Charitable organizations helping the needy based on the materials of the journal Izvestiya po Sankt-Peterburgskoy eparkhii (1895-1915)

The journal Izvestiya po Sankt-Peterburgskoy eparkhii was the main information source in the St. Petersburg Diocese in 1895-1917. Its pages described various aspects of the church life of the city and the diocese, parish activities, and monasteries. This journal contains descriptions of the activities of communities, trustees, houses of diligence, charity houses, charitable organizations, and statistical data. Many charitable organizations were not limited only to helping those in need, but also took care of the spiritual and moral state of those being treated. These materials have not been studied until recently, however, they are of great interest in studying the history of diakonia and the social policy of the Church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Russia. The purpose of the article is to show the range of activities, to characterize charitable church organizations in St. Petersburg in the late 19th-early 20th centuries based on the materials of the journal Izvestiya po Sankt- Peterburgskoy eparkhii . The tasks of the authors include the description and analysis of the activities of the main church charitable organizations to help the homeless, poor, needy women, and children. The authors use descriptive, historical, analytical research methods. Social issues today are relevant in church science, based on studies of pre-Revolutionary historical sources, we can conclude that the Church plays an important role in society, in particular, in the affairs of mercy and charity.