Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2015 number

The manuscript collection compiled by V.I. Makarov, a leader of Tyumen community of Philipovtsy Old-Believers in the late XIX - early XX centuries, is kept in the fonds of the Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It includes a wide range of writings in the form of dialogues between a “nastavnik” (church leader, preceptor) with opponents representing the official church or other denominations. These “dialogue” writings were based on the disputes that had really taken place. Analysis of Makarov’s guidelines helped to clarify his views on how the disputes should be arranged. The author determined the speakers’ position during the discussion, the speaking order, established rules for the spectators’ behaviour. Descriptions of some specific «conversations» included into collections by Makarov show that participants in fact did not always follow the proposed rules. An attempt of the leader of Tymen Philippovtsy to regulate and control an unpredictable emotional process of disputes is a valuable evidence of the community’s intensive inner life. Texts describing the most interest disputes were copied and distributed among Old-Believers as well as sent to other regions. On the basis of an analysis of the texts of certain “dialogues” a conclusion was made that although these texts contained many quotes and references to appropriate book chapters, they were written in the language of “colloquial speech” and meant for reading aloud. Lots of moral adages about a true Christian’s mortal life and destination show that the author addressed not the opponents but mostly the Old-Believers of his own community. The “dialogues” were a convenient excuse for preaching aimed a t establishing his coreligionists in their faith.