Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Nina Vlaskina
(Russian Academy of Sciences, Southern Scientific Centre)
Irina Stahl (Institute of Sociology, Romanian Academy)
Send message to Convenors
- Formats:
- Panel
- Stream:
- Performativity
- Sessions:
- Tuesday 22 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Helsinki
Short Abstract:
The panel examines a variety of cases in which people adapt old rituals (both secular and religious) to coincide with the circumstances of changing environments. Causes and agents of change, challenges and mechanism of adaptation etc. are explored. The round table will focus on the ongoing pandemic.
Long Abstract:
Rituals are thought to be immutable. In reality, they slowly evolve over time and space. However, sometimes they change rapidly in response to events, which challenge social cohesion. The past few decades have witnessed accelerated social and cultural transformations, induced by economic conditions, political and ideological changes, wars and the resultant migrations, a general increase in the mobility of people (rural to urban and vice versa), plagues, natural disasters and new technologies. These events have resulted in people adapting old rituals (secular and religious) to coincide with the rules of the new environments. Changing old rituals often occasions resistance and even conflicts (e.g., the religiously faithful's objections to changes in the administration of the Holy Eucharist during the Covid-19 pandemic).
The panel addresses the following or related themes: changes in rituals (what aspects can be changed and what remains unchanged), causes and agents of change, challenges and mechanism of adaptation, loss of rituals, cultural cohesion, place-making etc. The reconfiguring gender roles in society and in rituals respectively, rethinking the concept of health and consequently proper ritual food, praising of selective features of traditional culture (e.g., within the 'new sincerity' movement) will also be discussed. Of particular interest are examples of changes in rituals due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will serve as the main topic of the roundtable, which will follow the panel sessions.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 22 June, 2021, -Paper short abstract:
In 2020, religious celebrations in Bucharest were greatly affected by restrictions meant to control the Covid-19 pandemic. However, pilgrimages were allowed with restrictive regulations. This presentation focuses on the restrictions, solutions, and reactions to the new situation.
Paper long abstract:
In 2020, religious celebrations in Bucharest were greatly affected by the restrictions meant to control the Covid-19 pandemic. While Easter, the highlight of the Christian ritual year, was celebrated in empty churches during spring lockdown, participation in religious activities were later progressively permitted. During autumn, pilgrimages were allowed, but only in compliance with restrictive regulations. This presentation focuses on the restrictions imposed by public authorities, the solutions found by Church representatives, and the faithful’s reaction to the new situation.
The beginning of the Orthodox liturgical year (September 1st) is marked in Bucharest by a series of pilgrimages, occasioned by feasts for several saints whose relics are venerated in local churches. Some, centuries old, attract thousands of people. The celebrations last several days, during which people await patiently, for hours, in lines, to touch the holy relics.
In 2020, government measures were taken to limit participation to local residents, without consultation with Church authorities. This caused great discontent. However, both the Church representatives and the faithful adapted to the restrictions. People’s IDs were checked, while physical distance and mask use were reinforced. The time spent awaiting in line was reduced by an increased pace of the crowd enforced by police, and the flow of people was directed. Reliquaries were disinfected and the time of exposure was adapted to obey the night lock-down. Despite this, the number of faithful in attendance was not substantially less than in previous years. With few exceptions, most people showed resolution and acceptance of the new rules.
Paper short abstract:
The report outlines changes in a holiday worship and related religious practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes have led to rethinking of the tradition of worship. The report is based on the results of visual observation and interviews conducted among believers in the city of Krasnodar.
Paper long abstract:
With the first cases of COVID-19 in the Krasnodar Territory, the regional administration (following the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare) introduced a number of requirements for organizations to prevent spread of the virus. Considering these requirements and general epidemiological situation, the Orthodox Church made changes to the practice of worship. At different times, various restrictions were introduced varying, from bans to attend divine services and holding processions of the cross, changes in the performance of confession and communion.
The report examines the implementation of these requirements in the parish of St. Elias Church on the days of Easter, Trinity, Transfiguration, Christmas and Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as patron days. Celebration of these holidays involves not only performing divine services, but also other traditional ritual actions, such as processions of the cross, consecration and distribution of food.
Paper short abstract:
The paper discusses the findings of a survey carried out in Hungary on religious practices during the Spring 2020 lockdown due to Covid-19. We were interested in rituals of everyday life transposed to the online realm and the possibilities they afforded for practicing the rituals of the Holy Week.
Paper long abstract:
The corona virus changed peoples everyday lives as well as their religious practices. In order to document these changes, in April 2020 we created two online questionnaires with participants of a seminar at the Folklore Department of Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Both questionnaires were addressed to members of various Christian denominations in Hungary and consisted of more than 50 questions. One was directed at the leaders of religious communities, whereas the other asked for the opinions of members of these communities. In the course of six weeks more than 200 leaders and more than 1300 community members answered the questions. We were particularly interested in the rituals of everyday religiosity (and the circumstances under which online, at home religious services took place) and in the possibilities they afforded for practicing and experiencing the rituals of the Holy Week. For Catholics, Holy Communion and confession seemed completely impossible while for Protestants the idea and practice of the Eucharist “at home – online” generated the greatest debate both within communities and among religious leaders even in public debates in and outside of social media. Going beyond publicly aired opinions, the responses to the questionnaires gave a more nuanced and complex picture of the strategies of believers and leaders regarding religious practices under lockdown. The paper will primarily present the various views, arguments and practices through summarizing the results of the online questionnaires, supplemented by the lessons learnt from the follow-up in-depth interviews subsequently carried out by the research team.
Paper short abstract:
COVID-19 forced Russian Orthodox believers to celebrate Easter in their homes. This resulted in extended reflections on the legitimacy of the participation in a ritual performed in a different location and construction/externalisation of a hierarchy of spaces and objects related to it.
Paper long abstract:
Epidemics of COVID-19 led to major lockdowns over the world in 2020. This situation severely limited the possibility of a number of social activities, including religious gatherings. In Russia, the peak of epidemics coincided with the central period in Orthodox calendar – the last week of Lent and Easter. As the Patriarch blessed “stay-at-home” politics, churches were officially closed for everybody but clergy and live streams of services in social media organized, believers had to adopt swiftly to a new mode of co-presence (Urry 2002) in church by participating in services online. To do this, they had to make a choice between the places from which live stream was organized, transform the space of their homes to accommodate sacrality of the event, rethink the locality of their own body in being instantly at home and “in church”, manage communication with the priest, fellow parishioners and family members during Easter night. This involved not only formal decoration of homes but also subtle mechanisms of balancing authority within the network of sacred objects, gadgets and people (e.g., home icons were perceived as “more important” than those shown on screen during service; Patriarch’s service could be viewed on a big screen while a co-presence at one’s own parish’s service could be maintained with help of a small smartphone screen, etc). Basing on digital ethnography (including participant observation online) and 40 in-depth interviews the presented paper will investigate how believers constructed and reflected the space of Easter service in their homes.
Paper short abstract:
Easter in Lithuania differed from the previous years in 2020. It was a time of quarantine and strict prohibitions. My goal is to understand how the celebration of the holiday changed and whether such changes allowed people to perceive Easter 2020 as a “real” holiday.
Paper long abstract:
For many Lithuanians, Easter is the second most important holiday. The first Day of it is celebrated with family and relatives, while the second Day is celebrated with friends. This holiday in Vilnius and other areas of Lithuania in 2020 differed from the previous year. It was a time of quarantine and strict prohibitions. Churches were closed and people could not celebrate together with their parents or relatives, living outside the city. My goal is, using data of semi-structured interview, to compare Easter in 2019 and 2020, while trying to understand how the celebration of the holiday had changed and whether such changes allowed people to perceive Easter 2020 as a “real” holiday.