Lived Religion of the Devotees of Rural Surbs in Armenia

Abstract

The article analyses the beliefs and practices of rural surb worshippers in Armenia on the basis of lived religion approaches. Surb means “holy”, “sacred”, “divine”. It is a saint and a place of veneration. A surb can be a book, a khachkar, a church, a tree, an image, etc. – any revered object. The everyday religion of believers is a special relationship with the sacred and the divine power of the saints. People accept the power of the surb as real and experience its effects every day. Ritual practices in the surbahs are seen as a way of influencing the divine power to meet certain needs and perform certain tasks. Ritual practices in surbs have real physical and spiritual efficacy for the worshippers. Also important is physical contact with the shrine. The representations and practices of devotees of rural shrines are not approved by the Armenian Apostolic Church. In Armenia there is a vernacular tradition successfully operating in parallel to the official and canonical tradition.