The Specifics of the Religious Education System in Georgia (Second Half of the 19th Century)

Abstract

This article examines the specifics of the religious education system in Georgia during the second half of the 19th century. Analysing historical, political, and educational dynamics demonstrates how religious education functioned in the empire’s border regions, particularly in Georgia, as a tool of cultural suppression, assimilation, and Russification. The research emphasizes the challenges faced by Georgian clergy and public figures under Russian policies; examines the interrelation among adaptation, education, and the preservation of cultural heritage under colonial oppression; and showcases the resilience of Georgian identity despite systemic pressure on national culture and the native language. The religious education system during the studied period reveals contradictions within the Russian church between modernisation and reactionary policies, with theological schools becoming a kind of battlefield. Georgian clergy, intellectuals, and students played a decisive role in ensuring that religious education did not fully align with imperial objectives. Against the background of systemic violence, they used it as a platform to safeguard the Georgian language and cultural heritage. Thus, in Georgia during the second half of the 19th century, the dual role of the religious education system was revealed: it served the policy of Russification and, at the same time, reflected the emergence and development of mechanisms for preserving Georgian identity with-in it. This duality enriches the narrative and illustrates the complexities of the historical moment.