Handwritten Candidate Works of Kyiv Theological Academy Students as Sources for Studying the Academy’s Philosophical Heritage

This article is devoted to determining the source potential of the so-called dissertations collection of the Kyiv Theological Academy (Fund no. 304 of the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine) in the study of its philosophical heritage. The author draws attention to the distinction of the hierarchy of educational and academic degrees in the Russian Empire (candidate’s, master’s, doctoral) the first, candidate’s degree, not being a research degree, from today’s hierarchy. The candidate’s degree at that time was awarded to graduates of higher education institutions on the basis of their academic achievements and a final (candidate) work, which should be considered analogous to a diploma (qualification) work, not to dissertations intended for public defense for a PhD degree. The article reveals that the collection of candidate papers from the Manuscript Institute contains important sources for researchers of biographies of the graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy (including many prominent individuals), its history, and academic heritage. Out of more than two thousand manuscripts stored in the Funds no. 304, the author has for the first time selected and systematized an array of candidate works on philosophical subjects (more than 100 units), substantiating their important role in the research of the philosophical heritage of the Kyiv Theological Academy.


Introduction
September 28 (October 10 old style) 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Kyiv Theological Academy. The heir to the famous Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Kyiv Theological Academy  was the only Orthodox theological higher education institution in the lands of modern Ukraine under Russian Empire rule in the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries, destined to play a significant role in the development of Ukrainian education and culture.1 Among its graduates were not only clerics and church hierarchs of renown, but also prominent scholars, educators, state, public, and educational figures, writers, and artists from all over the Orthodox world.2 The Kyiv Theological Academy is also related to important milestones of the formation and development of philosophy in the Russian Empire in the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. Despite the fact that the training of professional philosophers did not belong to the immediate functions of the Kyiv Theological Academy and that the study of philosophy was subordinated to the main goal of educating virtuous and enlightened servants of the word of God, the Kyiv Theological Academy made a significant contribution to the development of the tradition of professional philosophy, the formation of a professional philosophical community, and the staffing not only of theological academies, but also universities. Students and professors of the Kyiv Theological Academy made a significant contribution to the development of various philosophical fields of study: the history of philosophy, metaphysics, logic, epistemology, philosophical anthropology, psychology, ethics, the philosophy of education, the philosophy of religion, and others. Their creative reception of classical and modern European philosophy formed the basis for a productive dialogue with Western colleagues and thinkers and developed skills of critical analysis and independent philosophical creativity, thus laying the foundations of Orthodox religious and philosophical discourse. Influential translation and publishing activities, active participation in various educational courses and societies, discussions in newspapers and periodicals, and public educational events contributed to the spread of philosophical education and culture in the lands of the Russian Empire.
To be assured of the above, it will suffice to mention the names of an array of students and professors of the Kyiv Theological Academy, whose creative and educational achievements contributed to its philosophical heritage: Vasyl Karpov Ekzempliarskyi (1875-1933), Ivan Chetverykov (1875-1969 and others. It is obvious from this list that not every educational institution can boast such a number of prominent philosophical luminaries over one century. It is worth noting that the vast extent of the philosophical heritage left by the Kyiv Theological Academy is represented not only by published monographs, textbooks, articles, translations, bibliographic reviews, but also numerous manuscripts. 3 The purpose of this article is to draw the attention of historians of philosophy to the body of handwritten sources, which, of course, is of great importance in the further study of the philosophical development of students of the Kyiv Theological Academy. We have in mind the so-called dissertations collection of the Kyiv Theological Academy, which is stored at the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine (Fund no. 304).4 Despite the fact that the availability of this collection is known to scholars today,5 the manuscripts contained in it have unfortunately not yet become the subject of professional analysis by researchers of the philosophical heritage of the Kyiv Theological Academy. Therefore, this article attempts to highlight sources from the mentioned body of manuscripts that are of particular interest for historical and philosophical research.

The Kyiv Theological Academy Student Dissertations Collection at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine
The collection of manuscripts stored in Fund no. 304 of the Manuscript Institute is usually defined by researchers as a "dissertations collection" or a "dissertations archive" of Kyiv Theological Academy students of the 19th -beginning of the 20th centuries. Given that the manuscripts of Fund no. 304 are catalogued precisely as "dissertations" (each having a certain number), such a definition is not surprising. However, taking into account the modern understanding of a dissertation as a research work, written for public defense for an academic degree, the definition of manuscripts of Archive no. 304 as "dissertations" seems rather arbitrary and inaccurate. This is also obvious from the historical perspective, if one takes into account the "candidate's -master'sdoctoral" hierarchy of education and academic degrees of the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries, somewhat different from today's.
For example, under the first Theological Academy Statute (1814-1869) 6 both candidate's and master's degrees were educational. They were awarded based on final ratings lists that reflected academic achievements and students' behavior. The rating lists took into account both grades obtained on exams and for written works -current (term) and final ("courseworks," written at the end of a four-year academic program 7). Graduates belonging to the "first grade" were awarded a master's degree; the rest of the graduates received a candidate's degree. An exception was made for those of the "second grade" list who were not sufficiently successful in mastering theological disciplines: they graduated from theological academies with the title of "Actual Student." Unlike candidate's and master's degrees, the doctoral degree (in theology, church history, or canon law) awarded from 1814-1869 was a research degree: to obtain it, a master's degree holder had to submit to the Academic Conference 8 a work written in Latin or Russian in accordance with the requirements of the Theological Academies Statute.
Significant changes to how academic degrees were awarded were introduced by the Theological Academies Statute of 1869,9 as well as by the specifically developed 6 See "Vysochaishe utverzhdennyi 30 avgusta 1814 goda proekt Ustava dukhovnykh akademii Polozhenie ob ispytaniiakh na uchenye stepeni i zvanie deistvitelnogo studenta v dukhovnykh akademiiakh (Regulations on Examinations for Academic Degrees and the Title of an Actual Student in Theological Academies), approved by the Most Holy Synod in 1874.10 In accordance with the Theological Academies Statute of 1869, the full academic program remained a four-year one, but only for those students who completed their third year of study while preparing an essay recognized by the Academic Council as satisfactory for the awarding of a candidate's degree and passing third year exams with a grade of "excellent" (the rest of the students graduated after their third year with the title of "actual student"). During their fourth year of study these graduate students were engaged in the specialized study of selected subjects, which comprised their master's exams and trial lectures. Those who managed to prepare and publicly defend their master's dissertation, the writing of which required comprehensive research of a chosen subject during the fourth year of study, obtained a master's degree in theology. By contrast, the vast majority of graduate students limited themselves to master's exams, graduating with the degree of candidate in theology, retaining the right to be awarded a master's degree on the basis of a public defense of a printed dissertation (without additional exams). Thus, unlike the degree of candidate of theology, which remained essentially educational, a master's degree (along with the highest, doctoral degree, which required the defense of a printed dissertation) earned research status. Despite some changes in the organization and content of the educational work of theological academies, introduced by the Theological Academies Statutes of 1884 and 1910-1911,11 the distinction between educational (candidate's) and research (master's and doctoral) degrees was preserved throughout the entire history of the theological academies prior to the Russian Revolution. Although master's and doctoral degrees required the preparation, printing, and public defense of works, the degree of candidate of theology was awarded to graduates of theological academies on the basis of academic achievements, reflected by ratings lists. Since 1884, in order to obtain a candidate's degree a student had to master a full four-year academic program, showing "excellent," "very good," or "good" results in mastering subjects, as well as prepare a special work of theological content relevant to the candidate's level.
In view of the above, it is obvious that works that were written by students of theological academies for a candidate's degree of theology were called, according to normative documents, "reasonings" (Statute of 1869), "special works" (Statute of 1884), or "course papers" (Statute of 1910-1911) and were not dissertations but rather analogues of modern diploma (qualification) works. Since 1869 the term "dissertation" was used for special works written for master's and doctoral degrees. Thus, the so-called dissertations archive of Kyiv Theological Academy students of the 19th -early 20th centuries, found at the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine, contains mainly manuscripts of their diploma (qualification) works for obtaining an educational candidate's degree of theology. Consequently, the correct and adequate characterization of the content of Archive no. 304 requires its qualification as a collection of candidate works of students of the Kyiv Theological Academy. This clarification is essential for understanding the specifics of the manuscripts that are found in this archive. So, in my paper, we will avoid the term "dissertation" in favor of "candidate work."

General Characteristics of Kyiv Theological Academy Candidate Works
According to official information, the collection of candidate works of Kyiv Theological Academy students in Archive no. 304 at the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine numbers 2,128 units; according to the catalogue, 2,057 units are available.12 Although originally this collection numbered 2,519 manuscripts, the National Library of Ukraine in Kyiv did not inherit it (along with the catalogue 13) in its entirety. The absence of about 462 works is referenced by numbered, but "empty" corresponding index cards in Archive no. 304.
In addition, even filled out index cards sometimes disappoint researchers by not always containing adequate bibliographic descriptions of the referenced works. Unfortunately, there are numerous errors in determining the authorship and dating of manuscripts (to become aware of this it suffices to compare the surnames and names of the authors in the catalogue cards with lists of graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy from 1823-1918 14). Many of the manuscripts are dated only approximately and not always correctly; the authors of 21 works remain to be identified. There is also no certain principle of the systematization of the manuscripts -neither alphabetical nor chronological or thematic. In general, it should be noted that the current state of scholarly and technological work on Fund no. 304 does not particularly contribute to the work of researchers on the collection of manuscripts of Сandidate works of Kyiv Theological Academy students. According to some researchers, the dating of the manuscripts in Fund no. 304 ranges from 1831 to the 1920s.15 However, this is inaccurate. As of today, we have found at least 8 works written in 1827 (dissertations 116, 141, 146, 177, 235, 236, 239, 377), and 3 works dated 1829 (dissertations 243, 244, 378); in addition, there is only one work in the archive dated 1920 (dissertation 2,504); there are no works in the collection of manuscripts in question that are written after 1920. Thus, at the current stage of work with the archive we have grounds to assert that it contains manuscripts dated 1827-1920.
The least representative part of the collection of manuscripts in Fund no. 304 is comprised of the few available manuscripts from the 1820s and 1830s. Significantly more manuscripts were preserved from the 1840s to the 1860s. In the end, the most complete collection of candidate works present is from the early 1870s to 1916, while only 5 of the works were written in and dated 1917-1920. In general, based on the correlation between the total number of manuscripts of the archive (2,057) and the number of students completing a full academic program from 1823 to 1919 (3,119), it can be argued that the collection of the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine currently holds two thirds of all candidate works written by graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy. However, given that the overwhelming majority of manuscripts contained in Fund no. 304 are yet to be worked on, such a statement is premature. After all there are important questions that need to be clarified: are all manuscripts in this collection manuscripts of candidate works? What percentage of them are semester works of students, drafts, texts of individual parts of candidate works etc.? Can a manuscript numbering, for example, 7 pages (dissertation 2,509) be considered a candidate work when other manuscripts (for example dissertation 2,088) contain almost a thousand pages?
Finding answers to these questions is a subject for future research by scholars. However, a preliminary comparison of manuscripts with the lists of topics of candidate works of the graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy, published in its reports and minutes of meetings of the Academic Council,16 makes it possible to consider Fund

16
Since 1869 annual reports on Kyiv Theological Academy activities and the minutes of its Council were published in the journal Trudy Kievskoi dukhovnoi akademii (Kyiv Theological no. 304 at the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine to be perhaps the most complete and comprehensive collection of works written for obtaining a candidate's degree of theology in the lands of the former Russian Empire. Undoubtedly, handwritten candidate works from Fund no. 304 are important sources for biographies of graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy -in particular, Nechui-Levytskyi, historians Vasyl Bidnov, Ivan Vlasovskyi, and many others). At the same time, this collection of manuscripts is of special significance for researchers of the history of the Kyiv Theological Academy and its heritage. Preserved manuscripts are the best illustration of how important academic work was in the students' education and professional training.
It should be noted that before the introduction of the Theological Academies Statute of 1910-1911, classes at theological academies were limited to lectures and socalled rehearsals (interviews with professors), designed to control the level of students' understanding of curriculum educational material (beginning in 1910-11 practical classes were added to the curriculum of theological academies, including discussions of mastered primary sources, research and teaching, methodological literature, and the preparation of abstracts on certain topics, etc.). However throughout the entire history of the theological academies independent study by students of academic literature and the preparation of term written works and sermons played a significant role in the educational process. Their number and schedules of preparation were determined by the Academies' Councils at the beginning of the academic year. Students who studied until the 1860s had to write a significant number of works in their disciplines -up to ten per year.17 Subsequently, the number of works was gradually reduced. Since 1884, according to statutory requirements, during each year of study students of the Academy Studies) as well as standalone editions. first to third years had to write three works in certain disciplines on topics defined by professors (they were given two months for the preparation of each 18), as well as one sermon (submitted to the professor of preaching, theology, and homiletics at the beginning of October 19). According to the requirements of the Statute of 1884, two thirds of the total number of current works of students were to be on theological issues; according to the Statute of 1910, out of three term works two had to be written on theological subjects, one -on general subjects.
By systematically writing works, students of theological academies acquired significant experience in the independent reading of scholarly literature and academic writing, important for the preparation of their final (term paper) works. Their significance in academic education was established by the late 1850s. According to the memoirs of then students of the Kyiv Theological Academy, work on the degree paper was "the main preoccupation" during the final year of study: "Before this all the other matters, obligatory for students, were shifted to the background" (although they had to be written while attending lectures).20 According to the Statute of 1869, candidate works were written in the third year of study: they had to certify not only the correspondence of the student's professional preparedness to the degree of candidate of theology, but also his research skill and the ability to continue his academic education at the master's (fourth year) level. After the reorganization of the educational process, according to the Theological Academies Statute of 1884, the writing of works for the candidate's degree was returned to the fourth year of study (along with the candidate work students had to prepare one sermon). Work on the candidate paper usually lasted until April 1, sometimes until May 1. The topics of these works were chosen by students from lists offered by professors at the end of the third year of study and approved by the rector (from 1910 -also the Diocesan Bishop). When selecting a topic of a candidate work a student also chose a supervisor, whom he consulted on the work's plan, its sources, relevant issues, etc. However, in many cases, academic guidance for the preparation of candidate works was only formal.
As noted above, obtaining the degree of candidate of theology did not require a procedure of its defense. By 1863 the completed works were read by professors of the corresponding subjects; works written by applicants for the master's degree were additionally reviewed by the rector and Diocesan Bishop (in Kyiv -the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych), who chaired the Academic Conference. The preliminary decision on the relevance of the work to the candidate's or master's degree was approved by the Academic Conference. The final decision on the issue was the prerogative of Most Holy Synod bodies: the Commission on Theological Schools (1819-1839) and the Theological 18 The first term work was prepared October through November, the second December through January, the third February through March.

19
Ever since the Theological Academies Statute of 1910, special attention was given to provide students with the skills of not only writing, but also practical preaching (the memorization of sermons, impromptu preaching etc.) and Educational Administration (1839-1867), to which graduation works and student rating lists were submitted. Governing bodies monitored not only the quality of these works, but also the objectivity and quality of their evaluation by teachers and academic conferences.
In 1863 the procedure for the evaluation of final works underwent some changes. Along with the supervising professor, each of the submitted works was to be read by two additional valid members of the Academic Conference, which, in turn, heard all three reviews and gave a preliminary decision on the relevance of the work to the candidate's or master's degree. The "higher authorities" didn't receive the works themselves, instead receiving a submission about the awarding of certain degrees to certain graduates, rating lists of students, reviews of all three reviewers and the Academic Conference "on the merits of their works." 21 With the introduction of the Statute of 1869, only one review was given for each candidate work by a third year student -by the professor who proposed the topic. This review was delivered at the meeting of the department where the student was studying (theological, church-historical, or church-practical) and was considered by the Council of the theological academy and submitted for approval by the Diocesan Bishop. After the abolition of departments, according to the Statute of 1884, the evaluation of fourth year student candidate works was carried out by Academic Councils on the basis of feedback of the professor who proposed the topic. According to the Pravila dlia rassmotreniia sochinenii, predstavliaemykh na soiskanie uchenykh stepenei (Rules for the Review of Works Submitted for the Acquisition of Academic Degrees), approved by the Decree of the Most Holy Synod on February 23, 1889, beginning then and continuing until the end of the existence of the theological academies, the evaluation of candidate works was carried out by Academic Councils on the basis of two reviews: by the professor-tutor, who proposed the topic, and one of the members of the Council appointed by the rector.22 It should be noted that since 1869 all reviews of candidate works of Kyiv Theological Academy students were published in the minutes of the meetings of the Council, which were published in the journal Trudy Kievskoi dukhovnoi akademii and as separate editions.
In view of the special requirements of the theological academies and Most Holy Synod bodies for graduation papers, concerned not with formal features (for example, the scope and design for which no one had specified unified requirements), but with, above all, the content of the work, the completeness of the source base, diligence in the processing of sources, the level of independence in the writing of the text, the correctness of judgments and conclusions from the point of view of Orthodox doctrine, the quality of academic writing, most students engaged in the preparation of their works with due conscience and thoroughness (rare cases of the lack of academic integrity were exposed and severely punished). While working on chosen topics (usually insufficiently researched, or sometimes not researched at all), students had to analyze large arrays of not only printed literature (including foreign), but also archival documents and manuscripts, introducing them into academic circulation. Many students did not limit themselves to only Kyiv libraries and archives, but searched for sources for their candidate works in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and other cities of the Russian Empire. For many graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy who were destined to become prominent scholars, work on the candidate paper became an important experience in independent research, and the results obtained and evaluation of their senior colleagues, a powerful impetus for further research, including the preparation and defense of master's and doctoral dissertations.
It should be noted that many of the of the Kyiv Theological Academy student candidate works of scholarly significance were published in Trudy Kievskoi dukhovnoi akademii and other journals; some were published separately. Back in the 1820s and 1830s, on the initiative of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych Evhenii (Bolkhovitinov) and Bishop (later Archbishop) Inokentii (Borisov), rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy, publications of the collections of the best works of the students were made.23 Later this important initiative was revived by Bishop (from 1898-1902 Archbishop) Dymytrii (Kovalnytskyi), rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy: funds donated by him in 1902 (15,000 rubles) formed the capital for the publication of the annual Uchenobogoslovskie i tserkovno-propovednicheskie opyty studentov Kievskoi dukhovnoi akademii (The Scholarly-Theological and Church-Preaching Experience of Students of the Kyiv Theological Academy), in which, according to the decision of the Academic Council, the best candidate works (in full or in part) and sermons were published.24 In the 14 issues of this yearbook, published from 1904 to 1915 and in 1917, works of graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy from 1903-1916 were published. Since 1871 the best candidate works of Kyiv Theological Academy students were awarded the Metropolitan Yosyf (Semashko) Prize, for which the graduates of all theological academies were eligible.

Paradoxes of Theological Education: Candidate Works on Philosophy
Taking into account the confessional and specialized nature of theological academies, which awarded their graduates with the degree of candidate of theology, it is not surprising that their candidate works were concerned mostly with theological matters. The fundamental requirement for graduates to choose a topic of a theological nature was dictated by § 125 of the Theological Academies Statute of 1884, and since 1889 also by the Most Holy Synod's Pravila dlia rassmotreniia sochinenii, predstavliaemykh na soiskanie uchenykh stepenei. These Pravila concerned themselves not only with master's and doctoral theses, but also candidate works, directly prohibiting the assigning or approval of topics "which have no or the most distant relation to theology." 25 The study of various problems of psychology and pedagogy, contemporary fields of Western philosophy, and critical reviews of Western literature on general subjects were among topics deemed unacceptable.
The above-mentioned Pravila were concerned not only with the topics but also with the content of works for obtaining degrees from which the overseers of theological education did not expect any "scholarly merits," but rather exact correspondence with "the spirit and dignity of the Orthodox Church." 26 Declaring a lack of intentions to place obstacles in the development of theological learning, but warning against "the emergence of scholarly research in a wrong direction, due to lack of attention or an interest in foreign writing with a similar direction," 27 the Pravila established an apologetic approach to academic theological studies and deprived students of a fundamental academic freedom -the freedom to conduct research.
The humanities (mainly philosophy, requiring freedom of thought and the intention of seeking the truth, the only criteria of which are the mind and experience) were the disciplines that suffered the most from this regime of "no freedom," which was common for education and learning not only in theological academies, but also in universities of the Russian Empire.28 Philosophical scholarship, as part of the system of theological education, found itself in the most paradoxical of situations. Philosophy was paid much attention to beginning at the level of secondary education: unlike students of secular gymnasiums, whose programs did not include any philosophical disciplines, students of theological seminaries studied philosophical propedeutics, and took a brief course in the history of philosophy, logic and psychology in order to get acquainted with philosophical issues and terminology. The experience gained by the students of theological seminaries in the study of philosophy was considerably expanded while studying at theological academies, where the teaching of philosophical disciplines was carried out for a total of 10 to 15 hours per week during two years of study (as in modern philosophical faculties and specialized departments). Despite any Theological Academies Statute changes, students always studied the history of Ancient and Modern philosophy, logic, psychology, metaphysics (from 1910, "systematic philosophy"), with each of these disciplines taught for at least one year. The reading of philosophical literature and the writing of term works in philosophical disciplines was also mandatory at all times. Not surprisingly, among students of theological academies were those interested in philosophical issues, willing to realize these interests through their candidate works.
As evidenced by the collection of manuscripts in Fund no. 304, there was no lack of such students at the Kyiv Theological Academy. Among the numerous works on theological scholarship and Church history, many works on philosophical issues are also found there. It is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of these are in the history of philosophy. This is not surprising given the predominant role of the study of the history of philosophy (Ancient and Modern) in the philosophical education of the students of theological academies.
Judging from the preserved manuscripts, a subject of special interest for Kyiv Theological Academy students was the history of Western philosophy from Ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century. Topics of candidate works concerned with Ancient philosophy manifest the genetic dependence of the type of religious philosophy developed in theological academies on the tradition of Platonism and Neo-Platonism, and attempts to comprehend this tradition from the standpoint of Christian theism. Rather characteristic in this regard are the works Ob otnoshenii platonicheskoi filosofii k khristianskomu bogosloviiu ( Analyzing the philosophical heritage of Western and Eastern countries, the professors and students of the Kyiv Theological Academy also paid attention to the development of Russian philosophy. Proof of this is a large number of manuscripts of candidate works concerned with the analysis of its general trends in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries (Ideia tsarstva Bozhiia v ponimanii russkoi bogoslovskofilosofskoi mysli (The Idea of the Kingdom of God in the Understanding of Russian Theological and Philosophical Thought, 1906) (dissertation 2,510)).
Along with works on the history of philosophy, Fund no. 304 also contains a number of works on theoretical ("systematical") philosophy, stressing the Christian approach to matters of the philosophy of religion and religious epistemology  (dissertation 1,909) and others).
It should be noted however that the potential of this collection in the study of the philosophical heritage of the Kyiv Theological Academy extends beyond the aforementioned manuscripts. To begin with, not all candidate works on philosophy have survived in the collection of the Manuscript Institute; in addition, taking into account the fundamental syncretism of theology and philosophy both in the ways of thinking and in the subjects of study of the professors and students of the theological academies, works in large quantities on theological issues available in Fund no. 304 may prove to be valuable sources for the study of their philosophical views and achievements. The same applies to the preserved candidate works written on popular among students of the Kyiv Theological Academy of the early 20th century issues of the history of literature and pedagogy, related to the history of philosophy. The interdisciplinary nature of these works makes them valuable sources for contemporary researchers of various specialties.

Conclusions
Out of the 103 abovementioned philosophical candidate works by students of the Kyiv Theological Academy in the collection of the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine, 78 (over 75%) were written after the introduction of the Most Holy Synod's Pravila's of 1889 direct requirement for the preparation of works for obtaining degrees exclusively on theological topics. This fact explicitly illustrates the ineffectiveness of the policy of prohibitions and restrictions in the fields of education and scholarship, especially concerning the attraction of philosophical thinking to the irresistible philosophical Eros, which for many centuries supported the existence of philosophy as a special form of knowledge of man and the world.
The mentioned topics of the candidate works are also a vivid illustration of the specific state in which philosophy existed in Orthodox theological academies of the Russian Empire, and the "mind tricks" to which it had to resort for its survival under such unfavorable conditions. According to the Theological Academies' Statutes, the main goal of the study of philosophy by students of theological academies was the formation of a theological way of thinking, a belief in the subordination of reason to the confessional truths of Revelation as an inexhaustible source of answers to any questions about God, the world, and man. Therefore, obligated to serve theology and to play a propedeutic role for it, philosophy was confined by the paradigm of "thinking within," which led to a certain narrowing of the optics of the philosophical vision of the world and the inevitable erosion of the boundaries of theological and philosophical discourses. Unlike theological thinking that revolves around the absolute truths of Revelation, philosophical thinking does not recognize any pre-set truths: its natural state is the eternal and free search for truth. In this sense, the development of philosophy requires for it to constantly be "on the road" rather than safely achieving its "destination." This contradiction between theology and philosophy was well understood by those professors and students of theological academies who emphasized the need for equity with theology, the independent and free existence of philosophy in academic discourse. However, their belief in the importance of providing philosophy, as a "science of reason," with complete independence and freedom of scholarly inquiry 35 has never been taken into account by overseers of theological education, always frightened by the probable destructive consequences of philosophical "free thinking." Under such conditions it is not surprising that by formulating the topics of candidate works and implementing the forbidden desire to respond to actual trends in the development of philosophical thought (both Western and Russian), to cover the real problems of society's life and its spiritual and cultural demands, professors of the theological academies resorted to the compulsory theological "cover" of their research on philosophical topics and issues. Nevertheless, the high level of philosophical education received by their students, their possession of methods of independent work with classical primary sources and the latest philosophical literature, a thorough knowledge of Ancient and Modern languages necessary for reading original texts, the mastering of the skills of interpretation, commentary, the translation of philosophical literature, the technique of writing philosophical texts, the severity of professors' demands for academic integrity, all these factors attach a particular importance to the candidate works of the graduates and make them one of the representative types of sources for studying the philosophical heritage of the theological academies.
Taking into account that the aforementioned candidate works in philosophy of the students of the Kyiv Theological Academy have not yet come into the field of view of researchers, it is premature to draw conclusions about their contents and scholarly significance. However, written reviews of these works, in which in most cases their scholarly novelty and high level of research are noted, give grounds for hope that the processing of the preserved manuscripts by professional historians of philosophy will contribute to a significant intensification and refinement of contemporary thought on the philosophical heritage of the Kyiv Theological Academy, its professors, and students.