VII. Материальные средства церковных учреждений и церковного управления
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The material resources of church institutions are made up of local diocesan revenues, special funds of the Holy Synod and, finally, from amounts released from the State Treasury.
Local revenues in dioceses are made up of:
1) church collections: circle, purse and candle collections;
2) income from quitrent items and interest from church capital;
3) amounts collected by parish trustees affiliated with churches, and
4) amounts of diocesan trusteeship for the care of the poor of the clergy.
Received: 1) mug and purse income:
in 1896 - 5,673,657 rubles. 53 1/2 kop.
» 1897 » 5.873.284 » 101/2 »
2) from immovable estates: lands, fishing grounds, leased premises and other items, the churches received:
In 1896 - 5,745,779 rubles. 68 3/4 kop.
» 1897 » 6.192.980 » 99 1/4 »
3) church and parish trustee amounts:
In 1896 - 3,114,327 rubles. 50 kopecks
» 1897 » 3.445.370 » 11/4 »
2) Special means of the Holy Synod
According to the income estimate, the special funds of the Holy Synod received:
in 1896 - 7,619,416 rubles.
More significant amounts of income were:
a) leave from the State Treasury benefits:
in 1896 - 2,195,268 rubles.
b) interest collection on church income:
in 1896 - 1,676,188 rubles.
c) interest on spiritual and educational capital:
in 1896 - 1,288,220 rubles.
d) interest on printing capital, from the sale of books, etc.:
in 1896 - 604,550 rubles.
e) temporary land tax for the construction of post office premises in 9 western provinces:
in 1896 - 513,062 rubles.
More significant expenses from the special funds of the Holy Synod were assigned:
a) for the maintenance of management persons and students in religious educational institutions:
in 1896 - 3,122,716 rubles.
b) for the maintenance of pupils:
in 1896 - 1,188,325 rubles.
c) for hiring, repairs, heating, lighting and maintenance of houses and servants:
in 1896 - 565,598 rubles.
d) for the construction of buildings for religious educational institutions and their renovation:
in 1896 - 340,000 rubles.
e) for the maintenance of personnel for the management of printing houses in St. Petersburg and Moscow and for the expenses for the activities of these printing houses:
in 1896 - 510,842 rubles.
f) for the costs of setting up post office premises:
3) Amounts released from the treasury
From the State Treasury, according to the financial estimate of the Holy Synod, the following was allocated for the maintenance of church institutions:
in 1896 - 17,707,485 rubles.
1) for the maintenance of the central administration of the Holy Synod:
in 1896 - 262,514 rubles.
2) for the maintenance of bishops' houses, cathedrals and suffragan bishops:
in 1896 - 837,922 rubles.
3) for the maintenance of spiritual consistories and boards:
in 1896 - 730.388 rubles.
4) for the maintenance of laurels and monasteries:
in 1896 - 411,904 rubles.
5) for the maintenance of urban and rural clergy, missions and missionaries:
in 1896 - 8,532,814 rubles.
6) to satisfy the church construction needs of the ecclesiastical department:
in 1896 - 554,955 rubles.
7) for the maintenance of synodal buildings:
in 1896 - 10,541 rubles.
8) to improve the maintenance of religious educational institutions:
in 1896 - 5,716,405 rubles.
in 1896 - 545,944 rubles.
10) for the maintenance of Orthodox religious institutions abroad:
in 1896 - 134,098 rubles.
Financial situation of the parish clergy
The material means of subsistence among the clergy are not the same, depending on the state of the parishes. The clergy of urban and rural populous Orthodox parishes have sufficient funds, but those of sparsely populated or with a significant sectarian population do not have sufficient funds and even in some parishes are meager. The city clergy was supported by voluntary donations from parishioners for corrections and interest on capital belonging to the clergy; The main means of livelihood for the rural clergy is the use of land in the amount of 33, 49, 66 and rarely more than tens of acres per state. The number of clergy receiving state salaries increases year by year. In the same way, the number of clergy provided with church or public premises is gradually increasing. But such parables are still relatively few. Land income is not the same in all dioceses.
In other dioceses, church lands are sometimes 20 miles or more away from the residence of the clergy, often located in places without water and therefore poorly suitable for farming, and in the majority are not cultivated by members of the clergy, but are leased out for a low fee. But there are not always those willing to rent church lands, and sometimes even an insignificant rent has to be received with various kinds of installments and underpayments. The fee for required corrections is variable and not the same everywhere. While in good years the income from parishioners for corrections in many parishes reaches a fairly decent amount, in lean years they decrease significantly and sometimes equal 200 rubles per year for the entire clergy. Sometimes it happens that clergy, out of fear that their parishioners, due to lack of funds, will avoid fulfilling Christian requirements, perform such requirements for them for free.
In general, the clergy is dependent on the parishioners, which prevents the establishment of correct relations between pastors and flocks, giving our sectarians a reason to denigrate the clergy in the eyes of the Orthodox, and accuse the clergy of extortion.
The situation of the supernumerary clergy and the orphaned families of clergy is extremely difficult. Upon the death or retirement of a clergyman, his family is left without any means and lives an almost miserable life. It is rare that one of the clergy during his service can set aside for himself a rainy day in order to somehow live with his family in his old age.
Thanks to an annual increase of 500,000 rubles. loans for the maintenance of urban and rural clergy in 1896, 21,391 clergy received maintenance from the state treasury, and in 1897 the number of clergy receiving such maintenance had already increased to 22,694.
Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K. Pobedonostsev