History and contents of the Podolsk Diocesan Gazette

Abstract

Podolsk diocesan Gazette is one of the journals that began to be published in the mid-19th century in every diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. These publications are of great historical value to the modern historian, as they provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the life, problems and interests of Orthodox clergy and laity of provincial Russia in the middle of XIX - early XX centuries. This article is a brief study of the history of the church magazine "Podolsk diocesan Gazette" - the official periodical of the Podolsk diocese. Territorially the diocese was located in in the southwestern part of the Russian Empire and was created after the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the annexation of this territory to Russia. The magazine contained official decrees of the Synod and the ruling bishop, a diocesan chronicle, and statistical data on churches, parishes, and monasteries, notes on history and theology, the best sermons of the clergy, discussed spiritual education, liturgical issues, domestic, agricultural issues, and more. The magazine's authors included both the ruling bishop and village priests, who also had an opportunity to raise issues directly related to their parish ministry. In the context of the general state of the press in the Russian Empire, this article examines the purpose of the publication, the history of the program, the themes and rubrication of articles of the Podolsk eparchial gazette, traces the contribution of the ruling bishops in the process of their publication, and highlights the names of the editors and the main authors of the magazine.