ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author reconstructs certain aspects of Orthodox religious life in the Kama River Region (Urals) in the 1950s–1980s on the basis of documents (annual information reports, memos and materials from the churches of the region) from the archive of the regional Plenipotentiary for Religious Affairs. The reconstruction made it possible to trace the dynamics of citizens’ participation in religious life, with a special attention to life cycle rites as a marker of belonging to a religious community. The chapter analyses changes that occurred in relation to rituals. As the author argues, these changes were caused by the necessity of believers to adapt to the situation in the religious sphere. As a result of this adaptation not only were unofficial forms of rituals under the supervision of unregistered clergy and laypeople revived, but priests and believers also adapted their religious behaviour. The anti-religious policy in the country thus stimulated the development of new and updating of old forms of religiosity.
