DEMETRIUS (ABASHIDZE), CHURCH DISCIPLINE AND THE PROBLEM OF BAPTISM OF JEWS IN TURKESTAN AND CRIMEA

Abstract

The article analyzes Bishop Dimitri (Abashidze)’s position on the Jewish issue based on documents from the Central State Archive of Kyrgyzstan and research published in recent years in the Russian Federation. Previously, the focus of readers’ attention was on his political position and attitude to interfaith and interethnic dialogue during the revolutionary upheavals of 1917 and the Civil War, and this time the time of his ministry in Turkestan is being considered. During the writing of the article, the authors came to the conclusion that Bishop Dimitry was not an advocate of anti-Semitism, but he strictly ensured that Orthodox priests in Central Asia strictly fulfilled their pastoral duties and ensured that former Jews did not convert to Christianity in order to receive preferences from the authorities. The fact was highlighted that the general condition of the clergy before Bishop Dimitri’s transfer to the territory of Turkestan left much to be desired, and after his transfer to the region, the bishop did his best to raise church discipline and strive to raise the general level of education of the clergy, as well as the growing influence of the Orthodox Church in the region. In support of the thesis about the bishop’s opposition to anti-Semitism, the authors of the article also cite examples from the Crimean period of his ministry during the First World War, when the degree of national contradictions was quite high. Russian Episcopate The article is one of the materials aimed at revealing the political position of the Russian Episcopate during the First World War and the Great Russian Revolution.