Family monasteries in early byzantine Syria of the IV–VI centuries: sociocultural features and role in the transformation of imperial society

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The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of family monasteries in early Byzantine Syria of the 4th–6th centuries as a unique manifestation of transformational processes in late antique society. The work examines the socio-economic prerequisites for the emergence of family monastic communities, their typological features and role in the process of Christianization of Syrian society. Special attention is paid to the analysis of women's participation in the organization of family monasticism and the specifics of interaction between such communities and the imperial administration and church hierarchy. The study is based on hagiographic sources, chronicles and epigraphic monuments, which makes it possible to reconstruct a multifaceted picture of the functioning of family monasteries as a social institution. The methodological basis of the work is an interdisciplinary approach, including methods of social history, gender analysis and the history of everyday life. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time in Russian historiography, the phenomenon of family monasticism is considered as a special form of adaptation of traditional kinship ties to the requirements of the Christian worldview, different from classical monastic institutions.

About the authors

Irina Valerievna Abdulmanova

Putilin Belgorod Law Institute of Ministry of the Interior of Russia; Belgorod State National Research University

Author for correspondence.
Email: zajcevil@mail.ru

doctor of historical sciences, professor of Humanities and Social-Economic Courses Department; professor of Universal History Department

Russian Federation, Belgorod; Belgorod

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