The reflection of spiritual crisis of the late XIX century among creative intelligentsia (on the example of relationship between the monks of male Orthodox monastery “Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn” and Chekhov family in 1892-1899)

Abstract

The subject of this research is the character of relationship between Chekhov family and the Orthodox male monastery “Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn”. The object of this research is the religious life of Chekhov family. The goal consists in analysis of the religious and secular contacts between the Chekhov family and the abode, clarification of the question of religiosity of the prominent Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, as well as answering the question regarding the impact of spiritual crisis of the late XIX upon him. The article explores the life of Chekhov family in their estate in Melikhovo from 1892 to 1899. Chekhov’s parents, especially his father, was a deeply religious person. The article also discusses the relationship between the writer and monks of the monastery, his visits of worship services in the abode. Russian Chekhoviana is quite extensive; the period from 1990 to 2010’s marks the emergence of works dedicated to religious views of the writer. The article is prepared on the basis of archival and unpublished materials (particularly Chekhov’s correspondence and the diary of his father Pavel Egorovich). The modern publications usually underline the presence of staunch atheistic creeds. Sometimes his life in Melikhovo is described without mentioning contacts with the monastery. This article is first to determine the problem of relationship of Chekhov family and one of the male monasteries of Moscow Region.