The priestly family of Molchanovskyi. Feodosii Molchanovskyi – a local historian, archaeologist, and philanthropist

Abstract

The aim of the article is to summarize the biographical materials of the Molchanovskyi’s priestly dynasty, representatives of the spiritual elite of Uman in the XIX – early XX centuries, and a detailed examination of the activities of one of the family members – Feodosii Movchanovskyi, a famous scientist, ethnographer, archaeologist, and philanthropist. The research methodology is based on a set of principles and methods of cognition aimed at an objective, comprehensive coverage of facts, phenomena, and events. Defining among them are the general principles of science, historicism, consistency, pluralism, objectivity. The use of these methods made it possible to carry out a systematic analysis of the sources, in their interconnection made it possible to personify the Molchanovskyi family. Scientific novelty. The article drafted and summarizes the biographies of the most outstanding representatives of the Molchanovskyi priestly family and clarifies their role in the socio-political and national-cultural life of Ukraine in the XIX and early XX centuries. For the first time, information from archival sources was introduced into scientific circulation, in which still unknown information from the life of Molchanovskyi was disclosed. Conclusions. Research and reproduction of the biography of the Molchanovskyi priestly dynasty showed that its descendants were bright and extraordinary personalities, whose educational level was quite high. It was the spiritual elite of the society, contributed to the formation of the moral and ethical foundations of the public worldview. They were closer to the people and had the greatest influence on the formation of their opinion. Their education and spirituality were an example for parishioners, with their sermons they laid the foundations of spirituality on the principles of universal human virtues. Of course, the Molchanovskyi family went down not only in the history of Uman but also in Ukraine, making their contribution to its development. Among its names is honorably inscribed the name of Feodosii Mykolayovych Movchanovskyi, who devoted his entire life to the honorable cause of identifying, researching, and preserving monuments of archeology, history, and culture, to the case of an archivist, museum expert, and local historian.