O. A. Abelentseva. Judicial Proceedings in the Assumption Tikhvin Monastery in the Second
Half of the 17th Century // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2026, pp. 27–39.
DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2026_2_27
Abstract:
The present article examines judicial proceedings in the Tikhvin Dormition Monastery, which
was granted the right to judge the population of the estates. Utilising court cases from 1648 to 1660 as illustrative examples, this study undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter of the claims filed, the administrative procedures employed for case processing, their structural configuration, the terminology utilised, and the composition of the personnel responsible for conducting investigations and rendering decisions in cases of varying importance. Furthermore, the study examines instances of reference to the Cathedral Code
of 1649 when sentencing and decisions that conflicted with its provisions. This finding suggests that the monastery elders regarded it as essential to undertake a moral evaluation of the circumstances giving rise to the trial when determining sentences.
Key words: Tikhvin Assumption Monastery, patrimonial court, church court, Cathedral Code of 1649, court cases, court sentences, court proceedings of the 17th century.
Author:
Abelentseva Olga Alekseevna — Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher at the
Department of Medieval History of Russia, Saint Petersburg Institute of History, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: oaabelen@mail.ru
ORCID: 0000-0002-9978-230X
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