CULTURE-FORMING ROLE OF THE MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN ALTAI IN THE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Altai Spiritual Mission was established by the Decree of the Holy Synod of December 24, 1828. However, the actual formation of the mission refers to 1830, when the first permanent missionaries headed by the Reverend Archimandrite Macarius (Glukharev) came to Altai. Since that time, the purposeful work of Christian education in various fields of activities has started: baptism, provision of literacy skills, education, and charity, administrative and organizational initiatives, involving indigenous local communities in the values of the sedentary lifestyle. The article reveals the specificity of the missionary approach in the formation of sedentariness in Altai nomads. Based on the study of the archival documents, new documents on the role of the Altai Spiritual Mission in the formation of the sedentary lifestyle among the indigenous inhabitants of Gorny Altai (Altai Mountains) in the 19th - early 20th centuries are introduced into the scientific circulation.