Religious Identification Through the Calendar. Kyivan and Moscow Great Feasts in the Late 18th Century

Abstract

The author analyzes various liturgical short calendars printed in Moscow and Kyiv in the 18th century. Generally, by the end of the century, the efforts of the Holy Synod succeeded in unifying Orthodox doctrine and celebrations in all the regions of the Russian Empire. In this article the author specifically focuses on the level of solemnity of some non-mobile feasts. The analysis of two Calendars printed respectively in Moscow in 1795 and in Kyiv in 1798 shows that the level of solemnity of the feasts of some saints or icons in several cases diverged in Kyiv and Moscow. This indicates that there were still differences between the ecclesiastical practice of the Russian Church and the Kyivan Metropolia. The paper suggests the historical, political and cultural roots of such differences.