Russian Orthodox Church

customs, and culture, but the Mongolian’s rule of Russia was indirect and distant, so the Russian culture and traditions were not adopted by the Mongols. The result of the Mongol invasion in both Russia and Persia was that it caused the amount of taxes that had to be paid. Specifically in Russia, princes were assigned by the Mongols who had to provide a notable tribute to the Mongolian empire. Other taxes on Russians citizens put a lot of strain of people of all classes, specifically peasants.…

year. Tsarist Russia was a very difficult place to live in for those with an ethnicity other than Russian, due to the harsh policy of Russification, and while the Communist leaders were not the ones to begin such processes as Russification, they did not do anything to directly counteract or stop it. Russification, along with Stalin’s Purges in the 1930s, made life for those not of Russian origin very difficult. However, apart from the Purges, the Communist leaders did not do much that…

Her Imperial Highness Catherine II was Russia’s longest reigning Empress, having risen from minor German nobility to ruler of the Russian Empire. Centuries after her eventful rule, Catherine II is commonly known as Catherine the Great. In Russia’s history, only three monarchs have been awarded this title; the most famous being Peter the Great, the father of Catherine’s predecessor, Empress Elizabeth. For Peter, being awarded the title of “Great” was based on his combat prowess combined with…

The Chosen is a film many people can benefit from watching, as we are given a detailed view of a day in the life of Hasidic- Orthodox and Conservative-Zionist Jews. Observing their day to day lifestyle give us an understanding of their culture and traditions. We see many differences from these two religions, from their dress codes to their very core belief. In the film two young boys, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, become unexpected friends through a common passion of baseball. Both boys live…

How Will We Live Impressions and judgement of people we don’t even know are fairly common. We might hear a rumor about someone, or just hear of someone’s actions. Judgement is very common, and it prevents many relationships. Whether it’s someone race, religion, hobbies or interest we form our opinions about that person, but we do not truly know that person. Throughout first year seminar judgement was found in a lot of the texts we read. Judgement was found early in the course when we discussed…

“Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” (W. Somerset Maugham) This quote demonstrates that tradition can be changed, similar to the way Hasidism changed traditional Judaism. Hasidism began in Southeast Poland-Lithuania and sparked a revolution in Judaism. The breakup of Judaism paired with the lack of trust in Jewish leaders, lead Hasidism to form and pave a new way for Judaism. Kabbalah, Mass enthusiasm and ecstasy acted as the foundation for the movement and fear of separatism lead many…

different and ironic ways. Reb Saunders is the leader of a very separated and radical Jewish congregation, yet his son becomes a secular psychologist. David Malter is a professor and is active in subjects relevant to modern Jews, yet his son becomes an Orthodox…

Ruchel Dwajra Zylska; A quite, week, scared, lost, indivisual coming from an orthodox jewish family. A family that has shunned her and pronouced her dead for following her heart and being with a black man, to being sexual molistation by her own father at a young, age to almost going into prosotution, transforms into Ruth McBride a reborn Christian,stong, brave, independent loving single mother of 12. Rasing them almost all on her own and having them all go to colledge and have them later become…

Nicholas II -- the last tsar of Russia -- was murdered, and the killer is still unknown to this day. The historical fiction novel, The Kitchen Boy, displays Robert Zimmerman’s hypothesis on the the events that transpired on July 16th, 1918. The Russian commoners rebuke the tsar for the way in which he is running the government. These civilians demonstrate their anger through rioting in the streets. Using these historical events, Zimmerman exemplifies a myriad of accuracies and inaccuracies about…

edicts because they would “mean discarding much of Russia’s distinctive past.” Those “devoted to Russia’s unique Slavic and Orthodox Christian traditions” …” argued that abandonment of Russia’s past was too high a price to pay for Europeanization.” He revived his father Alexis’ efforts to “centralize government in Russia” and put in place many decrees which affected the Russian people in in radical and very personal ways. Peter “issued no fewer than three thousand decrees” …on everything from…