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As in first two issues, subheading of the volume in this case – “Deaneries of the Moscow Region and New Moscow” – implies this theme, although only about two thirds of the materials of the book find room within the framework of the stated subject. At the same time one third of the collection is materials of already traditional “foreign” direction. Subheading stated theme refers to a number of analytic categories and factors, related to administrative reforms, and territorial organization of church life, its geography, and a kind of “ecology” within urban and rural environment. However, as gathered materials – deep expert interviews and analysis findings are collected and prepared for publishing by sociologists, namely sociologists who suggest specific view of occurring processes in the Church, which formed a certain approach to their research, key points in these materials are highlighted in a certain way. The subject firstly suggests discerning the role of geographic, “ecologic” factors in church, parish live. A territory formerly being rural, and, as a result of administrative reform, “transferred” into a city, and not just a city, but a metropolitan city – what are the changes in the lives of priests, parishioners, ministers, everybody who helps at parish? What personal and social dimension has the reform of administrative and canonic forms of church administration got? In what way theological and ecclesiologic issues are seen in terms of personal, biographic stories?
The first part of the volume named as “Orthodox Parish in the Structure of Deanery: Territorial and Administrative Factors Impact” consists of interview of two rural dean districts in the Moscow Region and New Moscow. There are two different biographic stories, but the common vision of the essence of their ministerial mission and care work of deanery’s parishes.
The second part of the volume consists of priests’ interviews of these two deaneries, they are more “focused” on the range of parishioners’ problems, ministerial issues of parish formation, parish core group, trust, entering to parish community, etc. For our purpose this direction could be named “sociology in the service of practical pastor theology”, although sociology of Orthodoxy, possibly, has a space not only for being useful, but also for some theoretical resources, which are necessary for the correct understanding of those problems that are stated by parish priests.
The third part of the volume “Woman’s Role at Parish” gives a “voting right” for traditionally, as it seems in the Church, “silent” woman. Priests’ wives and helpmates see their parishes as big family, as a continuation of their own family, tell about parishes’ problems, what do they feel in everyday life through the kaleidoscopic prism of “cleaning, cooking, sewing, when it’s necessary, holiday script writing, church floristry, office management, etc.”; behind a personal female story there is a “theology of everyday life”, day-to-day Christian ministering and commitment and love.
In the fourth part “Orthodox Parish in Russia: View of Parishioners” is raised a question of universalism and local specifics relation, problem of general church programs and their adaptability to a certain parish, within local conditions, which can be very special. Working with youth, catechesis, teaching at Sunday-school – contribution made into parish’s activity by parishioners, which interviews are included in this part.
Interviews with priests of the Russian Orthodox Church parishes in Kuala Lumpur, Bayo
The last section includes analysis findings, namely, academic papers concerned with the research of deanery and parish in the context of deanery. The paper of Candidate of Sociology M.A. Podlesnaya offers to consider the resources of theoretical approach of studying urban environment impact, developed by the representatives of Chicago School, in studying parishes’ problems and organizing church five and cooperation of parishes at the level of deanery. The paper of Candidate of Sociology I.S. Bidikhova represents results of analysis of this data survey of church and non-church part of population within the concerned deanery territories from the point of view of their evaluation of well-being, optimism, and activity of deanery’s parishes in the context of social space theory.
Attachments include additional information of some churches of deaneries of Nikolsky and Kashirsky districts, and information about the churchmen who are the authors of the offered volume as well. We would like to express our gratitude to them, for their time and energy, in taking part in the research.
Also we would like to thank the management of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University for provided financial and moral support during the last five years, all project coordinators living and serving in the most diverse countries worldwide, but effectively supporting and meeting us at the time of our research mission.
We would like to mention contribution of two rural dean archpriests into creation and prep aration of this volume – Alexander Вalgley and Vitaly Kotsenko, who have believed in our research, organized the “field”, accommodated study group together with students, assistants of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and took care of all our needs with fatherly love. We can’t help mentioning the prior of the Church of the Assumption in Aleksandrovo (Schapovo) of the Nikolsky deanery – archpriest Georgy Evarastov, who welcomed us with open arms and accommodated us in the territory of his church, providing us with all the things we need during all our stay at the Nikolsky deanery.
Finally, we express special gratitude to O.V. Trofimova, our reviewer and editor, who has been working with us for many years and also to all students of the Faculty of Social Sciences, who took part in interviews and its transcription.
Часть 1
Православный приход в структуре благочиния. Влияние территориального и административного факторов
Служение в непростом районе
Протоиерей Виталий Коценко, благочинный Каширского округа, настоятель Успенского собора г. Каширы: «Считаю самым главным для священника – нужно восстанавливать души человеческие, направить их на путь в Царство Небесное. Путь, который дается большим трудом, трудом молитвы, смирения и послушания».
Родился я в русском городе Оренбурге. Когда мне было семь лет, мои родители переехали в Казахстан, там же я пошел в школу. По окончании школы поступил в железнодорожное училище, далее железнодорожный техникум, а затем пошел служить в армию. Когда вернулся из армии, пытался пробовать себя на гражданке, работал в депо и какое-то время на буровой, но быстро понял, что это не мое, и решил связать свою жизнь с вооруженными силами. В армии я прослужил почти десять лет, и у меня было уже двое детей, когда я решил креститься. Само желание креститься у меня возникло благодаря настойчивости моей супруги, которая к тому моменту стала работать просфорницей в храме и очень переживала, что я – военный, участвующий в военных действиях (тогда уже происходили конфликты в Азербайджане, Армении, Грузии), и некрещеный. В результате в 1989 году крестились я и двое моих маленьких сыновей одновременно.