About some Archaic Features in the Perception of the Categories ‘Holiness’ and ‘Sin’ in Folk Orthodoxy

Veneration of the Mother Earth and its Place in Russian Religiosity

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of the popular perception of such fundamental worldview categories as «holiness» and «sin», which are associated with archaic ideas about the sacredness of the earth and the worship of fertility. After the embracing of Baptism, some archaic elements continued to coexist with Christian values in the worldview of the Eastern Slavs. Plenty of them have been organically integrated into the Orthodox folk tradition and have become an important part of religious consciousness. However, the popular ideas about sin did not always fully match the Church's ethical guidelines and canonical norms. The popular faith contains a number of prohibitions and restrictions, primarily of a domestic and ritual nature which neither can be directly derived from the text of Holy Scripture or the patristic heritage nor can much be associated with Orthodox doctrine at all. This discrepancy is largely due to the specific features of the perception of holiness, dating back to the pre-Christian era and associated with archaic ideas about holiness as an excess of vitality, the holder of which is, in particular, the Earth as the giver of assets and the provider of man. Traces of this veneration, firmly rooted in the cultural memory of the people, are found not only in the works of the folklore genre but also in domestic practices and even religious customs, many of which are relevant to this day. Inter alia, the existence of specific prohibitions on agricultural work on certain Orthodox holidays, as well as the habit of collecting medicinal herbs on special days of the church calendar, should be recognized as rudiments of such a reverent attitude to the earth, characteristic not only of our ancestors but also of our contemporaries.