THE PROBLEM OF INFORMATION VALUE OF CONFESSIONAL STATEMENTS IN HISTORICAL LITERATURE

The article considers the achievements of modern Russian historiography in the field of compiling documents for demographic census registration by the parish Orthodox clergy in the synodic period of the Russian Orthodox Church. Among the problems that have been the most reflected, especially in the regional historiography of recent decades are the external features of confessional statements, changes in their forms during the XVIII–XIX centuries, the estates groups and strata represented in them, changes in the composition of parish families over several years, the gender and age composition of parishioners, migration processes within a one particular locality. The greatest value undoubtedly is the statistical data on the performance of Christian sacraments of confession and communion by parishioners. The works of researchers who analyze and use ecclesiastical signed documents, note a huge information potential of this type of historical sources. Ecclesiastical signed documents reveal not only the peculiarities in the social structure of an individual parish, diocese or eparchy as a whole. They are a fairly reliable indicator of the population’s introduction to the Orthodox faith and rites, especially beginning from the early XIX century, when the possibilities of data falsification by the parish clergy were minimized. This type of mass sources, such as signed documents, makes it possible to consider the history of everyday life, household and housing conditions, the distance of the village to the temple. The revealed shortcomings in ecclesiastical signed documents include the following: fixing the population only present in the parish, giving amorphous reasons for non-fulfillment of the sacraments such as «failure», «negligence», inaccurate determination of parishioners’ age in remote parish villages, real attitude of believers to the church and dogmas.

The physical and dynamical characteristics of the asteroid 4940 Polenov

The asteroid (1986 QY4) 4940 Polenov is the first Solar system object whose 3D shape is determined using the observations from the newly built Astronomical Station Vidojevica (ASV). Here we present the results of photometric observations for Polenov, gathered from the ASV, and from the Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory (BNAO) Rozhen, during 2014, 2019 and 2020 apparitions. Polenov is a 17.8km object located in the outer part of the main belt and belongs to the asteroid family Themis. We have determined the lightcurves, the synodic period of 4.161?0.001 h, as well as the solution for the shape and spin axis. Using the lightcurve inversion method, the combination of our lightcurves and the sparse data from ATLAS{HKO and ATLAS-MLO, we also found the sidereal period, indicating a retrograde rotation of the asteroid, with two possible mirrored pole solutions. The ratio of the largest to smallest reecting surface is about 1.4. In addition, we studied the dynamical properties of the asteroid and obtained a long stability time that exceeds 0.4 Gyrs.

Orthodox clergy and flock of parishes of the Ob North: the economic aspect of relations (XVIII – early XX centuries)

Introduction: the article notes that the Ob Ugrians who converted to Christianity throughout the synodic period (XVIII – early XX centuries) interacted with the Orthodox clergy on a wide range of problems, including economic activity. The study of this interaction allows characterizing the factors that influenced the financial situation, occupations of the indigenous population of the Tobolsk North, and traditional culture in general. Objective: to characterize the forms, specifics and results of economic relations between the Orthodox clergy and the Ob Ugrians in the synodic period (XVIII – early XX centuries). Research materials: correspondence, accounts, reports of archpriests, heads of dioceses, diocesan bishops, as well as publications in periodicals about the interaction of the Orthodox clergy with the Ob Ugrians on economic issues. Results and novelty of the research: the study has shown that the clergy promoted the involvement of the Ob Ugrians in goods-money relations and the intensification of economic activities related to the need to provide for church needs. It was not the direct, but the indirect influence of the Orthodox clergy on the newly baptized. This influence evolved from exploitation mainly due to non-equivalent trade and various fees to the desire to use the potential of the Russian Orthodox Church to spread Russian culture and new economic activities among the «backward» peoples (as it was then considered) of the Tobolsk North. For the first time in Russian historiography, the evolution of forms, the specifics and results of economic relations between the Orthodox clergy and the Ob Ugrians in the synodic period are shown.

Sacraments of confession and communion in the «foreign» parishes of the Tobolsk North (XVIII – early XX centuries)

Introduction: the article notes that in the spread of Orthodoxy among the indigenous population of North-West Siberia, Christian rituals played a special role, among which confession and communion are distinguished. The study of the influence of these sacraments on newly baptized allows to better understand the methods of Christianization of the region, peculiarities of relations of the Orthodox clergy and the «foreign» congregation, the nature of interaction of representatives of two different cultures: arrived and autochthonous. Objective: to identify the regional specifics of organization and conduction of the sacraments of confession and communion in the «foreign» parishes of North-West Siberia during the synodic period, forms and results of influence of Orthodox rituals on the indigenous population. Research materials: a sample of confession and clerical records of the parishes of Beryozovsky and Surgutsky Districts, correspondence, reports of abbots, deans about the participation of indigenous people in the sacraments of confession and communion. Results and novelty of the research: the study showed that the timely fulfillment of Orthodox rituals by the «foreigners» required considerable efforts from the parish clergy and was a constant concern of the diocesan leadership. The majority of the newly baptized were generally loyal to confession and communion, which were also one of the instruments of control over the religious life of the indigenous population. Along with other elements of Christianity, confession and communion contributed to the penetration of certain elements of Russian everyday culture into its environment and the formation of religious syncretism. In the scientific literature, no research has been conducted on their impact on the newly baptized people of the Tobolsk North.

The Planets in Aboriginal Australia

Studies in Australian Indigenous astronomical knowledge reveal few accounts of the visible planets in the sky. However, what information we do have tells us that Aboriginal people are close observers of planets and their motions and properties. Indigenous Australians discerned between planets and stars by their placement in the sky and their general lack of scintillation. Traditions generally describe the ecliptic and zodiac as a pathway of sky ancestors represented by the sun, moon, and planets. This included observing the occasional backwards motion of sky ancestors as they communicate with each other during their journey across the sky, representing an explanation of retrograde motion. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people note the relative brightness of the planets over time and information about the roles they play in their traditions around Australia. Knowledge systems outline the importance placed on Venus as the morning and evening star, making connections to the object as it transitions form one to the other through observations and calculation of the planet’s synodic period. Traditions note the relative positions of the planets to the moon, sun, and background stars, as well as inter planetary dust through zodiacal light, which is perceived as a celestial rope connecting Venus to the sun. The relative dearth of descriptions of planets in Aboriginal traditions may be due to the gross incompleteness of recorded astronomical traditions and of ethnographic bias and misidentification in the anthropological record. Ethnographic fieldwork with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is revealing new, previously unrecorded knowledge about the planets and their related phenomena.

Research on the Motion of Mars in the Sovereign Pole System (a.d. 600)

The Sovereign Pole System (a.d. 600) is the first Chinese system to take account of the equation of centre for the sun and planets in the planetary theory. In this paper, we mainly discuss the motion of Mars in the Sovereign Pole System. First, we discuss the algorithm for calculating the time of Mars’ first appearance, especially we discuss the influence of the equation of centre for the sun and Mars at the time of Mars’ first appearance. Then, we discuss the segmented motion of Mars in one single synodic period and its accuracy. Finally, we discuss the method for computing the position of Mars at any given time and the error in longitude of Mars. The result shows that the innovations in planetary theory found in the Sovereign Pole System were a fruitful development in ancient Chinese planetary theory and it obviously improved the accuracy of calculation of the position of Mars. However, the planetary theory in the Sovereign Pole System is still relatively rough because it was impossible for Sui astronomers to obtain the correct model of the motion of planet.