The Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church on Sakhalin in the Middle of the 19th Century

The author describes the lofty and responsible mission that was entrusted to the Orthodox clergy in the process of developing the territory of Sakhalin Island. It was the second half of the 19th century that became the time of active development of the island by the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church. A special feature of life on the island was the status that was assigned to it in 1869 as a hard labor penal colony for thousands of prisoners serving their sentence. As prison clergy, the Sakhalin clergy carried out religious care for both imprisoned and free residents: migrant peasants, military men and their families, Sakhalin intelligentsia and indigenous inhabitants of the island. Historical documents, first introduced into scientific circulation, made it possible to reconstruct the diversity of pastoral work and the attitude of the clergy to fulfilling their duties within the boundaries of open parishes. Fulfilling difficult obediences, the Sakhalin priests combined the various talents of both shepherds and missionaries as well as teachers. The article was written on the basis of a report presented at the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “Empire and Church” (March 12–13, 2020), organized by the Historical Society of St. Petersburg Theological Academy.