RT Article
T1 Organization and work of missionaries in the Middle-Volga in the second half of the nineteenth century
JF Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
VO 6
IS 2
SP 173
OP 186
A1 Bryan, Fanny E.
LA English
YR 1995
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1670604756
AB The missionary effort of the Orthodox Church in the Middle-Volga—a region conquered by Russia in the sixteenth century and inhabited by an ethnically heterogeneous population practising Islam or a variety of indigenous religions—had led to the formation of important communities of converts. But until the nineteenth century, the church made essentially no effort to educate the converts in the meaning and content of the Orthodox faith and movements of apostasy were frequent. In the mid-nineteenth century, an outstanding group of missionaries, concerned about the spread of Islam among the nominally Christian communities, began to deploy an important activity to enlighten converts in the Orthodox faith. Their methods—evangelization, education, and propaganda in native languages—were novel and radical. Concerned with the defence of nominally Christian populations against Muslim influences, anti-Muslim activity was an important aspect of work of the missionaries. Missionaries developed a substantial anti-Islamic literature and used their considerable influence to harm the Muslims culturally and politically. The legacy of the missionary experience contributed to the continuing distrust between Russians and indigenous peoples.