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Abstract
The article examines the writings of the inhabitants of Russian monasteries (nuns and novices) that describe their pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Palestine) in the second half of the 19th–early 20th centuries. A study of these texts makes it possible to trace changes in the scale of the Russian presence in Palestine over the half-century period under consideration, as well as the specifics of women's views on the Holy Land, its population, nature, and other pilgrims. It is noted that the Holy Land is perceived by the pilgrims as a blessed place where the soul of every true Christian strives to go; the absence of religious skepticism or indifferentism, increasingly observed in the writings of secular travelers since the end of the 19th century, is revealed. The notes are also united by the desire to correlate the villages, buildings, monuments, and natural objects they encounter with the text of Holy Scripture. The pilgrims pointed out the gradual expansion of the use of the Russian language in liturgical practice, the improvement of conditions for their stay in the Holy Land, provided by the efforts of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and the formation of certain traditions observed by Russian pilgrims. It is concluded that the texts under study contain both elements inherent in medieval Russian “walkings” and innovations resulting from the influence of the European literary tradition contemporary with the authors.
References
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