STORIES OF OLD BELIEVERS OF MOLDOVA ABOUT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR AND THE POST-WAR YEARS

Abstract

During the expedition of the Archeographic Cabinet of Moscow State University and the Folklore Department of the IMLI RAS to the Russian Old Believers of Moldova in 2020, stories of members of modern communities of Old Believers about childhood during the war and in the postwar period are collected. A recurring theme in the respondents’ memoirs is a story of how Old Believers’ parents taught their children their faith. The interviews are introduced into scientific use for the first time. They have a common structure in which the features of an epic narrative, a fairy tale and the lives of saints are traced. The motive of just retribution in earthly life for strict adherence to the rules is close to biblical logic, the description of the life of the Old Testament prophets and the principles of Christian European Protestant ethics.