MEMOIRS OF THE SIBERIAN ORTHODOX CLERGY OF THE 19TH CENTURY AND THE REGIONAL SIBERIAN LITERATURE

The initial thesis of my article is the unity between ecclesiastic and secular literature which Russian culture has preserved in the Modern period. The interrelation of ecclesiastic and secular traditions is shown here on the example of the Siberian regional literary process in the 19th century. We primarily focus on nonfiction written by the Orthodox clergy: memoirs, autobiographies, travel notes. Memoirs were a new phenomenon in church literature of late 18th ? early 19th centuries. These compositions were of special significance for the literature of Siberia: half of all memoirs of Siberians at that time were written by priests and missionaries. We argue that memoirs of the clergy can be considered not only as sources on the history of the Russian church, but also as cultural texts and literary monuments. All major features of the 19th century Siberian regional literature are conspicuous here: a focus on Siberia proper, a combination of art and non-fiction, a special importance of prevalence of a genre of travel notes, etc. In their genre poetics and language, memoirs of the clergy also followed the practices of secular literature, which made them an integral part of the regional historical and literary process. At the same time, literary works of the clergy preserved the specific features of religious consciousness and the link with traditional church literature, primarily hagiography and pilgrim travelogues. It can be seen, for example, in the sacralization of the Siberian space and the strong emphasis on apostolic service.