Sources of clergy detention in Russia in X-XII centuries

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the sources of detention of the Russian clergy in the 10-12 centuries. The materials of princely letters and church decrees examine the formation and development of the system of providing clergy in Ancient Russia. Initially, the maintenance of clergy was assumed by the state power in the person of the princes, who established with special documents the part that the churches, monasteries and representatives of the clergy of the region received. Over time, other sources appear in the form of duty fees for legal proceedings or kind donations. Of particular importance was the endowment of temples and monasteries with land. According to Byzantine custom, this land was not taxed, which provided a stable and significant income to church institutions. In general, it must be admitted that the initial stage of church history was marked by the formation of the church hierarchy in Russia, which, in terms of providing the clergy, resulted in a large role for the state. However, over the course of a century, the system begins to change, new sources of income for clergy appear, and princes are gradually removed from the maintenance of clergy.