The cult of Saint Gabriel of Slutsk and its reflection in the narratives of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries

  • Viktor I. Koronevskii Saint Petersburg State University, 7–9 Universitetskaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia

Abstract

The article considers the political and symbolic aspect of the cult of Saint Gabriel of Slutsk in the late 19th – early 20th century. On the basis of analysing the collections of sources which have different origins (journalism, hagiography, hymnography), three narrative traditions of the perception of the martyr figure are distinguished. Those are Grodna, Minsk, and conditionally distinguished anti-Jewish, to which the researchers of the cult of the saint most often pay attention. The genesis of the three traditions and their relation to each other is studied. The author substantiates the point of view, according to which dioceses Gabriel was perceived as a local saint in the lands of Minsk and Grodna during the mentioned period. The fact affirms the belonging of the population of this territory to the Orthodox Church. It is noted that the Grodna and Minsk narrative traditions did not compete with each other and mutually complemented each other. They almost did not intersect with the antiJewish narrative, which was constructed by individual radical publicists from other regions of the Russian Empire.

Author Biography

Viktor I. Koronevskii, Saint Petersburg State University, 7–9 Universitetskaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia

laboratory researcher at the Institute of History

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Published
2024-07-18
Keywords: Saint Gabriel of Slutsk, Grodna diocese, Minsk diocese, Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Russian Empire, antisemitism, sanctity
Supporting Agencies The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation within the framework of the project «Saints and heroes: from Christianisation to nationalism. Symbol, image, memory (Northwestern Russia, the Baltic States and Northern Europe)» (state registration No. 21-48-04402).
How to Cite
Koronevskii V. I. The cult of Saint Gabriel of Slutsk and its reflection in the narratives of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries // Journal of the Belarusian State University. History. 2024. 3. PP. 15-24.
Issue
No 3 (2024): Journal of the Belarusian State University. History
Section
Belarusian History

Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of the Belarusian State University. History

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