Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2014 number

The clergy was one of the most educated social groups in Russia. However, the book culture of the clergy has been poorly studied , that is why searching for information about the libraries of the clergy can be of considerable interest. The article is devoted to the personal library of the Perm Archpriest Evgeny Popov. A few years after the owner’s death the library was acquired by the rural dean from the Solikamsk district Jacob Shestakov, who took it as a basis for organizing a district library. The library passed through the hands of two priests who shared common interests (missionary, educational and charitable activities) and a common fate. During the period of Great Reforms a new type of Orthodox cleric was formed. The clergy became engaged in social activities, actively cooperated with the laity in the field of social service, culture and science, while never forgetting their own special status. The library of E.A. Popov discloses first of all the professional interests of an educated cleric in the second half of the XIX century. Since the directions of the clergy’s inter-church and social activities in the late XIX - early XX centuries did not change, the private library could serve as the basis for a public library. Analysis of the library holdings allows to define more clearly the circle of reading of the parish clergy at the turn of the century. At the same time the early XX century witnessed the reduction in the number of deanery libraries which suggests an idea that the attempt to improve the clergy’s professional level and book culture by means of libraries failed due to both objective and subjective reasons.