Moving Faith: Pilgrimages in Modern Russia

FAIN: FA-52443-06

Christine D. Worobec
Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL 60115-2828)

Using cultural studies and social science methods, this multi-disciplinary project seeks to examine the history of Orthodox pilgrimages within the Russian Empire and from Russia to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Mount Athos from the eighteenth through the early twenty-first century. It will investigate continuities and changes over three centuries in religious practice and notions of the miraculous, understandings of the body and illness, gender differences in piety, national and individual identity formation, and the relationship between the institutional church and believers.

Associated Products

"The Unintended Consequences of a Surge in Orthodox Pilgrimages in Late Imperial Russia," Russian History 36 (2009): 62-76. (Article)
Title: "The Unintended Consequences of a Surge in Orthodox Pilgrimages in Late Imperial Russia," Russian History 36 (2009): 62-76.
Author: Christine D. Worobec
Abstract: Based on archival materials, this article explores the ways in which the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Monastery and Solovetskii monasteries at the turn of the twentieth century dealt with the challenges of serving increasing numbers of pilgrims, which ranged from security to public relations. Intent upon maintaining the strict regimens of their communities and raising the spiritual and national identities of worshipers, the abbots unsuccessfully tried to control pilgrims and pilgrimages. Individuals continued to flock to monastic institutions to satisfy their own spiritual and physical needs, bringing with them their human flaws and frailties.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/187633109x412375
Primary URL Description: Brill Online Books and Journals
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Russian History
Publisher: Brill

"Cross Dressing in a Russian Orthodox Monastery: The Case of Mariia Zakharova," The Journal of the History of Sexuality 20, no. 2 (May 2011): 336-57. (Article)
Title: "Cross Dressing in a Russian Orthodox Monastery: The Case of Mariia Zakharova," The Journal of the History of Sexuality 20, no. 2 (May 2011): 336-57.
Author: Christine D. Worobec
Abstract: An essay is presented on monastic institutions in imperial Russia. Emphasis is given to the case of Mariia Zakharova, a woman charged with disguising herself as a monk and living in a Russian Orthodox monastery. According to the author, the popular discourse on Zakharova's case was indicative of larger concerns about disorder and loss of control in monasteries and in Russian society at large. Topics discussed include homosexuality, cross-dressing, and women's roles in Russian society.
Year: 2011
Secondary URL: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/essays/61964657/cross-dressing-russian-orthodox-monastery-case-mariia-zakharova
Secondary URL Description: Ebsco Host Connection
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: The Journal of the History of Sexuality

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