Peculiarities of Pastoral Counseling during the Sacraments on the Materials of the Journal “Guide for Rural Pastors”

Abstract

Today, in view of the many external and internal church challenges, the issues of pastoral ministry, including pastoral counseling, are increasingly raised in church discourse. Increasing attention is paid to the theoretical and practical aspects of pastorology serving in the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church, which train future clergy. In this regard, the appeal to the pastoral experience of previous historical periods, which is imprinted in various sources, is of particular importance. One of the least developed varieties of domestic pastorological sources so far is pastoral periodicals – a set of pre-revolutionary periodicals published for the Orthodox clergy of the Russian Empire, including the first and most famous pastoral journals – “Guide for rural pastors” (RDSP). On the example of reviewing a number of publications of the journal devoted to the issues of pastoral counseling during sacraments, the author notes the value of these materials as a source for studying the pastoral experience of the clergy of the post-reform period, which, in turn, can be used in solving modern problems of pastoral serving. These materials are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.