Institute of Language, Literature and History, Federal Research Centre Komi Science Centre, Ural Branch of the RAS, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT Introduction. Over recent decades we can observe an increase of the interest of people, researchers and politicians in the field of ethno-religious problematics, especially in the context of study of religion’s role in the cultural identity of Finno-Ugric people living in the Russian Federation. Much attention is paid to such problems as the influence of the Orthodox tradition on the culture of Finno-Ugric people, its interaction with traditional religious beliefs and their mutual influence; missionary and translational activities of the Orthodox Church, its influence on the formation of the national intelligentsia and literary languages. The article is devoted to the study of the significance of Orthodox worship and education in native languages for ordinary believers, the influence of the language environment on the formation of local religious practices among the Komi-Zyryans. Objective: to study the role of the Komi-Zyryan language in the Orthodox religious practices during 1900– 1930 at institutional and individual levels. Research materials: the article based on archival and published documents: reports of Orthodox congregations (Brotherhoods) and missionary societies, files from Vologda spiritual consistory; reports prepared by Joint State Political Directorate during 1920s; ego-documents. Results and novelty of the research. The article considers the influence of the Komi language on the formation of Orthodox religious practices of the first third of the XX century. Analysis of published and archival documents allows us drawing conclusions about the decisive importance of language both for the activities of the parish clergy and old believers’ leaders and for the religious life of the Komi peasantry. Key words: native language, the Komi-Zyryans, Russian Orthodox, religious practices. For citation: Vlasova V. V. Native language and religious practices in parishes of the Komi at the beginning of the XX century // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2019; 9 (2): 341–351.