The teaching activities of the scholarly monasticism at the Alexander Nevsky Spiritual Academy (1797–1808)

The subject of the research is the teaching activities of monastic teachers at the Alexander Nevsky Theological Academy at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The analysis of legislation illustrates the privileged status of the Theological Academy, characterized by a special curriculum and systematic training of seminarians for teaching positions in seminaries and academies. Information is provided about the increase in the number of monastic teachers at the Alexander Nevsky Academy and the spiritual schools attended by the monks. Special attention is given to the education of the academy's students in philosophy, history, poetics, and foreign languages. An important component of the study is the examination of the interaction between teachers and students at the academy, manifested in the teaching of sermon composition and the organization of student debates. This allows for the tracing of the formation of the academy's teaching staff. The study also addresses the teachers' attitudes toward changes in the organization of the educational process. The research is based on a historical-systems method, which highlights and analyzes the components of spiritual education at the Alexander Nevsky Academy: subjects and classes, teaching methods, the delivery of sermons, and the organization of debates. Using content analysis, the study examines the academic records of the Alexander Nevsky Theological Academy: the composition of students, the curriculum, and the academic performance of pupils. A social portrait of the monastic teachers of the Theological Academy is presented. The positions of Bishops Gavriil (Petrov) and Amvrosiy (Podobedov) regarding the formation of the teaching staff of the metropolitan academy are presented. The information about the scientific, educational, and theological works of the teachers allows for an examination of the directions of the academy’s scientific-theological school. Based on the analysis of unpublished documents from the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA), the Central State Historical Archive of Saint Petersburg (TsGIA SPb), the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian National Library (OR RNB), and Russian legislation, the features of the curriculum of the Alexander Nevsky Theological Academy and the state's attitude toward the issues of preparing students of theological educational institutions for teaching activities are analyzed. The state's interest in training literate pastors is confirmed by a number of legislative acts dedicated to enhancing the status of theological educational institutions and regulating the educational order.