The Siberian pilgrimage to Palestine and its representation in the turn of the century

The article is devoted to the representation and practice of the Siberian pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the turn of the century. Though, the tradition of pilgrimage to Palestine has been forming over several centuries, it became especially widespread in the end of the 19th century. Methodologically, the authors rely on a positivist approach. Establishing the exact number of Siberian pilgrims is a complex research task. Regional specificity cannot always be defined in surviving historical sources. A relatively complete data can only be obtained for that sources which are related to the turn of the century, relying on the reports of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. Throughout the 19th century, pilgrimages were an isolated affair. Usually, they were done by people to perform a spiritual feat. The Pilgrims from the Tomsk province rank the top among the Siberian regions. The image of the Siberian pilgrim is quite vividly presented in the surviving types of pilgrimage notes, Palestinian travelers notes, as well as in the reports of the Central and Siberian IOPS branches. There is a special archetype of the Siberian wanderer who walked to Palestine, overcoming numerous difficulties. This type of Siberian pilgrim is mentioned by almost all authors, and very often it is about him the surviving sources tell us. The journey of the Siberians to the Holy Land took place not only in geographic, but also in mental space. The journey was expensive and time-consuming for a pilgrim. It lasted for about several months, especially in the first half of the 19th century. With the development of transport infrastructure, pilgrimage practices changed. The activities of the IOPS played a special role in popularizing the pilgrimage. This was the emergence and distribution of pilgrimage books, which were reducing travel costs, as well as the activities of local IOPS departments, which, with the help of educational activities, broadened the appeal of the Holy Land and the process of pilgrimage itself for the periphery inhabitants. Trying to consider objectively what the Siberian pilgrims were like, the authors resumed that the existing practice of Russian walking pilgrimage has transformed thanks to the activities of the IOPS and the appearance of pilgrimage books. Siberians successfully used new forms and mastered the existing pilgrimage practices. Siberian pilgrims maintained the practice of individual (personalized) travel during the period under study, despite the widespreading of mass and group pilgrimages at the turn of the Nineteen century.

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