Women of the Catacombs: Memoirs of the Underground Orthodox Church in Stalin’s Russia (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies)
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(as of Jan 22, 2024 05:12:38 UTC – Details)
The memoirs presented in Women of the Catacombsoffer a rare close-up account of the underground Orthodox community and its priests during some of the most difficult years in Russian history. The catacomb church in the Soviet Union came into existence in the 1920s and played a significant part in Russian national life for nearly fifty years. Adherents to the Orthodox faith often referred to the catacomb church as the “light shining in the dark.” Women of the Catacombs provides a first-hand portrait of lived religion in its social, familial, and cultural setting during this tragic period.
Until now, scholars have had only brief, scattered fragments of information about Russia’s illegal church organization that claimed to protect the purity of the Orthodox tradition. Vera Iakovlevna Vasilevskaia and Elena Semenovna Men, who joined the church as young women, offer evidence on how Russian Orthodoxy remained a viable, alternative presence in Soviet society, when all political, educational, and cultural institutions attempted to indoctrinate Soviet citizens with an atheistic perspective. Wallace L. Daniel’s translation not only sheds light on Russia’s religious and political history, but also shows how two educated women maintained their personal integrity in times when prevailing political and social headwinds moved in an opposite direction.
Publisher : Northern Illinois University Press (March 15, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 252 pages
ISBN-10 : 1501754408
ISBN-13 : 978-1501754401
Item Weight : 1 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 0.69 x 9 inches