Description
In this paper I explore the religious iconography of the Inochentite movement in 20th century Romania and Moldova. The Inochentite movement emerged in the first decade of the twentieth century in the Russian Province of Bessarabia and the neighbouring Governorate of Podolia (Podol’skaja gubernija), on the territory of contemporary Moldova and Ukraine (slide 2.). The intensely apocalyptic and charismatic movement, which was inspired by the Moldovan Orthodox monk Ioan Levizor, was soon portrayed as both religiously heretical and politically subversive and as such was seen as a challenge to the authority of both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Tsarist regime. As a marginalised and persecuted minority during the Soviet era, the movement went underground and on a number of occasions was reported by the Soviet press to have been eliminated altogether. However, Inochentism has proved a tenacious presence on the religious landscape, gradually re-emerging into the public domain in the post-Soviet era. Today, various Inochentite groups operate on the margins of mainstream Orthodoxy. From this position, followers of Inochentie negotiate a position between engagement with and withdrawal from the official Church, critiquing both clerical power and the political and economic system as well as campaigning for the rehabilitation and canonization of Inochentie.The Inochentite revival gave rise to a rich and varied ‘folk’ or naïve iconographic tradition reflecting the significance of its charismatic leader and revealing the universal cosmological claims of Inochentie’s followers. These images, produced by followers, are displayed in homes and circulated in Inochentite manuscripts and small scale publications. This paper will focus on two aspects of Inochentite iconography. Firstly, I will explore the relationship between visual representations of the life of Inochentie and the narrative surviving in the ‘official hagiography’ published by his followers and in oral historical accounts. These hagiographic images are important devotional works and also fulfil a didactic function. Secondly, I will explore the significance of representations of Inochentie in various forms such as the Holy Spirit, the Risen Lord, and enthroned in Heaven at Christ’s side.
| Period | 10 Oct 2012 → 12 Oct 2012 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 11th Szeged Conference on Ethnology of Religion: Spirituality and spiritual movements in Hungary and Eastern Central Europe |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Szeged, HungaryShow on map |