Religion in South Ossetia

Last updated

Palm Sunday procession in Tskhinvali Palm Sunday procession in Tskhinvali.jpg
Palm Sunday procession in Tskhinvali

South Ossetia, a partially-recognized de facto state in the Caucasus and officially part of Georgia, is primarily Eastern Orthodox Christian. A significant minority are adherents of the Ossetian traditional religion, Uatsdin , which is polytheistic and has origins in ancient Scythian religion. Syncretism between Christianity and traditional belief is common.

Contents

Christianity in South Ossetia was first introduced through Byzantine influence over the Alans, although the population continued to practice traditional religion, reverting fully to paganism by the late Middle Ages. Russian and Georgian missionaries evangelized in the region in the 18th and 19th centuries, but religion was repressed during the Soviet period. An Ossetian nationalist religious revival was initiated in the 1990s, and the Orthodox Church in South Ossetia declared its independence from the Georgian Orthodox Church. The South Ossetian Orthodox Church aligns with the Old Calendarist movement; it is considered schismatic from the mainstream Orthodox Church.

Uatsdin, also practiced in North Ossetia, is a prominent minority faith in South Ossetia. It reflects the Iranian origins of the Ossetians, as well as later Christian influence. As the Ossetians were never fully converted to Christianity, Ossetian traditional religion has remained visible in South Ossetian society.

The capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, historically had a large Jewish population, outnumbering the Georgians and Ossetians at some points. The community declined throughout the Soviet period, and by the 1990s, the vast majority of the Jews in South Ossetia had emigrated, mainly to Russia and Israel.

Demographics

Tiri Monastery, a medieval Georgian monastery near Tskhinvali t`iris monasteri.jpg
Tiri Monastery, a medieval Georgian monastery near Tskhinvali

South Ossetia is mostly ethnically Ossetian, [1] with minorities of Georgians. [2] The majority of Ossetians are Orthodox Christians, [3] and the Orthodox Church remains an prominent aspect of South Ossetian society. Traditional pagan elements are often syncretized with Orthodox Christianity. [4] The number of practitioners of Ossetian traditional religion is difficult to estimate, but it is a significant portion of the population. [5] Unlike in North Ossetia, where Muslims form a significant minority, Islam is absent from South Ossetia. [6] Many ethnic Ossetians who identify as Christian or Muslim participate in traditional values and rituals, and throughout North and South Ossetia, popular practice of folk religion exceeds that in churches. [7]

History

Christianity

South Ossetia, like Abkhazia, has historically fallen between the ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Georgian Orthodox Church. [8] Both the Russian Church (through its Georgian exarchate) and Georgian Church have had historic presences in South Ossetia, and the people of the region were Christianized under the influence of both churches. [9] In the 10th century, the Alans (ancestors of the Ossetians) nominally converted to Christianity through Byzantine influence, but the population largely continued practicing traditional ethnic religion. [10] The Tsarist regime sent its first mission to the Ossetians in 1744, which was organized to be hidden from the Ottoman and Persian authorities; only Georgian priests were sent to evangelize. [11] The Orthodox missionaries found somewhat limited success in their mission to convert the Ossetians, and the process ended after the Bolshevik Revolution. [12]

During the Soviet period, religious practice declined as the South Ossetians were Sovietized, and the Georgian Church neglected the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. [13] There were no active churches in South Ossetia during the Soviet period; during perestroika , one church was founded near Nikozi (in Georgia proper) to serve ethnic Georgians from South Ossetia. [14]

St. Mary's Church, an Armenian Apostolic church in Tskhinvali Armianskaia Tserkov' Surb Astvatsatsin (Tskhinval).jpg
St. Mary's Church, an Armenian Apostolic church in Tskhinvali

From 1990, a religious revival with nationalist overtones took place in the region, led by Aleksandr Pukhate, which aimed to separate from the Georgian Church. In 1992 [15] the South Ossetian and Abkhazian Orthodox Churches requested to join the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), but the ROC denied these requests and has repeatedly affirmed the Georgian Church's canonical jurisdiction over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, [16] prioritizing its positive relationship with the Georgian Church and canonical propriety. [17] When the South Ossetian Church declared its separation, 15 parishes joined, [18] while some five parishes remained with the Georgian Church. [19] The Georgian Church continues to carry out some pastoral responsibilities in the Akhalgori area. [20] After the ROC refused to incorporate the South Ossetians into the Moscow Patriarchate, the South Ossetian church joined the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA) in 1993 and was granted deanery status in 1998, [21] but the ROCA distanced itself from the South Ossetian church when it began improving relations with the ROC in 2001. Due to this, the South Ossetians began aligning with the non-canonical Old Calendarist Holy Synod in Resistance. [22] In 2005, the Alania Diocese was created, and Pukhate consecrated a bishop by the Synod. [23] [24] In 2008, the ROC once again denied the South Ossetians' request to join its jurisdiction. [25] The Alania Diocese maintains that it is a continuation of the Alan Diocese, an eparchy in the region that existed from the 10th to the 16th centuries. It is regarded as schismatic from the mainstream Orthodox church. [26]

Traditional religion and neo-paganism

Rekom shrine in North Ossetia near the border, the most popular Uatsdin shrine in Ossetia Muzhskoe sviatilishche boga plodorodiia Rekom. Zhenshchinam siuda doroga zakryta. - panoramio.jpg
Rekom shrine in North Ossetia near the border, the most popular Uatsdin shrine in Ossetia

Ossetian ethnic religion, most commonly known as Uatsdin , [28] is present in South Ossetia. Uatsdin is nature-oriented [29] and polytheistic; the creator god is Xucau, head of a pantheon of deities reflecting Iranian and Christian influence. [30] Richard Foltz connects the Ossetian religion to that of the ancient Scythians. [31] The Ossetians, being an Iranian people, inherited and preserved many aspects of ancient Iranian religion; when the Alans came under Byzantine and Georgian influence, they accepted Christianity but the population remained largely pagan. During the Mongol period, the Alans, later the Ossetians, lost contact with the church as they retreated into the mountains. They reverted almost entirely to paganism, with only superficial aspects of Christianity remaining, such as the dedication of shrines to Christian saints. [32] In the 1980s, leading up to the fall of the Soviet Union, many constituent peoples of the state attempted to build new identities, including the Ossetians. Many of the Ossetian nationalists aimed at reviving a more authentic, pre-Christian religion. [33] In the early 1990s, a group of nationalist intellectuals formed the Styr Nykhas (Ossetian: "Great Council"), which leads the revival movement, in an effort to organize Ossetian tradition along the lines of other neopagan groups. [34] Due to the fluidity of Ossetian popular religion and the prevalence of syncretism with pre-Christian tradition, Uatsdin has drawn criticism from Christian and Muslim leaders in Ossetia, and even attempts to ban Uatsdin literature by the Russian Orthodox Church. [35]

One major annual ritual in South Ossetia takes place at the Usanet dzuar shrine; in the spring, thousands of pilgrims travel to the mountaintop shrine to leave offerings to Æfsati, the god of the hunt. The ceremony commemorates a legend that in previous eras, a deer would sacrifice itself atop the mountain, but the deer stopped coming when the people began to disregard tradition. The ruined stone shrine may be a medieval Christian church. [36] The Khetag grove near Alagir in North Ossetia has served as a site for pan-Ossetian rituals since the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most important Ossetian shrines. [37]

Judaism

Building in the Jewish quarter of Tskhinvali Tskhinvali synagogue2.jpg
Building in the Jewish quarter of Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali, the largest city in South Ossetia, historically had a large Jewish community, which sometimes outnumbered the Georgian, Armenian, [38] and Ossetian populations. [39] The Jewish community of Tskhinvali dates back to at least the Middle Ages, and was involved in trade. They were mostly serfs. [39] The Jewish population was largely Ashkenazi, variously speaking Georgian, Ossetian, Russian, and Yiddish. A small Russian-speaking Sephardi community existed as well. [40] Relations between the Tskhinvali Jews and the other ethnic groups of the city were largely peaceful, although there was tension and some violence in the period following the Bolshevik Revolution. [41] In the 19th century, the city's Jewish population grew significantly and became economically prosperous, and there were six synagogues by the year 1900. [39] In 1906, rabbi Avraham Khvolis founded the first Talmud Torah in Tskhinvali, which attracted students from throughout the region. Khvolis also established education for girls, a first for Georgian Jews, and sent his best students to Lithuanian yeshivas for further study. At their peak in 1917, Jews were the largest ethnic group in Tskhinvali, forming 38.4% of the population. [39]

The Jewish population of Tskhinvali was repressed in the 1930s, and all but one synagogue was shut down by the authorities. [39] The community declined throughout the 20th century as Jews moved elsewhere, particularly to Russia and Israel. [42] During the 1991–1992 war, all but 17 of the Jews in the city fled, and the Jewish quarter was heavily damaged. [43] During the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, only one Jew, an elderly woman, remained in South Ossetia. The Tskhinvali synagogue, largely unused for decades, was damaged by Georgian rocket fire as people were sheltering in its basement. [44] [45]

Religious freedom

The constitution of the Republic of South Ossetia guarantees freedom of religion within the boundaries of the law, but emphasizes the importance of Orthodox Christianity and Ossetian traditional beliefs. [46] [47] According to the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom published by the US State Department, authorities in South Ossetia restricted the access of Georgian clergy and pressured the remaining Georgian Orthodox parishes to join the Russian Orthodox Church. While South Ossetia officially bans the Georgian Orthodox Church as well as Jehovah's Witnesses, the authorities reportedly have allowed the groups, along with Pentecostals, to assemble in Akhalgori. [47]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Ossetia–Alania</span> First-level administrative division of Russia

North Ossetia, officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic borders internationally with the country of Georgia to the south, as well followed by Russian federal subjects of Kabardino-Balkaria to the west, Stavropol Krai to the north, Chechnya to the east and Ingushetia to the southeast. Its population according to the 2021 Census was 687,357. The republic’s capital city is the city of Vladikavkaz, located on the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ossetians</span> Iranian ethnic group of the Caucasus

The Ossetians, also known as Ossetes, Ossets, and Alans, are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern sides of the Caucasus Mountains. They natively speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European language family, with most also being fluent in Russian as a second language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Ossetia</span> Partially recognized state in the South Caucasus

South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tskhinvali</span> Capital city of South Ossetia

Tskhinvali or Tskhinval is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia. Tskhinvali Region, known historically as Samachablo, was always part of the Georgian state as a single military and administrative entity. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of North Ossetia–Alania</span>

The Republic of North Ossetia – Alania is a federal subject of Russia, located in the Caucasus region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgian–Ossetian conflict</span> 1989–present conflict between Georgia and the partially recognized South Ossetia

The Georgian–Ossetian conflict is an ethno-political conflict over Georgia's former autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a war. Despite a declared ceasefire and numerous peace efforts, the conflict remained unresolved. In August 2008, military tensions and clashes between Georgia and South Ossetian separatists erupted into the Russo-Georgian War. Since then, South Ossetia has been under a de-facto Russian control.

Judaeo-Georgian is the traditional Georgian dialect spoken by the Georgian Jews, the ancient Jewish community of the South Caucasus nation of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uastyrdzhi</span> Name of Saint George in Ossetian folklore

Uastyrdzhi is the name of Saint George in Ossetian folklore. Uastyrdzhi is the patron of the male sex and travellers as well as being a guarantor of oaths, like his Iranian counterpart Mithra with whom he shares a common origin. It is forbidden for women to pronounce his name; instead, they must refer to him as лӕгты дзуар lӕgty dzuar.

The Dvals were a ethnographic group of Georgians. Their lands lying on both sides of the central Greater Caucasus mountains, somewhere between the Darial and Mamison gorges. This historic territory mostly covers the north of Kartli, parts of the Racha and Khevi regions in Georgia and south of Ossetia in Russia.

The Georgian–Ossetian conflict of 1918–1920 were a series of uprisings, which took place in the Ossetian-inhabited areas of what is now South Ossetia, a breakaway republic in Georgia, against the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and then the Menshevik-dominated Democratic Republic of Georgia which claimed several thousand lives and left painful memories among the Georgian and Ossetian communities of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Ossetia war (1991–1992)</span> 20th-century war

The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War was fought between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militias on one side and the forces of South Ossetian separatists and Russia on the other. The war ended with a Dagomys Agreement, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities.

Kurta is an abandoned village in the former South Ossetian autonomous oblast of Georgia. Populated largely by ethnic Georgians, it was one of the towns that remained under the control of Georgia between the unilateral secession of South Ossetia after the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War and the 2008 South Ossetia War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Georgia (country)</span>

Christianity is the predominant religion in Georgia. The wide variety of peoples inhabiting Georgia has meant a correspondingly rich array of active religions in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in South Ossetia</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in South Ossetia is connected to the history of the Jews in Georgia. Much of the early Jewish history in South Ossetia is similar to that of other Jewish communities in the Georgian region. At the same time, the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali was known for its sizable Georgian Jewish population, where the community had its own quarter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of South Ossetia</span>

The Parliament of South Ossetia is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. The 34 members of parliament are elected using a mixed system of Party-list proportional representation (17) and single-member districts (17). South Ossetia has a multi-party system, and currently 5 political parties are represented in parliament and has 6 independent MPs elected through single-member districts. The parliament is headed by a speaker, who is elected from among the members. Since 15 September 2022 the speaker of parliament is Alan Alborov, one of the four deputees of the Nykhaz party of president Alan Gagloev, after Alan Tadtaev of United Ossetia was forced to resign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tskhinvali District</span> District in South Ossetia in Georgia

Tskhinvali District is a district of South Ossetia. The district consists of the lower part of Greater Liakhvi valley, where Tskhinvali itself is located, and of the less-populated valleys of Smaller Liakhvi and Mejuda rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assianism</span> Modern pagan religion in Ossetia

Assianism is a polytheistic, ethnic and folk religion derived from the traditional mythology of the Ossetians, modern descendants of the Scythians of the Alan tribes, believed to be a continuation of the ancient Scythian religion. It started to be properly reorganized in a conscious way during the 1980s, as an ethnic religion among the Ossetians.

South Ossetia is a partially recognised landlocked state, approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus. Although it declared independence in 2008, only a few countries acknowledge it. The region is inhabited by Ossetians, an Iranian ethnic group. According to Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria and Nauru, it is one of the world's newest independent states. All other states and international organisations consider South Ossetia an autonomous region of Georgia, functioning as a de facto state for twenty years after declaring independence and conducting a successful armed rebellion. Its Georgian inhabitants have been displaced. South Ossetia has been a source of tension for a number of years, with Georgia and Russia's political differences impeding peaceful independence and breeding a turbulent series of events which undermine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiri Monastery</span> Monument in Monasteri, Kurta Municipality, Shida Kartli, Georgia / Tskhinvali District, South Ossetia

The Tiri monastery is a 13th-century church near Tskhinvali in what is now the disputed territory of South Ossetia. Built as a Georgian Orthodox monastery in a hall church plan, it bears medieval frescoes and Georgian inscriptions. After the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, the Georgians lost access to the monastery. In 2015, the church building was subjected to maintenance works which infringed on authenticity and partially damaged the frescoes, leading to a controversy in Tskhinvali and protests from Georgia. The monastery is inscribed on the list of Georgia's Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ossetian nationalism</span> Ethnic nationalist ideology

Ossetian nationalism is ethnic nationalist ideology promoting Ossetian national identity, the Ossetian language and culture.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 317
  2. ↑ Merabishvili & Metreveli 2021 , p. 8
  3. ↑ Georgia: a toponymic note concerning South Ossetia (PDF) (Report). Permanent Committee on Geographical Names. 2007. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  4. ↑ Conroy 2015 , p. 622: "Recent poll data shows approximately 60 percent of Ossetians are Orthodox, often in combination with traditional (pagan) beliefs... the Orthodox church remains an important factor in South Ossetia either way, for political—if not religious—reasons."
  5. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 330: "Estimating the actual number of those who practice the Ossetian popular religion is impossible, but clearly there are many thousands of sympathizers throughout North and South Ossetia and beyond."
  6. ↑ Dzeranov 2015 , p. 11
  7. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 330–331
  8. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 271
  9. ↑ Conroy 2015 , p. 632
  10. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 316
  11. ↑ Khodarkovsky 1999 , pp. 412–413
  12. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 317
  13. ↑ Conroy 2015 , p. 632
  14. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 274
  15. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 283
  16. ↑ Conroy 2015 , pp. 623, 629
  17. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 283
  18. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 274
  19. ↑ Guliev 2012 , p. 104
  20. ↑ Merabishvili & Metreveli 2021 , p. 8
  21. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 284
  22. ↑ Conroy 2015 , pp. 632–633
  23. ↑ Conroy 2015 , p. 629
  24. ↑ Matsuzato 2010 , p. 286
  25. ↑ Guliev 2012 , p. 104
  26. ↑ Conroy 2015 , p. 633
  27. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 327–328
  28. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 325
  29. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 325–327
  30. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 321–322
  31. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 314, 316
  32. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 316–317
  33. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 317
  34. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 325, 327–328
  35. ↑ Foltz 2019 , p. 331
  36. ↑ Foltz 2019 , pp. 323–324
  37. ↑ Shnirelman 2002 , pp. 204–205
  38. ↑ Lomtadze & Janjghava 2018 , p. 17–18
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 "Цхинвали" [Tskhinvali]. Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia (in Russian). Vol. 9. 1999. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  40. ↑ Lomtadze & Janjghava 2018 , pp. 19–20
  41. ↑ Lomtadze & Janjghava 2018 , p. 18
  42. ↑ Lomtadze & Janjghava 2018 , p. 19
  43. ↑ "Georgia's Jewish Heritage Imperiled with Talk of War". Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 25 February 2008. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  44. ↑ "Empty synagogue gives shelter in Georgian war". NBC News. Associated Press. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  45. ↑ Finn, Peter (18 August 2008). "At center of conflict, South Ossetians direct bitterness at Georgia". The Boston Globe . Washington Post. p. 3. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  46. ↑ "Конституция" [Constitution] (in Russian). Government of the Republic of South Ossetia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  47. 1 2 Report on International Religious Freedom: Georgia (Report). Office of International Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State. 2022. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-02-29.

Bibliography

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.