BIOGRAPHICAL METHOD IN RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY FORMATION (BY THE EXAMPLE OF THE "LIGHT OF TRUTH" CHURCH)
The article is devoted to the study of the history of the “Light of Truth” Church formation. The advantages of the biographical method have been revealed and approaches to the study of biographies have been considered. In our case the biographical method allows representing the circumstances of life as a series of natural events which explain the relationship between internal motives and external results. The history of formation of the Church “Light of Truth” appears as a part linking individual life and society. The study based on the statements of the church leader recreates a picture of the history of the Church “Light of Truth” functioning and folding. Assessing the objectivity of the obtained autobiographical statements, taking into account the mythologized elements of the church leader biography we have identified the role of the individual factor in the religious community formation. In the process of study it has been found that in the history of community formation the role of the pastor was dominant. Specific features of the doctrine, liturgical practices and near-religious activity, which were located within the individual construction, have been formed on this basis. As a result of the study, we came to the conclusion that the conscious and purposeful planning by the church leader of behavioral patterns and models for the implementation of religious practice based on a synthesis of prevailing and borrowed traditions of the gospel churches made possible the emergence of a new type of church. It has been suggested that formation of the independent church was dictated by the desire to gain freedom of action as a leader, to realize their own ambitions and managerial abilities within the boundaries of a religious organization itself.