«To see the spiritual homeland of Christians»

The article analyzes the structure and content of petitions for assistance in pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Palestine) of Orthodox Russians for the period from 1882 to 1914, managed in the chancellery of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. It is noted that the petitions came exclusively from low-income representatives of the city and village, most of whom were women. It is concluded that both the number of petitions and the geography of their authors' placement during the studied period expanded. It is noted that the content of the analyzed sources reflected ideas about the State being personified in members of the royal family, which constituted one of the traditional features of the mentality of ordinary Russians. The motives for pilgrimage stated in the petitions were exclusively vows for illness and recovery, the desire for spiritual renewal. The authors not only ask for help, but also in return use their prayers or actions to compensate for the incurred expenses. The relationship is noted between the beginning of the dissemination in Russia of information about the holy regions of the East by the diocesan departments of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society through the organization of public readings and the development of corresponding directions in the Holy Land in pilgrimage.

Homeland · Land of Israel · Palestine · Period (music) · Pilgrimage · State (computer science) · Historical and Political Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Soviet and Russian History