Wells and furnaces. Ritualized disposal of sacred objects in post-Soviet Orthodox tradition

Abstract

The author discusses practices of the destruction of the ‘church garbage’ (items that were used in church, but for various reasons became subject to disposal) in present-day Russia. These are ritual objects that have aged, deteriorated and fallen out of use (church utensils, robes, etc.), or household items – rags, brooms, detergents – that were used in the ecclesiastical space. All these objects are supposed to possess the invisible virtue, which was transmitted to them in various ways – through consecration, contact with relics or simply by being in the church. Objects of that type cannot be disposed in the usual way, along with ordinary garbage. In the church tradition, already in the Middle Ages, there existed different ways of ritualized disposal of consecrated objects. In post-Soviet Russia, with the rapid revival of churches and monasteries, many traditions are being restored – or constructed anew. That also applies to the practices of disposal of ‘church garbage’. The article is based on the materials collected during expeditions to the south of the Nizhny Novgorod region and during surveys in Moscow churches and monasteries.