The Participation of the Orthodox Clergy in the Realisation of the “State Affairs” in Siberia in the 17th Century

The incorporation of Siberia into the administrative and economic structure of the Russian state between the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a complex and multifaceted process. The question of the participation of the institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church and, more particularly, the Tobolsk Bishop’s House, has been considered in historiography since the nineteenth century. The idea of the broad powers of the first Siberian archbishops they exercised to supervise and control the activities of local governors is solidly established. However, no attention has been paid to the practical implementation of these functions. The author aims to determine the degree of involvement of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in secular administrative and managerial activities in Siberia in the seventeenth century. The study draws upon the correspondence between central government bodies and bishops and district governors, tsarist and governor instructions to the stewards of settlements, petitions and customs books from Russian archives and published collections of documents. The article reflects the process behind the search of management solutions by Moscow authorities. The main reasons for the government’s aspirations to involve representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in administrative and economic activities were the weakness of the centre-periphery connections, low executive discipline of local administrators, and the unresolved pressing problem of food supply in the region. Based on this, a range of extra-church duties was formed, which the secular authorities tried to involve the top leadership of the diocese and parish clergy in. Specific examples are given to illustrate the practices of implementing these intentions. It is concluded that the attempts to assign the first Siberian archbishop Cyprian with conducting a census of the West Siberian districts, regulating land use and taxation, as well as the powers of supervision of the bishops over local administrators recorded in the instructions, were more declarative in nature than real functions. Of significant importance for the central government was the fact that the archbishops were a channel of communication with the population of Siberia, independent of the governors, and an informant on the situation in the remote region. In reality, parish priests and church workers were involved in administrative activities. The parish clergy participated in the acceptance of grain into the state treasury, monitored the conscientious fulfillment of their duties by the tselovalniks (sworn men) and allottees. Archbishop Simeon tried to free the priests from this onerous duty, but the Moscow authorities did not completely abandon this practice. Being literate people, priests certified accounting documents and petitions. At the same time, due to their spiritual status, they acted as a kind of guarantor of the observance of state interests in the economic sphere and the reliability of the information provided. Clergymen performed the duties of scribes.