ABSTRACT
The focus of the chapter is on the change of ritual practice of the Orthodox Church in Soviet Ukraine through the 1950s–1970s. The secret performance of rituals and ritual modifications became a common answer from below to the excessive restrictions from above, as the examples of life cycle rituals and of the sacrament of confession demonstrate. The changes, discussed in this chapter, were indication to the growing role of laypeople and parish clergy in the Orthodox Church that challenged the authority of the official church. An examination of ritual modifications also contributes to the study of late Soviet religiosity with its curious blending of Soviet and religious elements. This research is based on archival and published sources, produced by both state officials and the Church, and also on ego-documents by the clergy and oral history sources.
