Sermons for prisons by J. Brewster as the first manual for prison chaplains

The author of this article describes the unique historical source, Sermons for Prisons. To which are Added Prayers for the Use of Prisoners in Solitary Confinement (1790) by John Brewster, the Vicar of Durham (England). Te author analyzes the content of Sermons in the context of penal reform in the United Kingdom, launched in connection with the adoption of the Penitentiary Act of 1779. Te main content of the prison reforms was the transition from the practice of retributive punishment to the system of penal correction. Religion was declared the primary resource of penal correction, and this led to the first statement of the social institute of prison chaplains in the UK. Brewster’s Sermons for Prisons probably became the earliest printed edition of this kind. In his sermons, Brewster preached to prisoners to consider imprisonment as an opportunity to review their life and to realize the vicious nature of their behavior. He viewed their confinement as a chance for the blessings of the Gospel on the one hand, and for resocialization on the other.