ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the domestic religious devotions of Orthodox Christian women living in Missouri, the United States, through ethnographic material. The author illustrates the intricate dynamics between “doing” and “speaking about” religion and gender by tapping into the discrepancy between her interlocutors’ verbal affirmations of Orthodox theological precepts and their embodied and material piety, particularly as related to domestic icon corners. In this chapter, she argues that home altars are agentive spaces that allow for more flexibility in the performance of gender compared to public religious functions. This includes the renegotiation and subtle transformation of church-sanctioned gender roles and norms.
