The phenomenon of collective memory in the confessional sphere (according to the materials of the European north of Russia)

The article examines the laws of the existence of one of the varieties of collective memory - the memory of the believers. The author studies the problems of the influence of collective memory on the daily life of the religious communities of the European North of Russia using predominantly historical genetic and comparative research methods. Particular attention is paid to the various levels of memory associated with both everyday church life and the professional activities of the clergy. It is established that there are some contradictions in the functioning of memory, which are caused by the oral and written varieties of memory existence. Attempts to change it in accordance with the changing actual needs of society have had a significant impact on the functioning of memory. To analyze the memory of the believers, epic songs, Christian legends, historical traditions, and information from local church periodicals are used. The novelty of the work is in using the latest achievements in the research of collective memory to study the issues of the memory of the believers. The relevance of the chosen topic is associated with the growing importance of the institutes of religious life in modern society, which exposes humanities scholars to a challenging task of their comprehensive study.