E-mail: matlin@mail.ru Tel.: + 7 (8422) 44-19-09
4/5, Lenin sq., Ulyanovsk, 432700, Russian Federation
Doctor of Philology, Professor, Department of Russian Language and Literature, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University
The research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation Grant No. 23–28–01265 for the project “The Specifics of Human Exploration of Traditional Sacred Space in Post-Soviet Russia (using the examples of the Ulyanovsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions)”.
The article considers the features of the modern stage of functioning of the image of the invisible city of Kitezh and the complex of beliefs, rituals, and practices associated with Lake Svetloyar. On the one hand, most of the traditions from the 19th to the early 20th century have been actualized in the post-Soviet period: on the day of the celebration of the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God (July 6), a prayer service is held in the church and at the temple on one of the hills near the lake; parishioners go on a cross procession to the lake and around it; residents of the village of Vladimirskoye and visitors perform traditional rituals. Significantly, organized pilgrimage of parishioners from different churches of the Nizhny Novgorod region and other regions of Russia also takes place. The priest Father Vladimir leads active missionary work among both village residents and visitors. On the other hand, a special attitude to Lake Svetloyar is now being formed by secular institutions, such as the nature park “Voskresenskoye Povetluzhye” near the village of Vladimirskoye, and the activities of tourist companies in the cities of Nizhny Novgorod, Yoshkar-Ola, Cheboksary, Vladimir, and others, as well as the organization of various types of energy and meditation practices by representatives of New Age, Internet forums on portals, VKontakte internet groups, and others. Lake Svetloyar remains a popular place for recreation during the swimming season. All this determines the complex process of the modern stage of spiritual development of this traditional sacred space. First, the city of Kitezh and Lake Svetloyar maintain the status of one of the centers of the religious life of the Russian Orthodox world, which is visited by hundreds of pilgrims annually. Second, the sacred space formed by them is determined by representatives of New Age and some cultural workers as a “place of power”. Third, Lake Svetloyar is perceived by many people as a unique historical, cultural, and natural phenomenon. At the same time, the combination of all these meanings in the spiritual world of modern man is quite typical today.
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