15-22 of June in the Tomsk diocese a field study took place as part of the “Living Communities: Continued” project with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund. Employees of the Sociology of Religion laboratory Ivan Zabaev, Valeria Elagina and Kirill Markin took part in the study.
Over 7 days, more than 25 interviews were conducted in six parishes in Tomsk and nearby. Unchurched individuals also were interviewed for better understanding of the social landscape of the city and the visibility of parish communities. Researchers have encountered many familiar forms of parish activities, such as clothing warehouses, hospital and prison ministry of the parish clergy, the work of the sisterhood of mercy and material assistance to the needy. Typical projects with their own specifics include a developed network of sewing workshops, children’s educational summer camp that has been active for more than twenty years, a scout community and plans to create a school for studying znamenny chant.
