Inventing Orthodox traditions: religiosity in post-socialist contest

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleИзобретяване на православните традиции: религиозността в постсоциалистически контекст
3. Language term Bulgarian
4. lemma author Nachev, Ivaylo
5. lemma category Orthodox theological tradition and practice > Premodern _modern_ postmodern
6. Publication date 28-11-2013
7. lemma work Goncharova, Galina [Author]. Inventing Orthodox traditions: religiosity in post-socialist contest
8. lemma manifestations СЕМИНАР_BG
9. Keywords post-socialist Orthodox identity
10. Url 10.01.2017
11. Lemma body

    1. The authors draw attention to the emerged interest in Orthodoxy after 1989 from different humanitarian disciplines (history, sociology and anthropology), and noted some main topics and research trends of both Bulgarian and foreign scholars. The article focused on examination of some features of “the construction of Orthodox identity in the post-Communist period”, aiming to take into account both the perspective of the local Orthodox Christians in times of deconstruction of the previous regime and increasing globalization. Among the aims of the authors is to look at to what extend can be justified “the western perception” of Eastern Orthodoxy as a “rigid and pre-modern version of Christianity” which is mainly used by local actors for nationalistic mobilization. The authors propose the hypothesis that after 1989 Bulgarian Orthodoxy can be seen as a highly differentiated symbolic space characterized by intensive exchange of traditions, superstitions, and media clichés. In more detail, were examined quasi-dogmatic practices which gained high popularity among laity, and were outlined by the distinction between a “conservative” and “liberal” current in the thought of the religious elites.