“The craftswomen must not beat any of them” – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

300 years ago, on September 11, 1722, members of the Holy Governing Synod, as part of the church reform carried out at will and under the leadership of Emperor Peter I, approved the decree “On teaching nuns to needlework and crafts”, which established a remarkable border between different nuns of monasteries.

From the Decree of the Most Holy Governing Synod “On Teaching Nuns to Needlework and Crafts”, September 11, 1722.

The Holy Governing Synod, discussing the establishment in maiden monasteries of art decent for nuns, as in the addition of the Spiritual Regulations in the definition of monastic life … it is shown, according to the sentence: those who have not learned any private needlework should be trained by spinning masters sent from the village of Pokrovsky, and in that training by teaching and learning do as follows:

1. To teach this spinning to such nuns who have not been tonsured, but to be tonsured in the monasteries of living girls and widows who are not from noble and honest parents … except for the elderly and the sick, who, due to their infirmity, cannot bear that spinning business. And noble and honest nuns and maidens, also who, although not from the noble and not from the honest, but have some honest needlework, do not force or attract such people to this spinning, and do not put obstacles in the best needlework.

2. And those who spin according to the old custom, which spinning and the current spinning skill are slower, leave to continue to act according to the teaching of the craftswomen with tools convenient for that, and over the craftswomen to have supervision of those monasteries by the abbesses.

And between the nuns to keep the proper routine, which is shown here:

1. Noble and honest, who are fired from that spinning, as if indecent to them, to use other honest needlework, namely: sewing, threading, and the like, which one of them is taught, except for the elderly.

2. Those who are not trained in such honest needlework, to choose the needlework that anyone wants, and from those needleworks, who really chooses which one, to enter into training from the time of receiving a decree about this in two or three months without delay, so that they do not remain in idleness .

3. If those from such noble and honest people have not been trained in any better needlework and do not choose anything for themselves at a certain time, or appear incomprehensibly in that: such should be determined for this spinning, let them not be idle.

4. The old ones, who are already trained and cannot act properly, have free ones from that.

5. Order the aforementioned craftswomen to act meekly and humbly in this training with those determined for that teaching, and to repair the indication for a quick concept openly, so that they can fully study and act good without a continuation of time.

6. These craftswomen have no power over those students, and although some of them will be faulty in some way, they will report on them to the abbesses of those monasteries, who, at the discretion of guilt, should humble them; and the craftswomen themselves do not beat any of them with anything, but do not scold with any abuse and do not insult with any word.

7. The most important thing for them is for them to have self-restrained craftswomen, so as not to use laughter or vile and nasty words and suspicious speeches, but also not to do any kind of ridiculousness, under pain of cruel punishment.

8. If one of them appears to be immoderate or impudent in anything, and most of all outrageous and guilty of the temptation of nuns: then such, as if evil-doing, should be punished by the abbesses of those monasteries with their sisters with their spiritual fathers according to the monastic custom, so that they would not dare to act outrageously and were very restrained .

9. But if that monastic punishment for taming them is not enough, and such fearless women should be sent to the Moscow Spiritual Dicastery for a greater punishment and about their outrageous submission of detailed reports with clear evidence.

10. When those masters determined for the aforementioned teaching are completely studied, then immediately declare that in the Holy Synod as a report, and file registered registers with those who have studied.

11. The aforementioned handicraft, which both noble and others will act according to the strength of each, and the needlework received from that handicraft will be used by them for the general monastic benefit, and not for their own needs, and the above-mentioned craftswomen … be satisfied from the general monastic income.

Publication by Evgeny Zhirnov