Reforming the Schools of the Russian Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society (Palestinskoye Obschestvo) in Syria - the Projects of Russian Inspectors and the Attitude of Local Arab Orthodox Population (According to the Documents of Inspection of 1910)
The article deals with the characteristics of the orthodox Arab population of Syria and those of the clergy of the Antiochene Patriarchate given by A.A. Dmitrievski in his letters sent to the VicePresident of the Russian Imperial Orhodox Palestinian Society during the inspection of all Institutions of the Society in Syria and Palestine in the first months of 1910. A.A. Dmitrievski (1856-1919), the Secretary of the Society, was the head of this inspection. During the inspection, A.A. Dmitrievski had many contacts with the communities of local Arab Christian population in order to discuss all aspects of education in the schools organized by the Palestinskoye Obschestvo. The mutual interest of the Russian inspectors ano the local communities was great, as also were the difficulties in attempts to find a common ground. These difficulties can be explained mostly by the fact that Russian schools for local orthodox Arabs functioned within the Ottoman Empire that had a different culture and different traditions.