THE CASE OF THE TAURIDE EUNUCHS» AND THE PARTICIPATION OF CHURCH EXPERTS IN IT

Dik Georg

In 1876, in the Tauride province, the largest trial of eunuch sectarians in the Russian Empire of the 19th century took place - “The Case of the Tauride Eunuchs”. The purpose of the article is to study the process and the participation of church experts in it. Tasks: to consider the causes and course of the case; highlight the history of the revival of the sect; reveal the essence of the religious views of the defendants; show the results of church expertise; determine the result and features of the process. Methods used: induction and deduction, historical and chronological method, system approach method. Results: The case of 1876 is the largest trial of sectarians in the 19th century. in Russia; ecclesiastical experts took part in the trial; activity of sectarian preachers from Moldavia was discovered; the birth of "new-scops" was established. Conclusions: the main reasons for the process are the identification of an eunuch in the village. Timoshevka and the preaching of Moldovan preachers; the revival of the sect began in 1871 in Moldavia; religious views were based on belief in a "Redeemer" and castration; ecclesiastical expertise established the emergence of "new-scum", showed the means of sectarians to avoid persecution from the government; out of 128 defendants, 76 were found guilty by a court decision; a large number of defendants and a great frankness of the accused are features of the process.

Keywords:eunuchs; sect; Orthodox Church; expert activity; Tauride Seminary.