Folk Orthodoxy as one of the mechanisms for preserving Traditional Folklore

The installation to oppose paganism and Christianity as two irreconcilable worldview systems has long traditions rooted in the period of the formation of monotheistic religions. It was a time when the approval of another religion associated with the development of statehood was required, which brought about changes not only in culture that was natural, but also in deep mental moods, which was a situation of apparent confrontation between "old" (paganism) and "new" (monotheism, in particular Christianity). But official institutional directives have tended to be poorer than cultural practices in which this confrontation could be expressed so clearly (e.g. pagan and Christian churches, destroyed temples, intentional killings of certain faiths, folk tools, burning masks etc.), and is not expressed at all. An analysis of such cultural practices made it possible to put forward a hypothesis that Christianity not only assimilated with paganism, but also acted as one of the most powerful mechanisms for its preservation. The synthesis of paganism and Christianity is reflected both in the everyday life of the peasants, and in the content of ritual actions (the use of Christian elements in folk holidays), and in their names (Ivan Kupalo - the unification of the names of the holidays of John the Baptist and Kupalo), and in the emergence of new genres in “the junction"of worldview systems (first of all, spiritual poetry), and in folklore texts (the appearance of Christian characters). As a result of such a union, the so-called popular Orthodoxy arose - a special phenomenon in culture, representing a kind of compromise between paganism and Christianity, organically combining elements of both. It is thanks to this synthesis that individual elements of folklore have survived, which later created such a phenomenon as folklore culture. Using the example of ritual actions - Maslenitsa and Osenin, which marked the two most important solar dates - the spring and autumn equinox, as well as other forms of ritual culture, the article shows various options for the preservation of folklore material and its synthesis with Christian elements. Based on this, the author concludes that in modern times, all kinds of church institutions and practices should be used as ways of preserving and updating traditional folklore as part of folk culture. The author of this article expresses deep gratitude to the Doctor of Art History, Doctor of Cultural Studies, Professor G.R. Conson for the scientific and stylistic editing of the text. The materials underlying this publication were tested in the framework of a report at the International Scientific Conference “Art Studies in the Context of Other Sciences in the Modern World: Parallels and Interactions” (April 21-26, 2019, Moscow; project author G R. Conson). The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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