The Woodrow Wilson Center Press
The Heart of Russia: Trinity-Sergius, Monasticism, and Society after 1825
Related Topics: Religion, Russia and Eurasia
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church is again experiencing a revival, and monasticism is playing a central role in this resurgence. In the search to recover the past, Russian Orthodox are turning to the nineteenth-century revival as a normative model. This book, the first comprehensive, English-language analysis of these monastic revivals, provides an essential basis for understanding Orthodoxy in its historical context and its contemporary manifestations. The case study here is Russia's most famous monastery, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad near Moscow.
What People are Saying
"The Heart of Russia is a remarkable achievement. It places the story of modern Russian monasticism in the mainstream of Russia history where it belongs. It gives a sound understanding of the subject based—really for the first time—on extensive use of archives, so as to move the topic beyond the conventional stereotypes that have plagued the subject for so long. Moreover, the research also draws upon the most recent studies published in torrents in Russia today. The study is well conceived and written. It makes a genuine contribution to our understanding." —Robert Nichols, Professor Emeritus, St. Olaf College
“The vibrancy of Russian-Orthodox religious life in the nineteenth century owed partly to the contemporary revival of contemplative monasticism. That thesis is convincingly demonstrated in Scott Kenworthy’s investigation of one of Russia’s most powerful monasteries, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, located in the “heart of Russia” a day’s journey northeast of Moscow.”—Victoria Frede, Journal of Modern History
Chapter List
Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction: Reviving Monasticism in Modern Russia
2 Trinity-Sergius: The Heart of Russia
3 Gethsemane: The Cradle of Monasticism
4 Monks: Social History and Spiritual Life
5 Pilgrims: Pilgrimage, Relics, and Miracles
6 Reform: Revered Elders and Monastic Congresses
7 Politics: Monasticism on the Eve of Revolution
8 Revolution: Trinity-Sergius and the Bolsheviks, 1917–1921
9 Golgotha: Revival and Terror, 1921–1938
10 Epilogue: Resurrection
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
