Description
Book SynopsisExploring patterns of popular devotion to the cult of the saints in both late imperial and early Soviet Russia, this title argues for an interpretation of Orthodoxy as a proactive faith grounded in the needs and realities of everyday life. It is of interest to Russian historians, anthropologists, and scholars of religion.
Trade Review"Readable and witty. Integrating western scholarship with a deep plumbing of archival material, Greene has deftly analyzed the myriad interactions among saints' bones, believers, religious leaders, Imperial officials, and Bolsheviks - from the most mundane level to Lenin himself." - Roy R. Robson, University of the Science in Philadelphia, author of Old Believers in Modern Russia and Solovki"
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. In the Eye of the Beholder: The Russian Orthodox Church and the Problem of Incorruptibility
2. Going to See the Saints: Miracles, Shrines, and Relics
3. Making Saints: Canonization and Community
4. The Revolution and the Saints
5. Toppling the Saints from Their Thrones: The Bolshevik Exhumation of Holy Relics
6. Relics in Red Russia: Orthodox Responses to the Exhumation Campaign
Epilogue and Conclusion: The Passing of the Saints?
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
