THE RUSALIA

Here is a cast metal Russian icon:

(Courtesy of Zoetmulder Ikonen: Russianicons.net)

We can tell from his hood that he is a monk of some kind.  Let’s look more closely at the inscription at his head:

It reads:

ОБРАЗ ПРЕПОДОБНАГО НИФОНТА
ПРОГОНИТЕЛЯ БЕСОВЪ

OBRAZ PREPODOBNAGO NIFONTA
PROGONITELYA BYESOV”

“IMAGE [of] VENERABLE NIFONT/NIPHONT
DRIVER [of] DEVILS/DEMONS”

We have seen Niphont before in an earlier posting: (https://russianicons.wordpress.com/tag/niphont-of-cyprus/)

We learned there that he could supposedly see angels and devils.  This icon focuses on his presumed ability to drive away devils — so in that sense he is like the other devil-driving saint, Nikita.

What is most interesting and unexpected about this fellow however, is what we find written on his scroll:

It reads:

ПРОКЛЯТ ВСЯКЪ ИЖЕ КТО ОСТАВИТ ЦЕРКОВ БОЖИЮ И ПОСЛЕДУЕТЪ РУСАЛИИ

PROKLYAT VSYAK” IZHE KTO OSTAVIT TSERKOV BOSHIIU I POSLEDUET RUSALII

“CURSED ARE ALL THOSE WHO LEAVE THE CHURCH OF GOD AND FOLLOW THE RUSALIA.”

Now that is very interesting indeed, because it illustrates the centuries-long conflict between native Russian folk belief/religion and the Russian Orthodox Church.  To understand how that applies here, we must first know a little about the Rusalia.

In Russian folk belief, lakes, rivers and ponds were the dwellings of  alluring supernatural females called Rusalki.  They had long greenish or blond hair.  Every year in June the Rusalki would emerge from the waters and wander naked or revealingly clothed on land, climbing into trees.  At this time — the time of Pentecost or Trinity Sunday — was  a Russian folk festival, the week of Rusalia — which seems to have been related to the fertility of the land, and commonly where fertility is invoked, there is a lot of — well — lively behavior.

Rusalia celebrations were condemned by the Stoglav Council for their “defilement of youth and corruption of virgins.”  The excitement of the celebrations went on into the early hours of the morning.  It was believed that the Rusalki were particularly interested in luring young males.  They could tickle them to death, or dance with them until the males would fall exhausted.  They could lure them into water and drown them.  If a male managed somehow to escape, he was never quite right again, not really part of this world mentally.

All sorts of things were forbidden for Russians during Rusalia.  They were to avoid the fields, where Rusalki might be encountered; they were to avoid the rivers or pools where they bathed or washed clothes, because of the danger of Rusalki.  It was also wise to leave offerings of food, white clothing, or wreaths at places where Rusalki were likely to find them.  There was a special ritual involving an effigy to end the Rusalia.

There is much more to the rather complex folklore of the Rusalki and of Rusalia, but that should give you a general idea.

Here is Russian artist Ivan Bilibin’s representation of a Rusalka: