Contemporary Religious Practices of the Orthodox Chuvash in the Samara Trans-Volga region

Abstract

The paper focuses on contemporary religious practices of the Orthodox Chuvash living in the Trans-Volga areas of the Samara Region. The author describes features of the ritual calendar, funeral and memorial customs and rituals, forms of social activity of the Chuvash within the framework of religious life; reveals the ratio of Orthodox and the so-called pagan elements in religious practices; traces the process of formation of Orthodox-pagan syncretism as the basis of contemporary religiosity of the Samara Chuvash. The results of the study showed their noticeable shift towards Orthodox religiosity in the last two decades. Orthodoxy acts as the basis of the confessional identity of the Samara Chuvash and today it determines activity in the formation of the sacred landscape of Chuvash villages. Orthodoxy is at the heart of festive and ceremonial culture, religious actions and experience. However, in contemporary religious practices, especially in funeral, memorial and calendar rituality, rituals and behavioral models that go back to the Chuvash religion are manifested. At the same time, there is a high degree of syncretization of Orthodox and Chuvash folk traditions, due to the long history of their coexistence in the culture of the rural community. Local churches and involvement of villagers in the confessional environment both at the local, regional and national levels play a significant role in the formation and development of religious practices.