Sixteenth Spiritual Mission (1879–1883): the formation of the foundations for the widespread publication of Orthodox literature in China

Abstract

This article is a scientific study on the methodological foundations of the missionary work of employees of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing in 1879-1883, and is the experience of a systematic study of the missionary heritage of the oldest of domestic foreign missions. The Sixteenth Spiritual Mission in Beijing played a huge role in the development of Orthodoxy in China. The multifaceted and fruitful scientific activity of Russian missionaries, who founded a new scientific discipline - synology, which was successfully developed and excelled in the quality of the search for foreign orientalists, pushed into the background the study of the missionary experience of the Russian Spiritual Mission. Such an arrangement of emphasis in evaluating the mission's activities is unfair, since the scientific activities of its members were focused on practical application in missionary activities, such as translating the Holy Scriptures into Chinese, preparing catechists and missionaries from the local population, etc. Throughout the entire existence of the Mission, its staff preached in the territory of the Chinese Empire, carried out the translation of liturgical books, and engaged in translation activities. The methods used by Russian missionaries in carrying out the tasks entrusted to the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission by the government and the Holy Synod markedly influenced the overall development of Christian missionary and educational activities in China, and also formed a positive attitude towards Chinese statehood and its diplomatic representatives from the Chinese government.