Orthodox Christianity in Imperial Russia

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.

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).

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 of Princess Anna Fedorovna Golitsyna, 22 May 1834. Christine D. Worobec
3: Monastic Incarceration in Imperial Russia. A.J. Demoskoff
4: Letters To and From Spiritual Elders (Startsy) Irina Paert
5: Sermons of the Crimean War. Mara Kozelsky
6: The Diary of a Priest Laurie Manchester
7: "Another Voice from the Lord": An Orthodox Sermon on Christianity, Nature, and Natural Disaster Nicholas Breyfogle
8: 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 Shevzov
10: A Nineteenth-Century Life of St. Stefan of Perm (c. 1340-1396) Robert H. Greene
11: Written Confessions to Father John of Kronstadt, 1898-1908 Nadieszda Kizenko
12: An Obituary of Priest Ioann Mikhailovich Orlovskii Laurie Manchester
13: Not Something Ordinary, But A Great Mystery: Old Believer Ritual in the Late Imperial Period Roy R. Robson
14: Orthodox Petitions for the Transfer of the Holy Relics of St. Stefan of Perm, 1909 Robert H. Greene
15: Dechristianization in Holy Rus? Religious Observance in Vladimir Diocese, 1900-1913 Gregory L. Freeze
16: Petitions to the Holy Synod Regarding Miracle-Working Icons Vera Shevzov
17: Missionary Priests' Reports from Siberia Aileen Friesen
18: Petitions to "Brother Ioann" Churikov, 1914 Page Herrlinger
19: Archimandrite Toviia (Tsymbal), Prior of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra: Memoirs and Diaries (Selections) Scott M. Kenworthy
20: From Ignorance to Truth: A Baptist Conversion Narrative Heather J. Coleman
Glossary and Abbreviations
Further Reading
List of Contributors
Index