The career scenario of an official of the Ecclesiastical Department in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries (on the example of the secretaries of the Voronezh ecclesiastical consistory)

Abstract

This study investigates similarities in the careers for officials of Ecclesiastical Department. The method we applied was a prosopography and comparison of the career paths of five secretaries of Ecclesiastical consistories. The officials we selected were Consistorial secretaries in the Voronezh dioceses in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. We expected to find similar points in education, first and last place of service, additional duties as a secretary, rank and awards. The results obtained show that clerks of an ecclesiastical Consistory usually had graduated from an theological seminary or theological academy. After that, the young man worked for several years in the field of office work. It is interesting to note that all the officials in question served in St. Petersburg, in the office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod at different times of your life. The study provides strong evidence that service as an official of the spiritual Department had its own unique features in the Russian Empire.