Romania has seen an increase in religiosity since the fall of communism. The number of pilgrimage... more Romania has seen an increase in religiosity since the fall of communism. The number of pilgrimages has multiplied and they have gained in popularity over the last fifteen years. The pilgrims’ religion seems to relate less to abstract endings such as salvation and more to solving everyday life problems. Their attraction for practical ends rather than for spiritual experience is a matter of criticism for those that promote a more “protestant” version of Orthodoxy. This article comes from a desire to grasp the ways in which Orthodox Romanians understand and practice religion in everyday life. Following observations made during several pilgrimages in Romania in 2012, I examine one particular aspect that was highlighted by the fieldwork: the pilgrims’ attitude towards fate. As it turns out, two contradictory attitudes towards fate emerge: action and resignation. I argue that the tension between the desire to influence fate and resignation to it may explain what is seen as irrational in the eyes of an external observer.
After the fall of communism in 1989, Romania, as others countries from Central and Eastern Europe... more After the fall of communism in 1989, Romania, as others countries from Central and Eastern Europe, had to deal with its recent past marked by two dictatorships, one on the extreme right, the other on the extreme left. However, it seems that the postcommunist society is rather preoccupied by the consequences of the communist regime than the fascist one. As the anti-communist narrative has become mainstream since the beginning of the 2000s, the victims of communist prisons received more and more attention. Several voices asked for the canonization of those prisoners that distinguished themselves for their belief. The Aiud "prison saints" are part of this current. Their stories are not simple and neither is the history: some of those who died in communist prisons were affiliated to the extreme right in the 1930s and the 1940s. While the Orthodox Church avoids to discuss their canonization, the new "saints" became the object of a popular devotion, which gathers together not only believers, but also representatives of the Church and the civil society. This article explores what the devotion for "prison saints" represents in the lived religion. Following the pilgrims to Aiud monastery and narratives concerning the "prison saints," it appears that their veneration is not "natural," but rather the result of a construction. As it turns out, lived religion is a vehicle for values diverging from the official democratic discourse.
Romania has seen an increase in religiosity since the fall of communism. The number of pilgrimage... more Romania has seen an increase in religiosity since the fall of communism. The number of pilgrimages has multiplied and they have gained in popularity over the last fifteen years. The pilgrims’ religion seems to relate less to abstract endings such as salvation and more to solving everyday life problems. Their attraction for practical ends rather than for spiritual experience is a matter of criticism for those that promote a more “protestant” version of Orthodoxy. This article comes from a desire to grasp the ways in which Orthodox Romanians understand and practice religion in everyday life. Following observations made during several pilgrimages in Romania in 2012, I examine one particular aspect that was highlighted by the fieldwork: the pilgrims’ attitude towards fate. As it turns out, two contradictory attitudes towards fate emerge: action and resignation. I argue that the tension between the desire to influence fate and resignation to it may explain what is seen as irrational in the eyes of an external observer.
After the fall of communism in 1989, Romania, as others countries from Central and Eastern Europe... more After the fall of communism in 1989, Romania, as others countries from Central and Eastern Europe, had to deal with its recent past marked by two dictatorships, one on the extreme right, the other on the extreme left. However, it seems that the postcommunist society is rather preoccupied by the consequences of the communist regime than the fascist one. As the anti-communist narrative has become mainstream since the beginning of the 2000s, the victims of communist prisons received more and more attention. Several voices asked for the canonization of those prisoners that distinguished themselves for their belief. The Aiud "prison saints" are part of this current. Their stories are not simple and neither is the history: some of those who died in communist prisons were affiliated to the extreme right in the 1930s and the 1940s. While the Orthodox Church avoids to discuss their canonization, the new "saints" became the object of a popular devotion, which gathers together not only believers, but also representatives of the Church and the civil society. This article explores what the devotion for "prison saints" represents in the lived religion. Following the pilgrims to Aiud monastery and narratives concerning the "prison saints," it appears that their veneration is not "natural," but rather the result of a construction. As it turns out, lived religion is a vehicle for values diverging from the official democratic discourse.
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Papers by Monica Grigore