Church tithes in historical context / Orthodoxy.Ru

This term has other meanings, see Tithe (meanings).

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Tithe

(ancient Hebrew מַעְשַׂר; ancient Greek δεκάτη; lat. decima) - a tenth of something. The word is most commonly used to refer to the practice of collecting a tenth of a member's income for the benefit of the religious community in Judaism, Christianity, and other religious traditions. Tithing dates back to the time of Abraham and was later formalized as a religious canon in the Torah (Deut. 12:17, ; 14:22, ).

Tithe as a unit of measurement

Before the Revolution of 1917, every resident of Tsarist Russia knew that a tithe was a unit for measuring land area.

This measure arose and was actively used during the times of Kievan Rus. True, at that historical period it did not yet have a precisely defined size. The most common type of tithe in Ancient Rus' was a square with a side length of 50 fathoms (another obsolete unit of measurement, equal to 2.16 m). Its total area was equal to one tenth of a square verst. This, by the way, is where the name “tithe” came from.

It is worth noting that there were several types of them. At the same time, the most common was the so-called government tithe, which appeared in official documentation. It was this that was the most frequently used land measure in the Russian Empire until its decline.

At the same time, the government tithe was a different figure. Not a square piece of land, but a rectangular one. It was called depending on the length of its smaller side - “thirty” (with sizes of 80 and 30 fathoms) or “forty” (60 and 40 fathoms).

Notes[ | ]

V.A. Alikin History and practice of the Early Church.
St. Petersburg, 2021, p. 332. /
Apostolic Didaskalia
2.26.
Lubowicz N. “History of the Reformation in Poland. Calvinists and Antitrinitarians" - Warsaw, 1883.
Stages of the formation of a system of church parishes on the right bank of the Southern Middle Volga region in the 80s of the 16th - early 18th centuries (unspecified)
. CyberLeninka. Date accessed: September 16, 2021.
Bulgaria // Great Soviet Encyclopedia. / ed. A. M. Prokhorova. 3rd ed. volume 3. M., “Soviet Encyclopedia”, 1970. pp.475-499

History of tithes in Rus' and Tsarist Russia

The first written mentions of this unit of measurement date back to the 14th century. But, given the number of wars throughout Rus', accompanied by fires in which documents were lost, historians believe that tithes as a measure began to be actively used earlier.

As mentioned above, for several centuries this unit did not have an exact size, and therefore differed in different historical eras. Because of this, in different periods the amount of territory recorded in documents belonging to a particular person could change. This, naturally, caused numerous disputes and redistributions.

To solve a similar problem, government tithes were introduced already in 1753 (this is 2,400 square fathoms). It was this type, along with the household scythe, the household round, the hundred and the melon scythe, that was actively used until the introduction of the metric system. This event occurred after the October Revolution in September 1918.

By the way, despite such a change, the tithe continued to play the role of a unit of measurement for another nine years, until a categorical ban on its use was imposed in 1927.

What the New Testament Says About Tithing

Moreover, in the New Testament there is even an indication of a direct connection between the Old Testament priests and the New Testament ministers, after which the conclusion is drawn that believers, just as they previously supported priests, must support ministers today.

“Do you not know that those who officiate are fed from the sanctuary? … So the Lord also commanded those who preach the gospel to live by the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:13,14)

And what did the priests live on? Exclusively for tithes and offerings!

That is, the Apostle draws parallels between God’s servants of the Old and New Testaments, and therefore the size of the content is included in this parallel.

There is another example where the Apostle directly mentions tithing in relation to New Testament times.

In the letter to the Hebrews in chapter 7, the apostle recalls that Abraham paid tithes when there were no Levite priests (Gen. 14.18-20). And he gave it to the priest Melchesedek. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is repeatedly compared to the priest Melchesedek. Melchesedek was a type of Jesus based on Psalm 109:4. The apostle uses the example of tithes to prove that the High Priest Jesus is superior to the Levitical priests. Here is its logical chain, set out in Chapter 7. Abraham returned tithes to Melchesedek. And Levi, the founder of the priestly family, was within Abraham at that time, since he is a descendant of Abraham. It turns out that Levi himself, through Abraham, gave the tithe to Melchesedek. And Melchesedek is an image of Jesus. That is, the conclusion: Jesus is a higher priest than the priesthood of Levi.

So, the priesthood of the New Testament is the priesthood of Jesus according to the order of Melchizedek. In this “order,” tithes are naturally present, as in the “order” of Melchn-Zedek and in the “order” of Levi. The financing principle is the same.

Let us read on this topic another statement of the apostle from the letter to the Hebrews:

“And here mortal men take tithes, but there he who has testimony of himself that he lives ” (Heb. 7:8).

Here "- where exactly ? On the ground. What kind of people take tithes on earth - ordinary, mortals, that is, dying. Where is it? First, let’s be clear: are we talking about Melchesedek or Jesus? If we are talking about Melchesedek, then he lived on earth in the city of Salem, and if we are talking about Jesus, then He is in heaven. But look carefully, this text compares mortals with immortals. Compared to mortals, he lives , that is, he does not die. Melchesedek was a mortal man, although his birth and death were not known, he was great, but only a prototype of Jesus. The one who lives forever is only Jesus.

A little further the Apostle speaks directly about this:

“This (Jesus), because He abides forever , has an enduring priesthood” (Heb. 7:24)

Elsewhere in Scripture it is affirmed that only God has immortality:

“The Lord... alone has immortality ” (1 Tim.6:15,16)

That is, in Heb. 7:8 we read that Jesus takes tithes. How does He take them? How should tithes now be given to the High Priest Jesus? The answer is in the Bible. According to the Holy Scriptures, Jesus is the Head of the Church, and His body is the Church on earth.

“He (Jesus) is the head of the body of the Church; … His body, which is the Church” (Col. 1:18,24, see also 1 Cor. 12:12-27).

So, according to the text of the New Testament, today there is a change in the priesthood. We have Jesus as our High Priest. Let us repeat the New Testament arguments about tithing:

The apostle in the letter to the Hebrews builds his proof of the superiority of the priestly ministry of Jesus over the Levitical priesthood precisely on the tithe. That is, Jesus, the Head of the church, takes tithes from us, as stated in Hebrews 7.
In 1 Cor. 9:13,14 the ministers of the church of Christ are compared to the Old Testament priests, where the direct command is given to provide for them in the same way as the people previously provided for the ministry of the priesthood.
And of course, the fact of the immutability of God and His law. Jesus explained that a commandment can only be canceled when its God-given purpose has been fulfilled.

What more proof is needed, especially considering that God is unchangeable? Was it really possible that before God’s servants had to support the people on tithes, but now God will say that instead of tithes, 3% or 1% will be enough for them, or in general, who will give how much? Has God really changed His attitude towards His servants?

History shows that in different churches for many centuries, one way or another, the practice of collecting tithes from the people for the construction of churches and the maintenance of Christian ministers was practiced. I wrote about this in my book in the chapter on tithes and voluntary offerings.

What is included in tithing?

Today, some Christians recognize the need to pay tithes, but apply this commandment only to the products of the land and livestock. Like, the commandments speak about crops and livestock. Yes, of course, there are such texts. For example,

“And every tithe of the earth, of the seed of the earth, and of the fruit of the tree, belongeth unto the Lord: it is holy unto the Lord...And every tithe of herds and flocks, of all that passeth under the rod, shall be dedicated unto the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30,32 )

It turns out that if we take into account only these two texts, then indeed today city residents need to return tithes only from the harvest from their summer cottages, if any. But the residents of rural areas are the losers - they must return tithes from all harvests in the garden, field and livestock.

Do you think this interpretation of the Bible is fair? Unlikely. And that's true. After all, the Bible does not teach that only Israeli agricultural producers had to return tithes, and Israeli artisans did not. Let's figure it out.

Firstly, there is no need to perceive God’s law as the law of the letter, because it is the law of the spirit. According to the law of the letter, if the commandment about tithes says about crops and livestock, then you must pay tithes only on this. But according to the law of the spirit, the principle, the essence, that is, the purpose of the commandment is understood.

Theologians know that God's law does not always give a closed list, but often gives a principle. For example:

“If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey lost, bring it to him; If you see your enemy’s donkey fallen under his burden, do not leave him; unload with him" (Exodus 23:4,5)

This commandment teaches about returning what is found and helping even enemies. But the commandment does not say about a horse or a camel, about a wallet, and even less about a car... It turns out that there is no need to return a found wallet with a business card, or to help a person with a horse?! We must understand that a commandment gives a principle. And there are many such commandments, for example, the commandment of an eye for an eye. She does not talk about eyes, but gives the principle of full compensation for damage to the victim from the tortfeasor.

Here's another example.

“You shall not light fire in all your dwellings on the Sabbath day” (Exodus 35:3)

If we take the commandment literally (according to the law of the letter), then we should not use lamps on the Sabbath and heat food. But, if we take into account the context, then we are talking about cooking, which took a lot of time and effort in the desert, so that the woman had no time left for Sabbath rest and growth in God...

So it is with tithes. At that time, Israel was an agricultural country, meaning farming and animal husbandry were more common, so when God taught about tithing, He mentioned something that was common. Please note that God did not give the commandment about tithing with a full transfer, saying that you must return such and such as a tithe with a transfer. There is no such commandment. When God mentions tithes, He uses gifts of land and livestock as examples. It's just a principle.

Let's talk more about justice. Is it fair if only farmers and livestock breeders paid/returned the tithe, and the rest of the people, including the wealthy (artisans, traders, jewelers...), would be exempt from tithe, supposedly, because the commandment does not list income from other crafts?

Is not our God a God of justice?

Let's move on to Bible examples about tithing

Let's remember the story of Abraham. After the war, did he only have cattle and fruits of the land as trophies? We read that Abraham gave tithes OF EVERYTHING to Melchesedek. Now about Jacob. He ran away from home. He did not yet know what business he would be involved in. Maybe in a foreign land he would have to engage in agriculture, or animal husbandry, or maybe trade or furrier or carpentry. But he promised God that he would tithe again FROM EVERYTHING.

Now let's look at what the people of Israel had to return to the Levites in the form of tithes. We know that God did not give the Levites land. It turns out that the Levites could not engage in agriculture and animal husbandry. Why didn't God give them land? The goal is clear - for the Levites to be responsible for the spiritual state of the Israelites. Their role included, as we noted above, maintaining the work of the sanctuary, teaching people the law of God, the priests also participated in judicial processes, the Levites maintained cities of refuge for manslaughter, the Levites rewrote the Holy Scriptures. You need to understand that for one copy of the Torah it was necessary to use more than 40 animal skins... And also ink, etc. was needed. And the rewriting itself took months. As you can see, the Levites were very busy. Did God really command the Israelites to tithe the Levites only from livestock and the produce of the land? But the Israelites should not have given the finished products in the form of butter and honey to the Levites, since they are not described in the commandments of the Torah? And for example, carpenters, tailors, tanners, winemakers, mead makers, blacksmiths... weren’t supposed to give anything to the Levites either? That is, did God really want the Levites to press the oil themselves, make furniture and knives and axes..? How did they find time to learn this craft, and at the same time find time to fulfill their direct responsibilities?

Of course, God wanted to free the Levites from the problems of supporting their family, so God directly indicated in the commandment that the Levites needed to give tithes FROM EVERYTHING that the people of Israel had.

“And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given tithes of ALL that Israel had for their service, because they ministered in the tabernacle of meeting” (Num. 18:21).

Remember, we found the same phrase “OF ALL” in the words of Abraham and Jacob. So nothing has changed. Here's another example:

“And he (King Hezekiah) commanded the people living in Jerusalem to give a certain allowance to the priests and Levites, so that they would be zealous in the law of the Lord ... The children of Israel brought in abundance of the firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey , and all kinds of produce from the field; and (the conjunction “and” is not in the original, that is, this text lists the goods of the tithe) they paid a multitude of tithes OUT OF ALL ” (2 Chron. 31:4,5)

Look, here we see handicraft products, because oil and honey are not products of the earth, but a product of handicraft, that is, a person needs to have certain knowledge, technical devices and put in labor to obtain this product. And then again we encounter the phrase “tithes OUT OF EVERYTHING”

And here is a phrase from the New Testament about tithing OUT OF EVERYTHING. The Pharisee considered himself righteous because he gave “a tenth of ALL that he acquired” (Luke 18:12)

And here is a controversial text that supporters of agricultural tithes sometimes cite:

“They, the Levites, will take tithes in all the cities where we have agriculture” (Neh. 10:37).

However, in the original it is written not “where we have agriculture,” but the words “where we work.” Here the translation was not carried out literally; apparently the translator took into account the agrarian orientation of Israel.

A tithe of land is how much in modern units of measurement

This measure has long been outdated, but mention of it can often be found in the literature. Moreover, these are not only works of classics written several centuries ago, but also some modern historical novels. In this regard, their readers are often interested in knowing the answer to the question: a tithe of land is how much in acres, hectares or even square meters? After all, in this way they can better imagine the size of the territory in which the work takes place.

In the works of the 18th-19th centuries, as a rule, we are talking about a government unit, and it is equal to 10,925 m². If we translate this into hundreds, a tithe will be 109.25 ares, or 1.0925 hectares. As for other types, in addition to the breech one, the round economic one is most often mentioned. In size it exceeds the economic oblique and is equal to 3600 square fathoms. Knowing this, you can calculate: a round economic tithe is how many acres (ar)? The correct answer is 163.881.

By the way, conversion from units of the metric system can be done using almost any online calculator of measures and quantities. Usually it indicates the government tithe of land. But there are also more advanced programs of this kind, in which hectares and acres can be converted into some other type of this measure. Most often - to the economic circle. So, if you have time and desire, you can try.

Material form of tithe

These could be fruits, grains, vegetables, wine, and later animals, which were regarded as the product of the earth. The tribute in question never acted as money, since the Law of Moses states that it belongs to the Lord from all the products of the earth. The money was used exclusively for its purchase in the city and never acted as a substitute equivalent.

Tithe was tribute in the form of animals and gifts of land. Nowhere in the scriptures is it stated that these can be bills or bank checks that must be placed on the church tray every week, as is the case in modern church institutions at the corresponding cathedrals.

The meaning of the word "tithe" from a religious point of view

The term being studied has another way of interpretation, and in this meaning it continues to be actively used to this day. This is the name of the tax in favor of the church, equal to a tenth of the income of each parishioner.

Most often, this tax is typical for Christian denominations, as well as Judaism. It is interesting that in different periods of history the attitude towards it was different. At one time, the collection of tithes was carried out by the state, and this tax was mandatory. In other periods, the payment of this tax became voluntary.

Tithe among Jews

The tithe became a mandatory tax for any Jew during the time of Moses. After liberation from Egyptian slavery, the descendants of Abraham faced the need not only to create a new independent state, but also a system of laws by which its citizens would live. The Bible says that the Jews did not have to come up with laws and rules. Indeed, during their stay in the desert, the Almighty himself gave them the Law by which they had to live and believe. It was here that the tithe first became a compulsory tax.

In the case of the Jewish people, the existence of such a tax was completely justified. The fact is that one of the tribes of Israel (Levites) took on the functions of priests. So that they could fully fulfill the duties related to the service of God and not be distracted, the remaining eleven tribes took upon themselves the responsibility for their maintenance (the Levites were the only ones who did not have their own land). Tithes were collected for this purpose.

In turn, each of the priests also gave one tenth of the money, food or goods they received for the needs of the chief of them, the high priest. It is worth noting that the Levites spent the funds received in this way not only for their own needs, but also for charity, supporting widows and orphans.

Is it compulsory to give church tithes?

The Apostle Paul repeatedly writes that the church of one city donates to the needs of another (2 Corinthians 8-9 chapters, 1 Tim. 6 chapters) from its generous heart. Nowhere in the New Testament does it indicate that giving is an “obligation” and that without it a person is not saved.

Christ, and later His apostles, strive to convey to people that today it is important to sacrifice from the heart, and not from compulsion. But the Church will not be able to support itself and the poor if people stop giving to the temple and giving alms.

Poor Widow's Donation

The key passages in Scripture regarding tithing can be considered the words of Jesus in Matt. Chapter 23, “Do this and do not forsake this,” where the Lord clearly shows that it is necessary to sacrifice, but at the same time do not forget about love and mercy for your neighbor.

Also very important are the words of the Apostle Paul, which complement the covenant of Christ:

“Everyone should give according to his heart’s desire, not grudgingly or under compulsion; For God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

Only a sacrifice from a pure heart can be useful for the giver and the receiver, although initially many sacrifice out of duty rather than out of love; as a person grows spiritually, almsgiving becomes a voluntary action. The person of the New Testament, who calls Christ the Savior, sacrifices out of love for God and neighbor, voluntarily.

Tithe in Christianity

With the emergence of Christianity, many Jewish traditions were laid into its basis, among them the aforementioned tax. Initially, it was not mandatory, and you could pay it at your own discretion. But there were always not very many people willing to donate. Moreover, before Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, most of the people professing it were not rich.

When all the citizens of Rome voluntarily and forcibly became Christians, the rich were in no hurry to part with a tenth of their property. To encourage them, in 567 AD. e. At the Council of Tours, it was decided to present the tithe as an optional tax. At the same time, emphasizing that paying it testifies to the true faith of the parishioner.

However, such an attempt to put pressure on conscience did not have the expected effect, since owners of huge fortunes are often deprived of it. Therefore, most of them continued not to pay taxes or did so extremely irregularly. Thus, the new law affected only poor parishioners, who had already tried to tithe. After this failure, in 585, at the Council of Macon, this tax was declared mandatory, and those who did not pay it were excommunicated from the church.

A little more than two hundred years later, Charlemagne went even further and imposed criminal penalties on all defaulters, depending on their maliciousness. At the same time, the king also put forward a number of demands for the clergy. In particular, they were allowed to spend only one third of the money they received on themselves, the second part went to the construction and maintenance of church buildings, and the third was to be spent on charity.

Unfortunately, all that remained of Charlemagne’s wonderful idea (to use tithes for good deeds, and not just to satisfy the growing needs of the clergy) was soon only the obligation to pay it. Moreover, in future years, the church began to demand not only part of the income from agriculture (as it was initially), but also from all other activities. It got to the point that even prostitutes were forced to bring tithes to the temple, not forgetting to reproach them for their unworthiness of the craft.

In the next few centuries, real battles took place over the division of the collected tithes. Thus, not only the Pope demanded the lion's share of all money to maintain his court, but also many European monarchs. At the same time, the common people, merchants, knights and less noble nobility were not happy with the growing number of parasites. Therefore, with the beginning of the Reformation era, most European countries gradually began to abolish this compulsory tax and other religious levies. Currently, tithing is not a mandatory tax among most Christian denominations. At the same time, many of them returned to the principle of the Council of Tours in 567.

Excerpt describing Tithe

When Mikhail Ivanovich entered, there were tears in his eyes, memories of the time when he wrote what he was now reading. He took the letter from Mikhail Ivanovich’s hands, put it in his pocket, put away the papers and called Alpatych, who had been waiting for a long time. On a piece of paper he wrote down what was needed in Smolensk, and he, walking around the room past Alpatych, who was waiting at the door, began to give orders. - First, postal paper, do you hear, eight hundred, according to the sample; gold-edged... a sample, so that it will certainly be according to it; varnish, sealing wax - according to a note from Mikhail Ivanovich. He walked around the room and looked at the memo. “Then personally give the governor a letter about the recording. Then they needed bolts for the doors of the new building, certainly of the style that the prince himself had invented. Then a binding box had to be ordered for storing the will. Giving orders to Alpatych lasted more than two hours. The prince still did not let him go. He sat down, thought and, closing his eyes, dozed off. Alpatych stirred. - Well, go, go; If you need anything, I will send it. Alpatych left. The prince went back to the bureau, looked into it, touched his papers with his hand, locked it again and sat down at the table to write a letter to the governor. It was already late when he stood up, sealing the letter. He wanted to sleep, but he knew that he would not fall asleep and that his worst thoughts came to him in bed. He called Tikhon and went with him through the rooms to tell him where to make his bed that night. He walked around, trying on every corner. Everywhere he felt bad, but the worst thing was the familiar sofa in the office. This sofa was scary to him, probably because of the heavy thoughts that he changed his mind while lying on it. Nowhere was good, but the best place of all was the corner in the sofa behind the piano: he had never slept here before. Tikhon brought the bed with the waiter and began to set it up. - Not like that, not like that! - the prince shouted and moved it a quarter away from the corner, and then again closer. “Well, I’ve finally done everything over, now I’ll rest,” the prince thought and allowed Tikhon to undress himself. Frowning in annoyance from the efforts that had to be made to take off his caftan and trousers, the prince undressed, sank heavily onto the bed and seemed to be lost in thought, looking contemptuously at his yellow, withered legs. He didn’t think, but he hesitated in front of the difficulty ahead of him to lift those legs and move on the bed. “Oh, how hard it is! Oh, if only this work would end quickly, quickly, and you would let me go! - he thought. He pursed his lips and made this effort for the twentieth time and lay down. But as soon as he lay down, suddenly the whole bed moved evenly under him back and forth, as if breathing heavily and pushing. This happened to him almost every night. He opened his eyes that had closed. - No peace, damned ones! - he growled with anger at someone. “Yes, yes, there was something else important, I saved something very important for myself in bed at night. Valves? No, that's what he said. No, there was something in the living room. Princess Marya was lying about something. Desalle—that fool—was saying something. There’s something in my pocket, I don’t remember.” - Quiet! What did they talk about at dinner? - About the prince, Mikhail... - Shut up, shut up. “The prince slammed his hand on the table. - Yes! I know, a letter from Prince Andrei. Princess Marya was reading. Desalles said something about Vitebsk. Now I'll read it. He ordered the letter to be taken out of his pocket and a table with lemonade and a whitish candle to be moved to the bed, and, putting on his glasses, he began to read. Here only in the silence of the night, in the faint light from under the green cap, did he read the letter for the first time and for a moment understand its meaning. “The French are in Vitebsk, after four crossings they can be at Smolensk; maybe they’re already there.” - Quiet! - Tikhon jumped up. - No, no, no, no! - he shouted. He hid the letter under the candlestick and closed his eyes. And he imagined the Danube, a bright afternoon, reeds, a Russian camp, and he enters, he, a young general, without one wrinkle on his face, cheerful, cheerful, ruddy, into Potemkin’s painted tent, and a burning feeling of envy for his favorite, just as strong, as then, worries him. And he remembers all the words that were said then at his first Meeting with Potemkin. And he imagines a short, fat woman with yellowness in her fat face - Mother Empress, her smiles, words when she greeted him for the first time, and he remembers her own face on the hearse and that clash with Zubov, which was then with her coffin for the right to approach her hand. “Oh, quickly, quickly return to that time, and so that everything now ends as quickly as possible, as quickly as possible, so that they leave me alone!” Bald Mountains, the estate of Prince Nikolai Andreich Bolkonsky, was located sixty versts from Smolensk, behind it, and three versts from the Moscow road. On the same evening, as the prince gave orders to Alpatych, Desalles, having demanded a meeting with Princess Marya, informed her that since the prince was not entirely healthy and was not taking any measures for his safety, and from Prince Andrei’s letter it was clear that he was staying in Bald Mountains If it is unsafe, he respectfully advises her to write a letter with Alpatych to the head of the province in Smolensk with a request to notify her about the state of affairs and the extent of the danger to which Bald Mountains are exposed. Desalle wrote a letter to the governor for Princess Marya, which she signed, and this letter was given to Alpatych with the order to submit it to the governor and, in case of danger, to return as soon as possible. Having received all the orders, Alpatych, accompanied by his family, in a white feather hat (a princely gift), with a stick, just like the prince, went out to sit in a leather tent, packed with three well-fed Savras. The bell was tied up and the bells were covered with pieces of paper. The prince did not allow anyone to ride in Bald Mountains with a bell. But Alpatych loved bells and bells on a long journey. Alpatych's courtiers, a zemstvo, a clerk, a cook - black, white, two old women, a Cossack boy, coachmen and various servants saw him off. The daughter placed chintz down pillows behind him and under him. The old lady's sister-in-law secretly slipped the bundle. One of the coachmen gave him a hand. - Well, well, women's training! Women, women! - Alpatych said puffingly, patteringly exactly as the prince spoke, and sat down in the tent. Having given the last orders about the work to the zemstvo, and in this way not imitating the prince, Alpatych took off his hat from his bald head and crossed himself three times. - If anything... you will come back, Yakov Alpatych; For Christ’s sake, have pity on us,” his wife shouted to him, hinting at rumors about war and the enemy. “Women, women, women’s gatherings,” Alpatych said to himself and drove off, looking around at the fields, some with yellowed rye, some with thick, still green oats, some still black, which were just beginning to double. Alpatych rode along, admiring the rare spring harvest this year, looking closely at the strips of rye crops on which people were beginning to reap in some places, and made his economic considerations about sowing and harvesting and whether any princely order had been forgotten. Having fed him twice on the way, by the evening of August 4th Alpatych arrived in the city. On the way, Alpatych met and overtook convoys and troops. Approaching Smolensk, he heard distant shots, but these sounds did not strike him. What struck him most was that, approaching Smolensk, he saw a beautiful field of oats, which some soldiers were mowing, apparently for food, and in which they were camping; This circumstance struck Alpatych, but he soon forgot it, thinking about his business. All the interests of Alpatych’s life for more than thirty years were limited by the will of the prince alone, and he never left this circle. Everything that did not concern the execution of the prince’s orders not only did not interest him, but did not exist for Alpatych. Alpatych, having arrived in Smolensk on the evening of August 4th, stopped across the Dnieper, in the Gachensky suburb, at an inn, with the janitor Ferapontov, with whom he had been in the habit of staying for thirty years. Ferapontov, twelve years ago, with the light hand of Alpatych, having bought a grove from the prince, began trading and now had a house, an inn and a flour shop in the province. Ferapontov was a fat, black, red-haired forty-year-old man, with thick lips, a thick bumpy nose, the same bumps over his black, frowning eyebrows and a thick belly. Ferapontov, in a waistcoat and a cotton shirt, stood at a bench overlooking the street. Seeing Alpatych, he approached him. - Welcome, Yakov Alpatych. The people are from the city, and you are going to the city,” said the owner. - So, from the city? - said Alpatych. “And I say, people are stupid.” Everyone is afraid of the Frenchman. - Women's talk, women's talk! - said Alpatych. - That’s how I judge, Yakov Alpatych. I say there is an order that they won’t let him in, which means it’s true. And the men are asking for three rubles per cart - there is no cross on them! Yakov Alpatych listened inattentively. He demanded a samovar and hay for the horses and, having drunk tea, went to bed. All night long, troops moved past the inn on the street. The next day Alpatych put on a camisole, which he wore only in the city, and went about his business. The morning was sunny, and from eight o'clock it was already hot. An expensive day for harvesting grain, as Alpatych thought. Shots were heard outside the city from early morning.

Tithes among the Ottomans

A similar tax was used not only among Jews and Christians, but also in some Muslim countries.

Thus, during the Ottoman Empire, the inhabitants of the Bulgaria they conquered were forced to pay tithes. True, it did not go to the needs of the clergy, but to the Turkish feudal lords. Unlike the Europeans, the Ottomans at least told citizens honestly who and where their money was going, and not hiding behind the name of God to carry out extortions.

Literature[ | ]

Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S.
Matthew, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 26. Garden City, New York, 1971. (English)
The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
, Vol. 4 "E." Chicago, 1958. (English)
Fitzmyer, Joseph A.
The Gospel According to Luke, X-XXIV, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 28A. New York, 1985. (English)
Tithe // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 14, pp. 450-452.
Tithe, type of service // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

Tithe from inheritances and gifts

Regarding income, it is obvious that according to the Bible, tithes are returned from everything . But there are questions about inheritance and gifts... This is debatable, since there are no direct references to this in the Bible. But let's remember the principle of the commandment to tithe. In my opinion, the essence of tithing is returning to God 10% of His blessings. Remember the words of Jacob, “of all that You give me .” And if we are talking about inheritance, then can the death of a parent be called a blessing? Imagine that a mother and daughter lived in a Moscow apartment - both of retirement age. The mother died, and the daughter inherited half an apartment. She has a huge market value, meaning she won't be able to pay a tithe for the rest of her life. Is such an inheritance a blessing? This tithe can become a heavy burden. Or let's take a gift. For example, an incident from life. An unbelieving husband gives his believing wife a car. How can she return her tithe? Sell the car, return the tithe and buy another cheaper car? But the husband will be angry for such an act of his wife. What is needed here is wisdom, which must be asked from God. If you have received a gift but cannot return your tithe, serve God with that gift... or in some other way. God is not a formalist. Remember the words of Hosea and Jesus: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Russian church tithes - in ancient times and today