Российские миссионерские журналы о деятельности скандинавских религиозных миссий в конце XIX-начале XX века(Scandinavian missions in the materials of the Russian Orthodox magazines (from the late 19th and early 20th centuries))

Abstract

The Russian Orthodox magazines - Pravoslavny Blagovestnik, Missio- nerskoe obozrenie, Amerikansky pravoslavny vestnik, and others - are important and interesting sources. These periodicals describe missionary activity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Naturally, these magazines were primarily concerned with the missionary attempts of the "Great Powers". But the work of Scandinavian missions was also covered. The material can be divided into three categories: historical reviews, statistics, and so-called "missionary problems". The reviews deal with the history of all influential Scandinavian missionary organizations - The Norwegian Missionary Society, The Norwegian Covenant Mission, The Danish Missionary Society, The Church of Sweden Mission. The statistical material - the number of missionary organizations and missionaries, native assistants, converts, financial support - offers a chance to compare Scandinavian missionary activity on an international scale. At the turn of the 19th century the problems between missionaries and native inhabitants became very topical. These problems, too, were touched upon in Russian religious magazines. On the whole, the role of Scandinavian missions in the missionary movement was evaluated in an objective manner.