“They Are Quite Unable to Bear the Service…”: The Maintenance of Re tired Military Personnel in the Monasteries of Belozerye in the 17th – 18th Centuries

The article explores the organization of charitable support for soldiers who were unfit for service in the monasteries of Belozerye during the 17th – the 1st half of the 18th century. In the 17th century, forms of assistance included noncontributory tonsure into monastic life, accommodations within the monastery funded by the monastery itself, and fi nancial support for retired personnel residing outside the monastic community. Peter I, in a course of both military and religious reforms, leveraged this established practice, designating the charitable support of veterans as a primary function of the monasteries. He issued several laws regulating the stay of retired warriors in monasteries. Under Empress.