Sometimes when reading this or that literature related to the history of Ancient Russia, as well as tsarist Russia, we come across the word "clerk", but not everyone knows its exact meaning, and moreover, they confuse it with the similar sound and spelling the word "deacon" ( more correctly - deacon). Let’s see what the meaning of the word “clerk” is. In the Explanatory Dictionary of Ozhegov, you can find the following definition - "clerk - an official in state institutions." Consequently, the clerk is a civil servant, more often a boss, supervising the work of local government bodies. Sometimes this word indicated both the rank and position at the same time. This order was in place until the second half of the 17th century, and then other government officials replaced the clerks.
The origin of the word "clerk"
As mentioned earlier, readers often confuse “clerk” and “deacon,” and this is not surprising, since both of these words came from the same Greek - minister (“deaconess”, διακονος). However, they serve in different ways. If the clerk is a person who is in the public service, then the deacon is an employee of the church, located on the first, lower, level of the priesthood. He helps the priest during ceremonies, in services, and also lights the censer.
Do not be surprised that many confuse two such similar words. Even the great prose writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol in his novel “Viy” mixes these concepts - “I would like to know what you are taught in a bursa: whether he himself reads the clerk in the church or something else?”
History
So who are such clerks and what did they do in the public service? Initially, they belonged only to the role of writers, but already in the middle of the 16th century, during the reign of Vasily III, the clerks took control of all the work of the Duma, thanks to this a new state rank appeared - the Duma clerk. Gradually, they began to specialize in certain sovereign affairs, and later their activities ceased to extend only to the affairs of the Duma. The clerks, first in the role of secretaries, and then in the role of managers, began to appear in the regions. Already in the XV century. a clerk is not only a petty official, but also often a parliamentarian who takes control of communication with representatives of foreign powers. A little later, clerical work on military-operational matters was assigned to these employees, and at the end of the 15th century they run a communications service.
conclusions
So, based on the above, we can say that the clerk is a civil servant who first played the role of a scribe or secretary, and later assumed many other responsibilities, whether it be assistance in managing the region, managing a communications service or military records management.