Why read Russia, Ritual, and Reform?

Book cover of Russia, Ritual, and Reform: The Liturgical Reforms of Nikon in the 17th Century

Book description

The reform of the liturgical books conducted in Muscovite Russia in the mid-17th century was an alignment of Russina liturgical usage with contemporary Greek practice. Historians have up to now generally accepted the "official" interpretation of the reform as a "correcting" made on the basis of ancient Greek and Slavic…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Russia, Ritual, and Reform as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Victor Roudometof

Author

This is perhaps the most informative and lucid account of a major historical event in Russia’s religious history.

Patriarch Nikon’s reforms caused a major split in Russia and the formation of Old Believers. Needless to say, Nikon’s reforms remain a hot topic in Russia’s religious history up to the present.

In this careful and quite detailed study, the author reconstructs the entire process of the two successive councils that led to the schism and addresses the complex relations among the Court, the Patriarch, and other religious and non-religious actors.

It is written in a detailed and very careful manner that…

From Victor's list on The best monographs for a quick introduction to Orthodox Christianity.