Orthodox Christianity in Imperial Russia

Heather J. Coleman is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Imperial Russian History in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta. She is author of Russian Baptists and Spiritual Revolution, 1905-1929 (IUP, 2005) and editor (with Mark Steinberg) of Sacred Stories: Religion and Spirituality in Modern Russia (IUP, 2005).

"It is extremely rare for a book to be accessible and of use to undergraduates, graduate students, outsiders to the field and specialists in the field, but I believe this book pulls it off. It belongs on the shelf of anyone with any degree of interest in everyday life or religion in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russia."—Slavonic and East European Review"Coleman's collection . . . emerges as strikingly important as Orthodoxy moves into the twenty-first century. It serves as a caveat to those who want to see progress in modem terms when faith is timeless. Orthodoxy, as Coleman's collection makes plain, is a living response that transcends change and development."—Canadian Slavonic Papers"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."—Choice"One moves quickly and with accessible ease through [these] essays by well-respected scholars toward understanding what tserkovnost ("churchness") was to the Russian Orthodox believer in the time of the tsars. Tapping Russian language sources hitherto available only to those speaking Russian, this book brings one closer to that soil whence grew and flourished a people hardened by a history of suffering."—Review of Metaphysics"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."—wordsbecamebooks.com"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."—Paul Valliere, author of Modern Russian Theology"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."—Patrick Lally Michelson, coeditor (with Judith Deutsch Kornblatt) of Thinking Orthodox in Modern Russia: Culture, History, Co

• AcknowledgmentsA Note on Spellings and DatesIntroduction: Faith and Story in Imperial Russia. Heather J. Coleman1. The Miraculous Healing of the Mute Sergei Ivanov, 22 February 1833. Christine D. Worobec2. The Miraculous Revival and Death of Princess Anna Fedorovna Golitsyna, 22 May 1834. Christine D. Worobec3: Monastic Incarceration in Imperial Russia. A.J. Demoskoff4: Letters To and From Spiritual Elders (Startsy) Irina Paert5: Sermons of the Crimean War. Mara Kozelsky6: The Diary of a Priest Laurie Manchester7: "Another Voice from the Lord": An Orthodox Sermon on Christianity, Nature, and Natural Disaster Nicholas Breyfogle8: Ukrainian Priest's Son Remembers His Father's Life and Ministry Heather J. Coleman 9: Akathist to the Most Holy Birth-Giver of God in Honor of Her Miracle-Working Icon Named "Kazan" Vera Shevzov10: A Nineteenth-Century Life of St. Stefan of Perm (c. 1340-1396) Robert H. Greene11: Written Confessions to Father John of Kronstadt, 1898-1908 Nadieszda Kizenko12: An Obituary of Priest Ioann Mikhailovich Orlovskii Laurie Manchester13: Not Something Ordinary, But A Great Mystery: Old Believer Ritual in the Late Imperial Period Roy R. Robson14: Orthodox Petitions for the Transfer of the Holy Relics of St. Stefan of Perm, 1909 Robert H. Greene15: Dechristianization in Holy Rus? Religious Observance in Vladimir Diocese, 1900-1913 Gregory L. Freeze16: Petitions to the Holy Synod Regarding Miracle-Working Icons Vera Shevzov17: Missionary Priests' Reports from Siberia Aileen Friesen18: Petitions to "Brother Ioann" Churikov, 1914 Page Herrlinger19: Archimandrite Toviia (Tsymbal), Prior of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra: Memoirs and Diaries (Selections) Scott M. Kenworthy20: From Ignorance to Truth: A Baptist Conversion Narrative Heather J. ColemanGlossary and AbbreviationsFurther ReadingList of ContributorsIndex