« Parler en langues » pour mieux rompre avec la culture russe

Abstract

In the Amur Region, in the cities of Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk and Nikolaievsk, glossolalia takes various shapes depending in churches where it may be observed: crying fits, yells, falls to the floor, mumbling. According to the believers, these behaviors are provoked by the divine nature of the Holy Spirit who then comes into contact with the individual. While the latter seem to let go and lose control, to a certain extent, during these events, my observations show that it is a codified practice, and that “speaking in tongues” constitutes a mode of enunciation of emotions. This experience represents the counterpart of testimony and together, they structure a repetitive ritual model which induces for the believer a systemic break with their culture of origin: they thus stop being “Russian” and become “Christian”. The creation of a common repertoire of emotions enables the expression of a critic of the contemporary society and the creation of strategies of emancipation from this society. Based on empirical data collected among members of three evangelical Churches, this analysis aims at understanding what glossolalia, taken as an intensified space of expression, shows us of the contemporary society, as it is perceived and experienced.

Keywords

• glossolalia
• evangelism
• christianity
• Amur region
• emotions