Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Christianization of the native peoples of Yakutia, the Sakha (Yakuts), Evenks, Evens, and Yukaghirs, began as an integral part of tsarist policy in northeast Asia during the mid-seventeenth century soon after Yakutia was joined to russia . Conversion to eastern orthodoxy was considered an effective way of consolidating the various peoples of the Lena region politically, economically and spiritually. At first, voluntary baptism only was state policy; however, in the eighteenth century and sporadically thereafter some conversions were coerced or politically induced. An effective means for this was a system of tax relief granted from time to time to the converted. Intermarriage, economic partnerships and other social and cultural interactions with the newly arrived Orthodox population contributed significantly to conversions. The conversion process was substantially completed by the mid-nineteenth century. The consolidation of the new religion now began. Churches were built in the ulusi (administrative regions), and parish schools and other ecclesiastical institutions were established. Measures were taken to prepare Yakut clergy and to translate and publish the service books in the Yakut language. The first book in the Yakut language, printed in 1812, was Prayers, the Creed, and Commandments; the second, printed in 1819 (2nd edn 1821), was The Brief Catechism; and the third, ... log in or subscribe to read full text