VARIA

Bishop Methodian Campanian and the Practice of Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of the Russian Emigration: (Re)Invented Tradition

The paper deals with the Russian émigrés’ pilgrimage to the Holy Land after the Second World War. The author analyzes the phenomenon of the restoration of group pilgrimages as a process of reinventing the pilgrimage tradition first developed mainly in the peasant milieu at the turn of the twentieth century. The annual trips from France organized by Bishop Methodian Kulman served as the basis for the new pilgrimage movement and the formation of a new community of “co-pilgrims”, uniting Russian Orthodox emigrants from all over the world.

Catholic Liturgical Practices in Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s: Canonical Norms and Anomalies

This paper examines changes in the liturgical and paraliturgical practices of Roman Catholics in Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s. Nine documents from different archives outside Russia were first used to show changes made at the request of Russian Catholics. These documents deal with a number of disciplinary issues, such as the time for the celebration of Mass, observation of a natural fast before Mass, permission for lay people to bring Holy communion to the sick or imprisoned people. The Holy See readily relaxed canonical requirements.

Politics in the Church: For Whom Do Orthodox Priests Call to Vote?

The article provides a study of the relationship between politics and religion in contemporary Russia. The authors analyze the materials of the survey “Socio-Political Preferences of Russian Society” (number of people identifying themselves as Orthodox believers N=2,735), which showed that at least 21.1% of the sample make decisions concerning their electoral choices under direct influence of priests and fellow parishioners. The authors reveal the political forces who are beneficiaries of the Orthodox vote.

Exploring Neo-Pagan Groups in Social Networks as an Indicator of the Numbers of Adherents

The theme of Russian Neo-Paganism or, as it is often called, Rodnoverie, has become prominent in academic periodicals which does not necessarily reflect the real level of Neo-Paganism’s popularity in the Russian society. Researchers are not able to convincingly estimate the number of its adherents. Sociological surveys are too contradictory, and we can try to rely upon the data collected on the Internet. Some authors have already used these data by counting the number of Neo-Pagan groups and followers in the social networks.

“Let Your Lamps Be Ready”: Individual Destiny and Collective Identity in Eschatological Perspective (the Case of the Moscow Spiritist Circle)

The aim of this study is to highlight the links between eschatological ideas and social/ethical beliefs of the Moscow spiritist circle who viewed their fellowship as a religious eschatological community. Eschatological doctrine of the group could be characterized both as “catastrophic” and “progressive” millennialism. Eschatological social project suggested the elimination of the border between the earthly and heavenly realms and a shift towards egalitarian social model through a total renewal of the present world.

Apologia and Criticism of Russian Nationalism in the Journalistic Writings by Bishop Andrey (Ukhtomsky)

Using the views of bishop Andrey ( Ukhtomsky) as an example, the article discusses an understudied problem of the attitude of Russian Orthodox priests to the theory and practice of Russian nationalism of the late 19th — early 20th centuries. The authors analyze the bishop’s views on national empowerment, political nationalism and the issue of the non-Russians (inorodtsy). It is demonstrated how bishop Andrey’s Slavophil views shaped his Russian nationalism.

Devatāsūtra in the Arabic Compendium of Chronicles of Rashīd al-Dīn

In the Compendium of Chronicles ( Jāmi‘ al-tawārīkh) of a famous medieval scholar, physician, and influential vizier at the Ilkhanid court Rashīd al-Dīn Hamadhānī (1249/50–1318) that was compiled on the basis of the works of the court historian Abū-l-Qāsim Qāshānī (died after 1323/4), one finds a History of India (Tārīkh al-Hind wa’lSind), which contains a lengthy section about the Buddha and Buddhism. Among the Arabic sources on Buddhism, this work is considered to be the most important.

Leo Tolstoy’s Faith: The Equivalence of State of Mind and Content

The article discusses Tolstoy’s faith in the unity of its two sides: as the state of mind of its carrier, and in terms of its content and life principles that flow from it. It is shown that at the same time and in the same respect Tolstoy was the bearer of a faith and its investigator; therefore, its adequate interpretation is possible only if the principles established by him for himself are taken into account instead of abstract and outward interpretation of what faith should be.

“Now We See Two Churches…” Conversions to the Old Believer’s Church of Belokrinitsa Agreement and Multi-Orthodoxy Religious Landscape after 1905

This article analyzes an almost unprecedented religious situation, which emerged after the 1905 “Edict of Toleration.” The Edict set in motion a number of processes in Russian religious landscape and created a legal foundation of what may be called a situation of multi‑ Orthodoxy. The author explores the legal co‑existence of two church hierarchies who called themselves Orthodox: Russian Synodal Orthodox Church and Old Believers’ Church of Belokrinitsa agreement. The Edict and the following Circular no.

Ethnography and Eroticism in Russian Turkestan

There are not many examples of gender studies in the field of historical research of Muslim peripheries of the Russian Empire. This article explores the representations of Muslim women in pre‑revolutionary Turkestan. It focuses on the research and practices of colonial ethnography, which supplied the authorities with knowledge about local people. In particular, the article considers and compare “The Turkestan Album”, a state‑sponsored photography project, and French traveler Hugues Krafft’s volume “Through Russian Turkestan»”, with the pictures of Muslim women.

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