Abstract
<jats:p>The aim of the study is to examine and analyze the participation of Orthodox missionary priests in the activities of the western and southern provincial departments of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) in the late 19th — early 20th centuries. The methodological basis of the research is formed by the principle of a systems approach and historicism, as well as historical-chronological, historical-genetic and other methods. The research source base includes publications in the diocesan gazettes of the Chernigov, Warsaw, Volyn, Astrakhan, Stavropol, and Taurida dioceses, the Spiritual Bulletin of the Georgian Exarchate for the period from 1894 to 1916, annual reports of the Chernigov, Warsaw, Volyn, Astrakhan, Stavropol, Taurida, and Tiflis departments of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and notes on the activities of several departments of the Society in the «Communications of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society» for 1893–1917. Research results. In several western and southern provinces of the Russian Empire during the period under study, missionary work was a priority for church activity. Diocesan missionary priests were typically highly educated, versatile, and active individuals, involved in many aspects of the social life of the provinces where they served. Therefore, it is no coincidence that diocesan missionaries were members of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) in the Western and Southern Russian provincial departments of the Society and were active in this organization. Missionary priests often served as members of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) departments, serving as clerks, or serving on department councils. Some missionary priests and members of the IOPS were later ordained bishops. The missionary experience of these activists in the IOPS provincial departments contributed to the successful resolution of many of the departments’ tasks, from educational to organizational. Missionary priests were talented lecturers on the Palestine Readings and contributed to the recruitment of new members to the IOPS diocesan departments. They were often pilgrims themselves and facilitated pilgrimages for residents of the Russian provinces to the Christian holy sites of the East. The research’s future prospects include continuing to search for and analyze reliable information about the activities of missionaries-members of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) — in several provinces, as well as clarifying the biographies of IOPS members who suffered during the revolutionary turmoil and atheism to explore the possibility of initiating their subsequent canonization. This information will help us better understand the sociocultural processes of the pre-revolutionary years and their significance for subsequent Russian history.</jats:p>