The first revision in Tambov Theological Seminary: circumstances and results

The article presents the analysis of the control and auditing activities held by the Educational Committee under the Holy Synod and its contribution to the theological educational development based on the example of Tambov Theological Seminary’s inspection carried out in 1873 by auditor I. K. Zinchenko. The subject of the study is thus the revision held in Tambov Seminary, which was first carried out after the reform of the theological educational system in the 1960s and at the same time before the transformation of Tambov Theological Seminary which took place in 1877. The principle of comprehensive analysis, historicism and scientific objectivity made it possible to carry out the research and characterize the position of the seminary, which the auditor discovered and recorded in his report. At the same time, special attention is paid to the impact of audit results on the further course of the theological seminary’s development, and it became possible to present the concept of the control and audit activities’ role in the development of theological education in general. The study shows that the revision carried out at Tambov Theological Seminary in 1873 revealed a number of shortcomings of both educational and administrative nature. For the auditor, it was of great importance to find out the causes of the existing problems, and it was important not only for their elimination in the seminary under auditing, but also for the subsequent preparation of circular definitions for all theological educational institutions. While carrying out the audit, I. K. Zinchenko found out a number of circumstances that had the most negative impact on the course of both educational and administrative work, and the auditor paid the greatest attention to the disagreements among the superiors. As a result of the audit, prescriptions that the board of the seminary needed to follow and to fulfill by the next audit were made, and it took place immediately after the transformation of the seminary. As a result of the study based on the example of Tambov Theological Seminary, it became possible to conclude that the control and auditing activities of the Educational Committee under the Holy Synod played an important role in theological schools’ formation and development and was an important factor in identifying and eliminating shortcomings both in particular seminaries and in the system of theological education as a whole.