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SIBERIAN MONASTERY AND THE CITY SPACE: PROBLEMS OF INTERACTION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE TOMSK SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST CONVENT) // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2022. Issue 1 (31). P. 127-152

The article analyzes the role and place of the Siberian monastery in the space of the city on the example of the Saint John the Baptist Monastery, which existed from 1876 to 1922 in Tomsk, reveals the problems of the interaction of the tradition of monastic construction with the secularizing culture of the Siberian society of the 19th century. Since ancient times, monastery has been a factor of consecration of both the city and the adjacent territories space. In this case, monasteries became “satellites” of the city, being on its outskirts – a place of interaction with the unconsecrated surrounding territory. Monasteries were often built outside the city if missionary work among non-Christians was necessary. The accession of Siberia to the Russian state took place in the conditions of a gradual secularization of culture as a result of the growing influence of secular elements. Therefore, the well-known traditions of monastic construction continued to exist, but changed gradually. The further secularization of culture, as well as the state policy of restricting monasticism, which had been carried out by the government since the 18th century, led to the fact that the sacred and city-forming role of the monastery as a spiritual center ceased to be perceived by the urban community. By the end of the 19th century the city authorities began to perceive monastery not as a sacred object, but as a competitor to the city, a contender for urban lands. The analysis of the structure and components of the Tomsk Saint John the Baptist Convent estate suggests that the convent preserved the symbolic structure of a monastery land. The confrontation of monastery traditions and values with secular culture led to the destruction of the convent at the beginning of the 20th century and the total desacralization of its land. In the context of a complicated attitude of the urban community to the convent as a part of the city space, and considering the reformation of the monastery space, the proposed aim of the research is a historical reconstruction and establishment of a museum on the territory of the former convent.

Keywords: city space, symbolism, Tomsk, Saint John the Baptist Convent, construction, architecture, historical reconstruction