Innokentii Nikolaevich Seryshev papers, 1891-1968

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Summary

Creators:
Seryshev, Innokentiĭ Nikolaevich, 1883-
Abstract:
Correspondence, speeches and writings, printed matter, and photographs, relating to the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, Russian émigré affairs, and the promotion of Esperanto.
Extent:
20 microfilm reels (3.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
Russian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Innokentii Nikolaevich Seryshev papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of the papers of Rev. Innokentii Seryshev, a Russian Orthodox priest active in the first half of the 20th century in Siberia, Japan, China and Australia. Of particular interest is his hobby: the study of Esperanto, of which he was a devoted adherent. Some correspondence and publications are in that language (Oriento, La Pacifiko, and other works in the Speeches and Writings series), and there is a written work on its development in Russian and the USSR ("Esperanto v S.S.S.R.," Box 11, Folder 7).

The materials in the collection reflect mainly his involvement in émigré and Church affairs, mainly in China and Australia, and include correspondence with prominent émigré figures as well as materials for a biographical encyclopedia of prominent Russians that included a large number of émigrés. Also valuable are his multi-volume memoirs, "V zemnom plane moego vechnogo bytiia."

A significant part of the collection consists of periodicals edited and published by Seryshev, on both religious and secular themes, most of which are in mimeograph or similar format, and there is a large amount of writings on religious issues: sermons, apologetics, etc.

Detailed processing and preservation microfilming of these materials were made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by matching funds from the Hoover Institution. The grant also provides depositing a microfilm copy in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1883 August 14
Born, Bol'shaia Kudara village, Zabaikal district, Russia
1902
Married Ekaterina Fedorovna Bondarenko
1906-1909
Priest, Doronino (Zabaikal district)
1910-1913
Priest, Shergol'dzhin (Zabaikal district)
1917-1919
Member, Board of Directors, Soiuz kul'turno-prosvetitel'nykh obshchestv Altaiskogo kraia
1920-1922
Studied educational system in Japan
1922-1924
Taught in the railroad school, Harbin, China
1924
Author, Strana samuraev
Taught in the Chinese Esperanto College, Peking, China
1925-1965
Priest and editor of religious and secular periodicals (some in Esperanto) in Sydney, Australia
1976 August 23
Died, Australia

Father Innokentii Seryshev was born on 14 August 1883 in the village of Bol'shaia Kudara, in the Trans-Baikal region. In 1902 he married Ekaterina Fedorovna Bondarenko. From 1906 to 1909 he was the village priest in Doronino, and from 1910 to 1913 in Shergol'dzhin, both in the Trans-Baikal region. It was in this period that he became interested in Esperanto, a language he spent most of the rest of his life promoting. From 1917 to 1919 he was a member of the board of directors of the Soiuz kul'turno-prosvetitel'nykh obshchestv Altaiskogo kraia.

From 1920 to 1922, Seryshev was in Japan, where he made a study of the Japanese educational system (published in his Strana samuraev, 1924). Thereafter, from 1922 to 1924, he lived in Harbin and Peking, where he taught in the railroad school and at the Chinese Esperanto College. In 1925 Seryshev emigrated to Australia, where he was a parish priest in Sydney and editor and chief writer for a number of secular and religious periodicals: Aziia, Put' emigranta, Tserkov' i nauka, and others (including some in Esperanto). He also compiled a biographical dictionary of prominent Russians, entitled Great, Outstanding, and Eminent Personalities of Russia (1945-1946). Seryshev died in Australia in 1976.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2000.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Innokentii Nikolaevich Seryshev papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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