Abstract: This article examines the orthodox singing of the Kryashens (baptized Tatars), a sub-ethnic Tatar community who follow Eastern Christianity. The Kryashens are the bearers of a unique orthodox singing tradition that combines church chants and prayer texts in the Tatar language. The research subject is the historical background of the church singing of baptized Tatars who inhabited the Laish and Mamadysh districts of the Kazan Province. The chronological framework covers the period in which the tradition was developed—the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries—a period of the Russian Orthodox Church’s active missionary efforts in the region. The author uses historical, culturological, and source study methods to identify the ways in which the singing tradition was formed. This includes the introduction of a new system of religious and educational practices for “outsiders” in the region and the start of church services being held in the Tatar language. The research contains information about the work done by schools and parishes for baptized Tatars in the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The author evaluates the modern state of the Kryashens’ Orthodox singing tradition in the region under consideration and identifies the factors that led to its development, which had been established by missionaries in the pre-revolutionary period. The author concludes that music played an important role in the progress of Christian education for the baptized Tatars and recognizes the significant contribution of the pre-revolutionary missionaries in the development of the spiritual and singing practices of this ethnic group, which has become an integral component of its music culture today. This article marks the first time this Orthodox singing tradition, specific to this ethnic region, is explored in Russian musicology. 

Abstract: This article examines the orthodox singing of the Kryashens (baptized Tatars), a sub-ethnic Tatar community who follow Eastern Christianity. The Kryashens are the bearers of a unique orthodox singing tradition that combines church chants and prayer texts in the Tatar language. The research subject is the historical background of the church singing of baptized Tatars who inhabited the Laish and Mamadysh districts of the Kazan Province. The chronological framework covers the period in which the tradition was developed—the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries—a period of the Russian Orthodox Church’s active missionary efforts in the region. The author uses historical, culturological, and source study methods to identify the ways in which the singing tradition was formed. This includes the introduction of a new system of religious and educational practices for “outsiders” in the region and the start of church services being held in the Tatar language. The research contains information about the work done by schools and parishes for baptized Tatars in the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The author evaluates the modern state of the Kryashens’ Orthodox singing tradition in the region under consideration and identifies the factors that led to its development, which had been established by missionaries in the pre-revolutionary period. The author concludes that music played an important role in the progress of Christian education for the baptized Tatars and recognizes the significant contribution of the pre-revolutionary missionaries in the development of the spiritual and singing practices of this ethnic group, which has become an integral component of its music culture today. This article marks the first time this Orthodox singing tradition, specific to this ethnic region, is explored in Russian musicology.