Translation and Publishing Activities of Astrakhan Diocesan Committee (Orthodox Missionary Society): Analyzing Materials from the State Archive of Astrakhan Oblast

Introduction. The article introduces into scientific circulation a set of documents contained in Collection 597 — ‘Astrakhan Diocesan Committee of the Missionary Orthodox Society’ — of the State Archive of Astrakhan Oblast to examine translation and publishing activities of Orthodox missionaries in Kalmyk Steppe during the 19th – early 20th centuries. Materials and methods. The method of comparative historical analysis proves instrumental in investigating unpublished archival files from Collection 597 of Astrakhan Oblast’s Archive dealing with translation and publishing endeavors of Astrakhan Diocesan Committee during the mentioned period, namely: reports by individual missionaries, annual activity reports of the Committee, interdepartmental correspondence, correspondence of the Committee with regional branches of Orthodox Missionary Society, Kazan Theological Academy and its representatives sent to Kalmyk Steppe, Translation Commission affiliated to the Orthodox Christian Brotherhood of St. Gury, the Holy Synod, and Russian academic Mongolists K. Golstunsky and A. Pozdneev. Results. The paper introduces documents covering the main stages in translation and publishing activities of Astrakhan Diocesan Committee during the 19th – early 20th centuries. Conclusions. The study of the documents discovered in Collection 597 makes it possible to consider translation and publishing activities of the Committee members in their evolution, interregional interaction between missionary committees aimed at exchanging and clarifying Kalmyk translations of Orthodox Christian texts, identify impacts of the Holy Synod into the mentioned processes, including those made by teachers of Kazan Theological Academy, St. Petersburg University, and outstanding Russian Mongolists.