Narratives of Popular Orthodoxy

Abstract

The problem of heterogeneity and sub-ethnicity of the Russian Orthodoxy is set up basing on field data collected in the turn-of-the-century (20-th-21-nd centuries) in the north-eastern part of the Voronezh region. Sub-ethnicity currently is manifested in the differences in the beliefs of the residents of mono-confessional and multi-confessional localities. Popular Orthodoxy is considered as a dynamic entity consisting of the core and the periphery and is characterized by the following features: syncretism (of the Christianity, magics and paganism) in the core and the dialogism in the periphery of folk beliefs; folklore-shaped, concretely-practical character of faith, tolerance and compassion as the main canon of popular religiosity.