Library Services from the Outside-In

The purpose is to inform the seminary libraries to design library services based on an outside-in strategy to meet the information intents of the theological students from clandestine, unregistered Christian churches in China. Specifically, the goals of this research are to: 1. Examine how the previous tactic information practices—walking, poaching, reading, and deception—exercised routinely in the unregistered Christian communities in China were shaped by the information-impoverished situations. 2. Stratify how information intents could change their tactic practices in finding religious information, when members from these information-impoverished communities come to study at theological seminaries in the United States, where information is rich and freely accessible. The study applies Todd’s extended six categories of information intents to analyze de Certeau’s four types of tactic information practices in walking, poaching, reading, and deception/disguise, as demonstrated in the interviews and information world maps of the seventeen theological students from China.

Obrazovatel'naya i kadrovaya politika tsarizma v Belarusi v 1860-ye gg.

The article notes that the duality, inconsistency, and reactionarity of the educational policy of the tsarist government after the uprising of 1863–1864 was largely dictated by the desire to reduce Polish influence and accelerate the russification of the region. The Ministry of Public Education did not care so much about the dissemination of education as about protecting the public with “reasonable restrictions”. In accordance with its political and ideological goals, the network of parish schools expanded, the training of teaching staff was restrained, and strict control was established over the activities of teachers and their political trustworthiness. Tsarism formed a model of an “ideal” teacher: devoted to the church and the throne, tolerant, imperceptible, and obedient, who in his pedagogical activity was to follow the official course. There was a tendency to attract people from the central provinces of Russia who graduated from theological seminaries, as well as Orthodox priests, to fulfill teaching duties.

Terapia lekturą Pisma Świętego w zakonach i seminariach

The healing potential of books has been known since ancient times, while the term “bibliotherapy” was used for the first time in 1916. Since that time, the concept of bibliotherapy has still been developing. The goal of the article is to discover the methods of using bibliotherapy among young monks and students in theological seminaries. The author tries to explain the definition of bibliotherapy through the prism of literature — books written by the biggest Polish figures of this discipline, e.g. Irena Borecka or Wiktor Czernianin. Furthermore, some paragraphs of the text are devoted to the structure of The Holy Bible. The author highlights includes various paragraphs or scenes that might have a healing potential.Finally, the author reveals that the answers given by young monks and students in theological seminaries leads to the clear conclusion that using bibliotherapy among them happens very gently and often inadvertently. The article presents multiple observations when the survey respondents felt better, consoled, or comforted after reading The Holy Bible. The results of the study also point to moments when they experienced katharsis. The text presents their very own observations as extraordinary material for future reference.

The Rise of Calvinist Christianity in Urbanising China

Over the past decade, Reformed Christianity, broadly based on the theology of Calvinism, has spread widely in China, especially by appealing to Chinese ‘intellectuals’ who constitute most of the house church leaders in urban areas. It draws its moral guidance from a so-called rational or intellectual focus on biblical theology, reinforced by theological training in special seminaries. It consequently rejects the ‘heresy’ of the older Pentecostal Christianity, with its emphasis on charisma, miracles, and theology based on emotional ‘feeling’. This Reformed theology and its further elaboration have been introduced into China in two main ways. The first is through overseas Chinese, especially via theological seminaries in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. For instance, preachings of the famous Reformed pastor Stephen Tong (唐崇荣) have been widely disseminated online and among Chinese Christians. Second, Korean missionaries have established theological seminaries mainly in cities in northern China. This has resulted in more and more Chinese church leaders becoming advocates of Calvinism and converting their churches to Reformed status. This paper asks why Calvinism attracts Chinese Christians, what Calvinism means for the so-called house churches of a Christian community in a northern Chinese city, and what kinds of change the importation of Reformed theology has brought to Chinese house churches. Various significant accounts have addressed this development in China generally. My analysis complements these accounts by focusing on a small number of interconnected house churches in one city, and uses this case study to highlight interpersonal and organizational issues arising from the Calvinist approach.

The Reader’s Interest of Seminarians during the Period of Social Rise in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Century

The article analyzes the reader’s interests of students of theological seminaries of the second half of the 19th — early 20th century. Libraries were a mandatory element of the functioning of theological seminaries. Memoirs of the seminarians provided the background for the present article. The author analyzes the state policy on formation of the ideological education of children of the clergy. The article describes the content of the libraries of theological seminaries and the mechanisms for their replenishment. The study is aimed to demonstrate that the library collections did not meet the interests of seminarians, and the reading circle of young people was being influenced by the social rise in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Revolutionary populists were greatly affecting the reader’s interests. The students of seminaries were willing to read the works of leading authors of that time: H.T. Buckle, H. Spencer, N.K. Mikhaylovsky, N.G. Chernyshevsky, D.I. Pisarev. An analysis of archival documents demonstrates that the government attempted to monitor what students read in theological seminaries. Books of the leading authors were banned and withdrawn. The seminarians sought to create their own reading circle. Therefore, many students made attempts to visit city libraries, to take books from friends and acquaintances, to create their own secret collections.The article reveals the history of secret libraries in Kostroma and Vladimir. The study helps to understand that the authors of the memoirs shared their reader’s interests in order to show the impact of reading books by progressive authors. Most of the memoirs’ authors claimed that the interest in the clandestine circles had been caused by a desire to diversify the monotonous daily life in seminaries. Seminarians read forbidden literature because of their interest in current problems of Russia and society.

Church libraries in West Siberia in the XIX- XX centuries

Church libraries played a great role in spreading knowledge at the turn of XIX-XX centuries. Parish libraries included the latest literature of an educational character. The diocesan library stocks contained books on history, pedagogy and other sciences. Libraries of theological seminaries had more extensive literature list in foreign languages. Libraries of religious schools besides books had periodicals. A huge contribution to developing the librarianship in Siberia had religious brotherhoods, which opened libraries and reading rooms as well.