Folk versions of liturgical hymns as a subject of ethnic-musicological research

This paper summarizes the initial period of the study of folklore versions of chants in Russian culture. The further studies of Orthodox hymns and prayers should include the border and the object of study, melodic prototypes, issues of musical typology and melo-geography, the reception of verbal texts, the adherence to the chants of folklore texts and the addition paraphrase, and be based on the study of the history of education and the organization of the singing in the churches of the Russian provinces.