The Orthodox mission in the Kazan Diocese in the XVIII – first half of the XIX century: from mass christianization to the policy of religious tolerance

the purpose of the article is to analyze the policy of spreading Orthodoxy in the Kazan diocese in the XVIII – first half of the XIX century among the local non-Russian population (inorodtsy). Based on the materials of historiography, archival documents and legislative acts, this article reflects the history of this policy and its results. The role and influence of state policy on the work of the Russian Church with the non-Russian population of the Kazan Diocese (non-Russians) on their conversion to Orthodoxy, which was determined by the close cooperation of secular and ecclesiastical authorities, is determined. The factors that led to the need to change approaches (radically) to the Christianization of the local population are noted. The author notes that the problem of mass apostasy from Orthodoxy in the first half of the 19th century led to the need to radically change the approach to missionary activity, to move from Christianization to Christian education. Christianization in the context of Russian history as a process is characterized by the transition from another religion (usually non-Christian) to Orthodoxy (the state religion) by one person or a group of people, including by force. The population of the Middle Volga region still retains its ethnic and religious diversity, which must be taken into account by the state when implementing national policy.

inorodtsy, Russian Church, missionary work, apostasy, Middle Volga region, Kazan Diocese, religious tolerance