Religious education of children in the Russian empire: the basis of spiritual and moral development of the personality

spiritual and moral development of the younger generation in pre-revolutionary Russia was a multifaceted and deeply rooted socio-cultural process. The spiritual paradigm literally permeated the public space, defining the contours of the worldview and behavior patterns of various social strata. The Orthodox picture of the world was not just an ideological construct, but also a deep cultural code that was transmitted through family practices and liturgical rituals. The home and the sacred space of the temple became true cradles of the formation of the personal matrix, where fundamental ethical norms and spiritual attitudes were inherited through subtle mechanisms of intergenerational interaction. Religious education was not a formal procedure, but an existential process of absorbing traditional values that structured individual and collective existence. In pre-revolutionary Russia, religious education played a key role in shaping a child's personality, determining his or her worldview, moral values, and behavior patterns. Orthodoxy was not just a religion, but an integral system of spiritual and social development of the younger generation. The main principles of religious education were: veneration of traditional values; formation of Christian morality; education of obedience and humility; development of spiritual culture; patriotic education through service to God and the Fatherland.

religious education, morality, personality, pedagogy, value guidelines