Praying with the Senses

Sonja Luehrmann is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. She is author of Secularism Soviet Style: Teaching Atheism and Religion in a Volga Republic (IUP) and Religion in Secular Archives: Soviet Atheism and Historical Knowledge.

"These essays advance the understanding of Eastern Orthodox spiritual practices from a religious studies perspective, and they will likely stimulate new directions for research and teaching in this largely neglected area."—Reading Religion"This collection could well be a principal text in courses on contemporary spirituality and church life. And equally it could be used for retreats and for personal spiritual reading as well. It is a welcome addition to other fine work that explores popular spirituality."—St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly"[T]he contributors to this volume offer a number of valuable insights into questions of personhood, mediation, tradition, authority, publicity, intimacy, belonging, and the theological valences we attach to the human sensorium. Their collective labor demonstrates that Eastern Christianity is rich soil for anthropological inquiry from a number of vantage-points and for a host of theoretical interests."—AnthroCyBib"A well-documented, interdisciplinary examination of devotional practices, rituals, and understandings of prayer in contemporary lived forms of Eastern Christianity across a wide variety of traditions, including Coptic, Ethiopian, Greek, Indian, Russian, Syrian, and Ukranian. These essays define the phenomenon of prayer broadly in both its private and collective liturgical dimensions."—Vera Shevzov, author of Russian Orthodoxy on the Eve of Revolution"Precisely by looking at so varied a group of locations home to Orthodox practice, this book conveys the fragility—and durability—of traditional religion in a postmodern, secular age."—Nadieszda Kizenko, author of A Prodigal Saint: Father John of Kronstadt and the Russian People"This volume is as enriching as it is ground-breaking. It will definitely be a companion to students of religion and Eastern Orthodoxy from various disciplines, complementing the theological and historical approaches to Eastern Christianity."—Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Senses of Prayer in Eastern Orthodox Christianity / Sonja LuehrmannPart I: Senses1. Becoming Orthodox: The Mystery and Mastery of a Christian Tradition / Vlad NaumescuA Missionary Primer / Ioann Veniaminov2. Listening and the Sacramental Life: Degrees of Mediation in Greek Orthodox Christianity / Jeffers EngelhardtCreating an Image for Prayer / Sonja Luehrmann3. Imagining Holy Personhood: Anthropological Thresholds of the Icon / Angie HeoSyriac as a lingua sacra: Speaking the Language of Christ in India / Vlad Naumescu4. Authorizing: The Paradoxes of Praying by the Book / Sonja LuehrmannPart II: Worlds5. Inhabiting Orthodox Russia: Religious Nomadism and the Puzzle of Belonging / Jeanne KorminaBaraka: Mixing Muslims, Christians, and Jews / Angie Heo6. Sharing Space: On the Publicity of Prayer, between an Ethiopian Village and the Rest of the World / Tom BoylstonPrayers for Cars, Weddings, and Well-Being: Orthodox Prayers en route in Syria / Andreas Bandak7. Struggling Bodies at the Crossroads of Economy and Tradition: The Case of Contemporary Russian Convents / Daria DubovkaCompeting Prayers for Ukraine / Sonja Luehrmann8. Orthodox Revivals: Prayer, Charisma, and Liturgical Religion / Simion PopEpilogue: Not-Orthodoxy/Orthodoxy's Others / William A. Christian Jr.GlossaryIndex