THE PROBLEM OF INFORMATION VALUE OF CONFESSIONAL STATEMENTS IN HISTORICAL LITERATURE

The article considers the achievements of modern Russian historiography in field compiling documents for demographic census registration by parish Orthodox clergy synodic period Church. Among problems that have been most reflected, especially regional recent decades are external features confessional statements, changes their forms during XVIII–XIX centuries, estates groups and strata represented them, composition families over several years, gender age parishioners, migration processes within a one particular locality. greatest value undoubtedly is statistical data on performance Christian sacraments confession communion parishioners. works researchers who analyze use ecclesiastical signed documents, note huge information potential this type historical sources. Ecclesiastical reveal not only peculiarities social structure an individual parish, diocese or eparchy as whole. They fairly reliable indicator population’s introduction to faith rites, beginning from early XIX century, when possibilities falsification were minimized. This mass sources, such makes it possible consider history everyday life, household housing conditions, distance village temple. revealed shortcomings include following: fixing population present giving amorphous reasons non-fulfillment «failure», «negligence», inaccurate determination parishioners’ remote villages, real attitude believers church dogmas.