Orthodox Christianity in Imperial Russia A Source Book on Lived Religion [Paperback]

From sermons and clerical reports to personal stories of faith, this book of translated primary documents reveals the lived experience of Orthodox Christianity in 19th- and early 20th-century Russia. These documents allow us to hear the voices of educated and uneducated writers, of clergy and laity, nobles and merchants, workers and peasants, men and women, Russians and Ukrainians. Orthodoxy emerges here as a multidimensional and dynamic faith. Beyond enhancing our understanding of Orthodox Christianity as practiced in Imperial Russia, this thoughtfully edited volume offers broad insights into the relationship between religious narrative and social experience and reveals religion's central place in the formation of world views and narrative traditions.

It?would be difficult to overpraise this contribution to the literature on Russian history and Orthodox Christianity. . . . Abreast of the best scholarship, this volume is valuable for studies of Russian history and religion. . . . Highly recommended.This important collection of primary sources introduces to students a dynamic world of faith and practice, thereby broadening their historical, cultural, and perhaps confessional horizions. And it speaks to specialists across disciplinary boundaries who study religion as lived experience.Representing the best recent scholarship, this volume provides a panoramic and highly enjoyable introduction to modern Russian Orthodoxy. Included are voices from a wide range of social stations in late imperial Russia.Each of these sources tells its own touching story of real individuals behaving religiously. The result is a beautiful cluster of short stories, each with its own plot, character development, pathos, and crisis.

Acknowledgments
A Note on Spellings and Dates
Introduction: Faith and Story in Imperial Russia. Heather J. Coleman
1. The Miraculous Healing of the Mute Sergei Ivanov, 22 February 1833. Christine D. Worobec
2. The Miraculous Revival and Death ol(