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Primary sourceDocument26 February 1764

Secularization Manifesto of 26 February 1764

Catherine II of Russia · 26 February 1764

A manifesto issued by Catherine II transferring monastery lands and serfs to the state treasury.

This manifesto was issued in Catherine's name, showing her direct exercise of imperial authority over the church.

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Handwritten manuscript page in Russian Cyrillic cursive script on aged, yellowed paper, with a decorative large initial letter at left and a stamped library label in the lower left corner. The text begins with the title line about God's grace and Catherine II as Empress.
Catherine II, Secularization Manifesto, 26 February 1764. Copy.

About this source

What it is

This is a copy of a manifesto issued by Empress Catherine II on 26 February 1764, ordering that lands and serfs belonging to monasteries be taken away and transferred to the state treasury. This copy was attached to a related decree sent to an archimandrite of a monastery.

Why it matters

This decree was one of the major acts of Catherine's reign, reducing the economic power of the Russian Orthodox Church and placing former church lands and the people living on them under direct state control. It shows Catherine using her authority to reshape the relationship between church and state.

Look closer

  • Why might a ruler want to take control of church-owned land and the people on it?
  • What does the handwriting and decoration of this document tell you about how official texts were presented?
  • What does this decree not tell us about how the affected monasteries or serfs felt about the change?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Catherine the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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