«CRIME AND PUNISHMENT»: THE SYSTEM OF CHURCH JUSTICE IN THE LATE PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES OF KHERSON REGION AND KYIV REGION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

The article analyses the inner life of the late Protestant communities of Kherson and Kyiv provinces in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is established that the study of the ecclesiastical proceedings of the communities allows us to look at the system of relations between its representatives, ways of seeking dialogue and consensus in the process of resolving conflict situations, and methods of punishment for offences. It is determined that coercion to comply with religious norms and rules is a necessity for the functioning and activity of any religious organisation. It is found that the system of influence on the offender in the late Protestant communities was not carried out in a by force, but exclusively through verbal methods: spiritual guidance, moral reprimands and religious prohibitions. It is determined that constant religious persecution and harassment prompted late Protestants to resolve conflicts among themselves within the community. It is proved that in such cases, recourse to state judicial institutions, which often arrested community members for their religious beliefs, was a disgrace and a huge image loss. It is established that this is the reason why late Protestant communities tried to mirror the state judicial system in their own environment. It is found that the main reasons for punishing offenders were disobedience to community decisions, deviation from the dogma of doctrine, failure to comply with the Bible's commandments and recurrence of violations. It is shown that the system of punishment consisted of several stages that corresponded to the texts of the Holy Scriptures: persuasion in private, persuasion in a limited circle of witnesses, bringing the problem to a general meeting of the community, which resolved the issue by voting. It is proved that the offender had the right to perform an act of repentance until the last moment and be pardoned and forgiven. It is determined that the method of punishment for the offender was excommunication with a ban on attending meetings and participating in the Holy Communion. It is established that return to the community was to be accompanied by repentance, probation and voting of the community members. Thus, the author analyses the system of relations in Protestant communities through the prism of their judicial proceedings.