The thesis is devoted to the study of the restoration, formation and development of the monasteries of Chernigov and the peculiarities of their influence on the cultural and socio-political situation in the city and the region. The accomplishments of domestic and foreign historiography related to the research topic are analyzed: cartographic, monument study, monument protection and museum study materials about Chernigov and its environs, which became the theoretical basis of the study. Analysis of spiritual and secular processes in the region of the Northern Left Bank in the XVII-XVIII centuries is an urgent assignment of modern historical science. In particular, it should be noted that at the present stage of scientific research there are no fundamental complex works that could unite and objectively illuminate the life and activities of the monastic brethren of all four monasteries in the city of Chernigov, as well as highlight in detail their impact on the spiritual and secular life in the city. The same, unfortunately, also applies to the entire region. Studying and analyzing the economic and cultural and educational activities of monasteries, scientists pay a lot of attention to the study of their documentary heritage, the formation of integral architectural complexes and individual temples, material support, however, the role of cloisters in the development of cultural and educational processes remains insufficiently studied.
The work was carried out on the basis of an interdisciplinary approach, observing the principles of objectivity, complexity, historicism. Based on documentary, material and pictorial sources, the evolution of the monastic complexes of Chernigov in the 17th-18th centuries and their importance in the spiritual and socio-economic life of Chernigov and the Chernigov-Seversky region has been comprehensively studied. The main changes in the position of monasteries after the reforms of the late 18th century are revealed and the basic principles of their further development and activities are determined. The influence of the Chernigov monasteries on the socio-political, scientific and cultural development of society is investigated. The analysis of the processed materials showed that the theme of the history of the formation of architectural ensembles of the Yeletsky, Troitsko-Ilyinsky, Borisoglebsky and Pyatnitsky monasteries has not yet been the subject of a separate comprehensive study, and the process, in particular, the legal procedure for obtaining the status of monuments by these monasteries has not been studied and reflected.
Of particular importance is the issue of a comprehensive and objective study of the history of the development and formation of the Yeletsky, Troitsko-Ilyinsky, Pyatnitsky and Borisoglebsky monasteries in modern conditions of a sharp exacerbation of Ukrainian-Russian relations, as it is now, there is a need in our nation to declare our real identity. This issue is also becoming acute due to the specifics of the geographic location of the complexes. In addition, preserved to date the Yeletsky and Trinity monasteries are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, automatically turning them into a powerful anti-Ukrainian center, and the Pyatnitskaya church (the main temple of the former Pyatnitsky monastery) – under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which heads the pro-Ukrainian Orthodox movement.
Late XX - early XXI century - the period when a new stage begins in the life of Ukrainian society. This is the time when historical processes are revealed in a completely different light, well-known and little-known historical events and figures are rethought and reevaluated. However, there is still a large number of different cases that for a long time were not in the field of view of scientists, and did not become the subject of special studies. Thus, the study of the problems of the emergence, formation and development of Orthodox monasteries is now becoming an urgent matter, because a comprehensive analysis of the experience, traditions and knowledge accumulated by religious monasteries has an extraordinary impact on the formation of identity and consciousness of the social and cultural environment not only in the city of Chernigov, but also in Ukraine.
The author's recommendations and proposals for the future preservation, restoration and further use of the monastic complexes of Chernigov have been developed. The collaboration of the monastic communities with the scientists of the architectural and historical reserve «Ancient Chernigov» is analyzed.
