Patronage

Patrons from history to the present day

The word "**patronage**" comes from the Latin patronatus - patronage, spiritual care, care, guardianship of someone. Already in ancient times, there was a prototype of modern patronage, which began with the relationship between the **head of the family and the family** under the auspices of the father of the family. This form of relationship was inherited even after the death of the patriarch. The same was true of the relationship between grandfathers and great-grandfathers and the subsequent generation. After Christianity penetrated Rus' in the 10th century, **spiritual and material support from the church** for “orphans” (or “widows”) and poor people began to spread. The adoption of Christianity led to the emergence of a new form of culture and spiritual life, known as **"clergy"** (clergy, priests, ministers below the rank of bishops or metropolitans). In the Middle Ages, when the main provider of funding and privileges for the clergy was the monarch, his power extended to all people dependent on him, including relatives and neighbors. Later, patronage was transformed into a **system of family ties**, and along with kinship, the patronage of one adult friend over minors began to arise. Patronage became an additional **formal privilege**. In order for this system to take on a modern form, that is, when a loved one follows the general norms of morality and ethics, as a servant of religious institutions, the principles of **family interaction** and its value orientations developed. Such a patron had **power over the ward**, which was voluntary: the ward could not take any imposed measures, while remaining in the patronage system as a person supplied with mercy. At the same time, the patron was referred to as a **philanthropist**, the patron of the clan. The role of the patron was that he did not help voluntarily, but **transferred the responsibilities** of the ward to other people. If a patron refused to fulfill his obligations and abandoned his ward, he was no longer perceived as a patron and was deprived of alms payments. The patron's property was also not considered as the property of the patronized person - it was the **common property of the family**. The patronized person, as a member of the association, was subject to certain rules: cutting the latter’s property was allowed only with the consent of other members of the clan and the head of the family. This division of responsibilities between the patron and the patronized was typical of transitional eras. More developed versions of patronage still existed in Russia during the period of feudalism, when the right of patronage was granted to a person superior to a person dependent on him. Hence the origin of the patronage of the monarch over the aristocracy, the clergy over the serving people. In medieval Europe, such a system of patronage contributed to the strengthening relationships** and the loss of the feudal division of society into two independent parts. Subsequently, this system existed in certain European countries in the form of a secular patronage form of relationship **"rent"**. Right to receive annuity annuity