Abstract

In contemporary Russian Orthodoxy, alternative regimes of religiosity are developing alongside traditional modes of organizing religious life within the framework of parishes. All alternative regimes are united by a common ideology of Orthodox nomadism that caters to the demands and habits of the urbanized Orthodox majority. Those who compose this ma­jority prefer pilgrimages and visits to Russian Orthodox fairs to a regular religious life in their local Orthodox communities. Thus, they try to evade a premodern structure inscribed in the very concept of a church parish with its strong control over the parish's members and explicit hierarchy. The article by Zhanna Kormina offers an in-depth analysis of different forms of such avoidance and escape. It is based on the author's long-term sociological-anthropological study carried out in the regions of the Russian Northwest and Sverdlovsk.

pdf

Share