspaper "Obraz".
Oryol editions
"Oryol Diocesan Gazette" began to be published thanks to the initiative of the Bishop of Sevsky and Oryol. The first issue of the magazine appeared in 1865. Pyotr Polidorov became the editor of Oryol Vedomosti. He served as a cathedral archpriest in Orel, was close to the bishop and wrote a separate essay about him.
The purpose of the publication of the "Oryol Diocesan Gazette" was to improve the life of the clergy, their desire for spiritual ex altation. The magazine was published not only forclergy, but also for secular people. The publishers tried to make it versatile and interesting for everyone.
Initially, the magazine included the following sections:
- Decrees and regulations.
- Diocesan Chronicle.
- Teachings, spiritual talks, etc.
A year later, the structure of the publication was changed. It began to consist of official and unofficial parts.
The official printed resolutions and decrees of the Holy Synod, various orders of the diocesan leadership, the highest manifestos, reports, information about the dismissal and appointment, awards, vacancies for clergy and clergy, as well as the adoption of Christianity by people of a different faith who lived on the territory of the Oryol diocese.
In the unofficial part of the publication, articles of a spiritual and instructive nature were published, statistical data on visiting churches and temples, on theological seminaries and colleges, on charitable institutions. As well as biographies of clergy, historical information about holy places, announcements, news from other dioceses.
The publication came out a couple of times a month. Its size ranged from one and a half to three printed sheets. Close attention was paid to issues of spiritual life, a he althy lifestyle, historical and local history materials.
Over the years of its existence, the magazine has changed its printing house several times. At present, the "Oryol Diocesan Gazette" is a valuable information source. Experts have repeatedly thought about publishing an entire Vedomosti reader.
Orenburg editions
"Orenburg Diocesan Gazette" was published from 1873 to 1917. The journal had a non-standard name "Orenburg Church and Public Bulletin". It printed the details of the church life of the diocese. Initially, the magazine was published twice a month, later the frequency of publication increased to 52 per year.
"Orenburg Diocesan Gazette", like many others, consisted of two sections: official and unofficial. The editor of the official part was originally Archpriest Vasily Olshansky, and the secretary of the Orenburg Consistory Evfrimovsky-Mirovitsky became the editor of the unofficial part of the journal.
The official part of the publication contained orders and decrees of the Holy Synod, diocesan and higher authorities, protocols of diocesan congresses, information on appointment and dismissal, etc.
In the unofficial section, articles were published about the historical information of the region, spiritual conversations, church holidays, theological issues, statistics on parishioner visits to churches, etc. were discussed.
Moscow editions
"Moscow Diocesan Gazette" is the official church monthly publication. The newspaper began its existence at the end of the 19th century and is currently being published. For the history of the Russian people, the publication is valuable and important. In it you can learn about the clergy, famous clergy. It reflects information about appointments, dismissals, transfers to another place of service, about church awards, aboutdates of death.
"Moscow Diocesan Gazette" originally included two sections: official and unofficial.
The official printed decisions and decrees of the Holy Synod, information about the appointment and transfer to another place of service of clergy, government decrees and much more.
The unofficial part contained teachings and instructions, stories and narratives about the sacred places of the diocese, unofficial descriptions of church meetings, etc.
Smolensk publications
"Smolensk Diocesan Vedomosti" is a newspaper of the Smolensk diocese, which was published from 1865 to 1918. The journal began to be published thanks to the initiative of Pavel Lebedev, editor of the Smolensk Theological Seminary. The first issue of the Smolensk Diocesan Gazette was published in 1865.
Like other similar publications, the magazine consisted of an official part and an "addition". Later it became known as the unofficial part.
The addition contained a variety of sermons, conversations, instructions, information about the clergy of the diocese and statistics of parishes in churches, churches, monasteries.
The official part, as usual, contained official decrees, documents and materials.
The editors of the "Smolensk Diocesan Vedomosti" were at different times Archpriest Daniil Petrovich Lebedev, Archpriest Pavel Efimovich Obraztsov, Pavel (Lebedev), Ivan Alexandrovich Moroshkin, Sergey Alekseevich Solntsev, Nikolai Alexandrovich Vinogradsky, Nikolai Nikolaevich Sokolov, Nikolai Nikitich Redkov, Petr Alekseevich Cheltsov,Semyon Nikolaevich Sametsky.
The newspaper was published twice a month. Initially, its circulation was 800 copies, 600 of which were distributed between the dioceses. "Smolensk Diocesan Gazette" in 1918 ceased to exist. The publication resumed its activities only in 1991. The name of the journal has not changed.
Ekaterinburg publications
"Ekaterinburg Diocesan Gazette" was published from 1886 to 1917 in the Yekaterinburg diocese.
The publication, as usual, contained official and unofficial parts. The official printed official documents, legal acts, reports, information about appointments and dismissals, as well as transfers to another place. Important state issues and decisions of the Holy Synod were also published here.
The unofficial part of the "Ekaterinburg Diocesan Gazette" contained information about parochial schools, monasteries, theological seminaries, as well as the teachings and instructions of the clergy. In the unofficial part of the publication, much attention was paid to the needs of education, spiritual education, and the problems of the Old Believers.
Ryazan
"Ryazan Diocesan Gazette" - a church publication of the Ryazan diocese. The first magazine was published in 1865. Priest Nikolai Glebov initiated the release of the magazine. The Holy Synod signed a decree on the obligatory subscription of all dioceses to the Ryazan Vedomosti. Like other similar newspapers, the magazine had official and unofficial sections.
The official contained ordersemperor in the Ryazan province, decisions of the Holy Synod, orders for ordination to the dignity, diocesan orders, lists of distribution to church and priestly places, information about dismissal. The official section also published information about those who dropped out due to death.
The unofficial section of the bulletin published information about significant events taking place in the Ryazan region, articles of a theological nature, information about schools, various societies, colleges and guardianships.
The clergy attempted to organize feedback from the subscribers of the publication. But this attempt was unsuccessful.
Starting from April 1917, Diocesan Gazette changed its name to Voice of the Free Church, and a year later the publication ceased to exist at all.
Kursk publications
"Kursk Diocesan Gazette" began to be issued in 1871. As you can see, the Kursk diocese began publishing church news much later than other dioceses. The magazine was published twice a month. Starting in 1872, the publication began to be printed weekly.
The magazine of the Kursk diocese was founded in the image of other church magazines. It housed two departments: official and unofficial. In the official one one could find official orders, decrees and documents. The unofficial printed information that the common people were interested in.
Where else was the Church newspaper published
In addition to the above areas, church publications were published in other areas of the country. For example, there were"Penza Diocesan Gazette". They began to be published in the city of Penza in 1866, and ended their existence only in the early 2000s. "Tobolsk Diocesan Gazette" was published on the territory of the Tobolsk diocese. The publication period is from 1882 to 1919. "Tula Diocesan Gazette" was published from 1862 to 1928.
In the Tomsk diocese, a church magazine was published from 1880 to 1917. The publication was called "Tomsk Diocesan Gazette". In Vologda, a church publication was published from 1864 to 1917. The magazine was called "Vologda Diocesan Gazette".
Collections
All news publications are archived. At the moment, anyone can find the issue he needs and read it. The Diocesan Bulletin Index will help you find the right issue of the journal. There are many sites on the Internet where you can read or download material of interest for free.
The most complete collection of "Diocesan Gazette" is stored in the National Library of Russia. During the years 1860-1917, the volume of this collection amounted to more than 3 million sheets.
The most widely read journals of Diocesan Vedomosti, according to statistics, are publications of the Oryol diocese for 1886-1987, Orenburg - for 1899, Voronezh - for 1882, Grodno - for 1902, Astrakhan - for 1876.
Church newspapers and magazines today
The periodical press of the Russian Orthodox Church has long taken its place in the system of journalism and the media. The printing of church publications, divided by territories, dates back to the 19th century, when the Kherson Archbishop proposed his famous project to the Holy Synod. It was then that newspapers and magazines devoted to church life gradually spread throughout Russia.
Thanks to the resumption of church publications in modern times, churches and, of course, Orthodox journalism have been revived.
Currently, the Moscow Patriarchate includes 164 dioceses. Each of them has its own printing houses. Each diocese produces more than one Orthodox publication. In fact, at the moment, a huge number of church magazines and newspapers are being published on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Orthodox Church, by publishing its literature, not only facilitates communication between dioceses, but also encourages an increasing number of believers to visit their parishes.
The titles of today's newspapers are varied. The main feature of church publications is the division of the readership on a territorial basis. The diocesan press is currently distinguished by its latency, that is, concealment from a wide audience. This factor greatly complicates its detailed study. Another distinguishing feature of religious publications is the non-periodicity of publications. This is due to the fact that often non-professional journalists work with this literature. Many readers of Church magazines and newspapers of our timefaced with the problem of the disappearance of the publication. The man is confused, not understanding where his favorite press has gone.
How is the choice of type of publication determined? Currently, the dioceses opt for the publication of newspapers. This is due to the lower cost of the product. The fact is that not every diocese can afford to publish a colorful magazine. This is an expensive pleasure.
But larger dioceses also publish religious literature in magazine form. This makes it possible to cover a greater number of church issues. The magazines are published in the following dioceses: St. Petersburg, Tver, Voronezh, etc. These publications are mainly targeted at the clergy. But a lot of attention is paid to them and a wide range of the public. It covers general Christian problems, the history of religion and the Church. Moscow Diocesan Gazette has recently gained wide popularity among the population of Moscow and the Moscow Region. By church standards, the Moscow magazine has become one of the most powerful publications, its volume is more than 200 pages. The magazine is very popular among the believing population of Russia.
"St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette", which began to be published with the blessing of Metropolitan John in 1990, has chosen its own path. The magazine is published with a circulation of 50,000 copies. It has a non-standard format. Its size is equal to A4 sheet, thickness - 90 pages. The magazine focuses on the missionary direction. The main purpose of the publication is to call unchurched people to faith."St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette" has two sections: official and unofficial. The first of which is only a few pages long. The main part falls on the discussion of universal problems and life issues.
Different publications, adhering to the basic traditional principles of church records, may differ significantly from each other, have their own individual face.
Yet the most published type of religious literature is the newspaper. The chairman of the Publishing Council of the Moscow Patriarchate said in 1998: “The most common type of publishing activity in the dioceses is the publication of the diocesan newspaper. It can be multi-page or just a piece of paper, but one way or another it carries information about the life of the diocese. Among the dioceses for which we have information, only two do not have a diocesan newspaper. Moreover, in a number of cases, not one, but several newspapers are published in the diocese at the same time (and I do not mean the Moscow and St. Petersburg eparchies, where the situation with publishing and journalistic activities is special). So, in the Tver diocese, in addition to the newspaper "Orthodox Tver", newspapers are also published in Kimry and Rzhev; in Voronezh - "Voronezh Orthodox" and "Lipetsk Orthodox"; in Yekaterinburg - "Monastic Blagovest".
"Nizhny Novgorod Diocesan Gazette" is a clear proof of the good performance of this press. This is a young publication that is developing quite rapidly. The circulation of Vedomosti is increasing every day. The newspaper is the most popular publication in its region. In 2006, at the Orthodox festival "Faith and the Word", the editors of Novgorodskiye Vedomosti received an award in the "Image of Beloved Russia" nomination. The newspaper is published twice a month in A3 format. The first and last pages of the edition are in color, the rest are two-color. The circulation is already approaching 30,000 copies, which indicates the popularity of this type of press not only among the church circle of subscribers, but in a wide public circle.
The presentation of the material in the newspaper is quite interesting. The official information has been moved to the second half of the issue. It is divided into parts and served to the reader in small portions. The new clergy sent to serve in the Novgorod region are presented to the reader not as a dry, uninteresting list, but with a detailed description. Brief information about them and photos are placed in the newspaper.
Church Records in Society
Church literature plays a huge role in public life. Currently, many teachers use the Diocesan Gazette to study the history of the church, the role of the clergy in the political, economic and social life of the state. Such publications, which existed in almost every field, are an important source of information.
Basically, these historical sources are used to study the following materials:
- genealogy of clergy and clergy;
- stories about donations to churches and temples;
- church-administrative structure of dioceses;
- social activities of the clergy.
The genealogy of clergy and clergy differs from the compilation of a genealogical tree of representatives of other classes. Here you need to have additional information, which can be found in the Diocesan Gazette. For example, clear sheets, service records. Here you can also find out the age, marital status, education of a particular minister of a particular church.
Studying the history of donations to churches and temples provides an opportunity to learn many interesting facts about temple building in Russia. The Diocesan Gazette contains the names of benefactors, donation amounts, dates and more.
You can learn about the history of the social activities of the clergy from the reports of Orthodox public organizations. Such reports were usually located in the official part of the publication.
Information about the church-administrative structure of the dioceses can be obtained from the lists of deaneries and distributions.
The newspaper "Diocesan Gazette" can rightly be called one of the greatest church projects. The beginning of the publication of religious literature contributed to the reduction of correspondence, saved the clergy from unnecessary useless trips. Vedomosti became not only a way of enlightenment, but also a way of communication between churches and dioceses. Thus, the clergy were able to learn important news, for which they had previously had to make long trips. The division of the publication into two parts - official and unofficial- meant that literature is intended not only for the clergy, but also for the common people. Almost every province had its own publication, printing house. "Diocesan Gazette" helped to revive the church after the persecution. Their considerable merit is the introduction of the population to the faith. At present, quite a lot of Orthodox newspapers and magazines are being published. It is noteworthy that such literature is also interesting to the ordinary reader. It covers universal and Christian problems, shrines and holy places, religious tours and pilgrimage trips. The official part of publications is much reduced, because now is the age of information technology, and the clergy have many other ways to exchange information. Nevertheless, Diocesan Gazette made a huge contribution to the development of Russian culture. They are valued not only by historians, but also by ordinary people.
