Stanislav Gennadievich Petrov,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Pamphlet “Something about Valaam Madness” about the Transition of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior to a New Calendar Style
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2022-2-5
After the collapse of the Russian Empire, the new independent states formed on its former outskirts, where Orthodox believers turned out to be a religious minority. They faced difficult problems of creating church organizations, determining their status, changing jurisdiction and leadership, relations with state power and religious authorities, and forced de-Russification. Orthodox believers in the territories ceded to independent Finland were no exception. One of the acute problems for them was the transition in liturgical practice to a new calendar style in the 1920s. The calendar reform, carried out under pressure from the authorities, caused resistance from a significant part of the believers of the Finnish Orthodox Church. In the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, one of the largest and most significant Russian monasteries of that time, the transition to the new style caused a split, which became a tragic page in its history. The conflict between supporters and opponents of the new calendar was also reflected in the literary tradition of the monastery. The purpose of this work is to consider and publish the original work of an unknown author, the pamphlet “Something about the Valaam Madness”, created as a result of the calendar turmoil in the monastery. The only handwritten copy of this work is in the National Archives of the Republic of Karelia. It is noted that in this work, in a bright satirical form, the abbot of the monastery and his leadership, who recognized the Gregorian calendar, are condemned. It is determined that the appearance of the pamphlet was caused by the severity of the confrontation between supporters and opponents of the calendar reform. The content of this work is analyzed, which is based on fiction and the historical realities of the life of the monastery of that time. The characters of the pamphlet were identified and their real names were given. The date of its creation has been established and an attempt at attribution has been made. The pamphlet is published in accordance with modern publishing requirements.
Publishing: 28/04/2022
The article has been received by the editor on 20.03.2022
How to cite: Petrov S.G. Pamphlet “Something about Valaam Madness” about the Transition of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior to a New Calendar Style // Historical Courier, 2022, No. 2 (22), pp. 74–91. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2022/ISTKURIER-2022-2-05.pdf]
Links: Issue 2 2022
Keywords: Russian Orthodox Church, Orthodoxy in Finland, Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, Pamphlet “Something about Valaam Madness”, calendar reform, publication of sources