Comparative analysis of the forms and results of the missionary and educational activities of bishop Gurias (Burtasovsky) in the Far East and the Volga region

The article uses a number of examples drawn from archival documents to examine the missionary and educational activities of Bishop Gurias (Burtasovsky) in 1885-1907 in the Far East (Kamchatka Diocese) and in the Volga region (Samara and Simbirsk Dioceses), as well as a comparison of the forms and results of this activity in these regions. The variety of forms of missionary service and educational activities of Bishop Gurias (Burtasovsky) is revealed taking into account the peculiarities of the listed dioceses and includes participation in missionary travels and preaching to foreigners, organizing parish schools, countering sectarians and schismatics, nurturing parishes of the same faith, etc. The analyzed material illustrates the growing role of the missionary in a difficult historical period, which at the turn of the century experienced the spiritual mission of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Empire as a whole.