The Old Believers of Ukraine in the Materials of the 1997-2021 Expeditions (an Information Message)

Preliminary results of historical, archaeological and ethnographic expeditions of the Museum of History and Culture of the Old Believers of Ukraine are presented for the past 25 years of its field research. The main purpose of the study was to investigate various aspects of the life of Old Believer communities in Ukraine, ranging from everyday life and history to aspects of culture and faith. The methodological foundation of the current study was built on the analysis of the works of established researchers in the field. Scientific novelty lays in the generalization of the obtained field material, the creation of a holistic picture of the life of Old Believers, and determination of the main directions for further field studies. The level of preservation and sustainability of the traditional culture, its adaptive capabilities to the existing modern conditions of coexistence have been established. General information was acquired on the state of the Kyiv Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, communities of the Pomorskaya and Fedoseevskaya denominations, and the newly created spiritual centers of the Bezpopovtsy. Qualitative changes that are currently taking place in the Old Believer communities, as well as the number and confessional structure of their communities were analyzed. Important events in the Old Believers life were recorded photographically, whereby a significant number of images were collected. A rich and exclusive material on the last functioning years of Kurenivka monasteries in the Vinnytsia oblast was documented. Additionally, several hundred old prints and manuscripts, samples of tools, furniture, clothes of Russians and Ukrainians were obtained during the field studies. The author declares no conflict of interests.

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