Организация епархиальной миссии в отношении мусульман г. Касимова Рязанской губернии епископом Мелетием (Якимовым) в 1896–1900 гг.

Establishment of a Diocesan Mission by Bishop Meletius (Yakimov) for Muslims in the Town of Kasimov, Ryazan Province (1896–1900)

The Ryazan period of the ministry of Bishop Meletii (Yakimov) has been studied in considerable detail, including analysis of his contribution to the development of missionary activities in the Ryazan region. However, researchers have failed to highlight one of Bishop Meletii’s most important achievements, i. e. organization of a mission in the Kasimov district of the Ryazan province to improve Christianization of the Tatar population. Dealing with this topic, historians have either described the establishment of the Kasimov mission only in fragments, without using materials of the Russian State Historical Archive, or drew conclusions that contradicted historical reality. In the article, on the basis of published and unpublished archival documents, inaccuracies in the research of predecessors are identified, their conclusions are corrected, and the picture of the organization and development of the Kasimov mission is reconstructed. Special attention is given to the achievements of the Kasimov missionaries during Bishop Meletius’s tenure at the Ryazan diocese. The archival documents on the activity of the Kasimov mission are introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time.