“Rise to pray”: on the character of religiosity of the present-day old believers

Abstract

This article deals with the history and current state of Belokrinitskaya community in the town of Ivanovo. In the 19th — early 20th centuries, this was one of the major Russian centres of Old Believers, but nowadays there is only one small community in the town; it has a number of typical problems, ranging from the lack of a prayer room to the unwillingness of the young to continue the tradition. With one family as an example, the article demonstrates the changes that took place among the local Old Believers in the Soviet time, as well as main events and confl icts that aff ected the life of the community. The authors of the paper also raise the question about the character of the religiosity of modern urban Old Believers. They analyse the religious practice and circle of reading of a hereditary female Old Believer, her world outlook and self-identifi cation. We also touch upon the question about the commonly shared criteria of religiosity, e.g. the frequency of the prayer, going to church, sacrament of communion. By means of a specifi c example and employing a wide range of personal sources, we show the problem of collision of the traditional (Old Faith) and nontraditional, esoteric (urban), worldview. Particular attention is paid to the image of the representative of a traditional culture that has established in relevant scientifi c literature, as well as the infl uence of this image on academic researchers.

Keywords

• Ivanovo
• old believers
• religiosity
• esoteric
• fi eld research
• belokrinitskie