History and Culture: Exhibition "Biblical Symbols in the Traditional Culture of the Russian Orthodox Christians" opened in Saint-Petersburg

The Russian Ethnographic Museum (Saint-Petersburg) launched the exhibition "Biblical Symbols in the Traditional Culture of the Russian Orthodox Christians", which will run until March 21, 2021.

Recently, Russia marked the 520 anniversary of the initiative of the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady to issue a complete Bible (all the canonical texts of the Old and New Testaments) in the Church Slavonic language. This historical event provoked the increase of church parishes, the promotion of biblical knowledge, stories and symbols among the Russians and other peoples of the country who practised Orthodoxy.

The items of everyday life of Orthodox Christians reflect numerous plots from the New Testament, especially the Resurrection of Jesus and Twelve Great Feasts -the most significant dates on the Orthodox liturgical calendar.

The exposition presents Belarusian and Russian Christmas nativity scenes of the late XIX- early XX centuries, as well as the characters of Saint-Petersburg nativity scenes of the late XX century. This section also features the Christmas interior and the attributes of the national celebration of the holiday. Other exhibition sections highlight various themes reflected in the objects of peasants' life in the XVIII-XX centuries.

The presented items played a different role in the folklife. They are from various materials and in diverse techniques. Biblical plots and symbols are revealed in house carvings, ritual attributes, carpets, ceramic tiles, painted utensils, woven and embroidered towels, bone artworks, jewellery of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Finno-Ugric peoples (Karelians, Vepsians, Setos) and other Russian Orthodox Christians.