‘institutional display’ of a russian orthodox christian monastery
TRANSCRIPT
‘Institutional Display’ of a Russian Orthodox Christian Monastery
Ksenia Medvedeva,Higher School of Economics (Moscow)[email protected]
BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group, 2015
Orthodox Christians
Non-believers
Other
N/A
1989 2013
Non-believers
Other
Religious affiliation in Russia (Levada opinion polls)1
Text of the presentation:https://goo.gl/QV3gdD
2
Pushing: the 1990s Pulling: the 2000sRetaining
secular viewreligious view
sociological view
The number of monasteries in Russia
Society <–> monastery migration
3
“Nun N.: Before entering a monastery I’ve never talked with nuns, I thought they’re angels. I can’t say I liked it here at the beginning. It’s a very well-established monastery. Me: What did you expect to see?Nun N.: For me a monastery is a secluded place, quiet. In my idealistic dreams it has a river, a temple in the forest, and monks-hermits. Here we don’t have it.”
‘No entry’
4
1 100 000 copies in 2011
5
The self ‘is not a property of the person to whom it is attributed, but dwells rather in the pattern of social control (…) This special kind of institutional arrangement does not so much support the self as constitute it.’ (Goffman 1961, 168)
6
‘The Sacred Path… is a territory of Russia in a microscale’ ‘With the strengthening of the Sacred Path, Russia will regain its strength’
Diveyevo monastery, 2012
7
‘the Russian Orthodox Church has played a powerful role in post-Soviet society’s efforts to reassess and reclaim the pre-revolutionary past (…). The revival of its monasteries is one of the most astonishing aspects of this process’ (Rock 2009, 4)