The article deals with the descriptions by the Archpriest of the Holy Cross Church in Arzamas, Ioann Sakharov (1789-1867) of the near-church customs and superstitions of the residents of Arzamas and the county of Arzamas in the late 40-s of the XIX century, which have not yet become the subject of special study. Despite the high level of Orthodox culture, which distinguished the population of the city and its county in the middle of the XIX century, non-canonical religious customs and prejudices were widespread among the people. The work of Archpriest Ioann Sakharov «Statistical description of monasteries and churches of Arzamas city and its county», written on the instructions of the diocesan authorities in 1848-1849 in accordance with the program for collecting historical information developed by professor of the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary Makariy (Mirolyubov N.K.), contains descriptions of a number of near-church customs and superstitions characteristic of residents of Arzamas region. The nature of these descriptions and the author's explanations to them, revealing their deep sacred meaning, testify to the scientific approach of Archpriest I. Sakharov to understanding the near-church manifestations of the religious life of the people. The article pays special attention to the discussion about the presence in the content of the program of professor Makariy, sent to all parishes and churches of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese at the end of October 1848, the issue of local superstitions. The analysis of the structure and content of the historical and statical description of the monasteries and temples of Archpriest I. Sakharov, which includes the obligatory mention of near-church rites and superstitions, suggests that the program of Professor Makariy contains a question about the results of customs and superstitions, which is also an important fact of high appreciation of the work of the Arzamas archpriest by the diocesan authorities. At the end of the article, a conclusion is made that Archpriest I. Sakharov in his work was the first to systematize the near-church customs and superstitions of the residents of Arzamas and 13 villages of the Arzamas district and thereby left a noticeable mark in the history of the studying the religious culture and life of the population of the south of the Nizhny Novgorod province of the XIX century.
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