“The Price of the Issue Is Life Eternal.” Building Moral Persona and Negotiating Compromises in a Community of Teetotalers (Trezvenniki) of the Brother Ioann Churikov
https://doi.org/10.22394/2073-7203-2024-42-1-313-337
Abstract
In this paper I address the process of moral building in the community of the Spiritual Christiansteetotalers (Trezvenniki) of Brother Ioann Churikov, also known as the Churikovites. The paper is based on my fieldwork in 2019–2023 through participant observation, interviewing and online ethnography. The process of moral building begins at the moment of conversion and proceeds throughout the life of the adept. The theology of Sobriety includes, on one hand, a strict adherence to a set of rules and, on the other, it is seen as a teaching that brings spiritual and material benefits. I also discuss two levels of regulations the teetotalers are expected to observe. These levels differ in strictness, due to the mechanisms of compromise allowing the Churikovites to advance in their faith gradually and consciously. The main focus of the article is the mechanisms and affordances that enable the teetotalers to return to the community even when the vows of the Sobriety are broken.
About the Author
M. Masagutova
HSE University;
European University at St. Petersburg
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Maria Masagutova — Senior Lecturer;
Junior Researcher, Center of the Anthropology of Religion
St. Petersburg
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Review
For citations:
Masagutova M. “The Price of the Issue Is Life Eternal.” Building Moral Persona and Negotiating Compromises in a Community of Teetotalers (Trezvenniki) of the Brother Ioann Churikov. State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide. 2024;42(1):313-337. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/2073-7203-2024-42-1-313-337
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