Annual cycles of the Orthodox believers participating in the blessing of Easter food

Abstract

The author seeks to define the types of annual cycles of the Orthodox believers who take part in the preparation for Easter. The analysis is based on the data of the «Holy Saturday: An opinion poll in the temples of the Eastern Vicariate of Moscow» survey conducted on April 30, 2016. The sample size was over 13,000 respondents. The author analyzes the survey data using the method of hierarchical cluster analysis. As a result, four clusters of respondents were identified.They differ from each other in terms of respondents’ perceptions of religious holidays and their degree of involvement/detachment from an active and ideological participation in them. These four groups are (1) persons oriented toward church holidays, (2) persons oriented toward secular holidays, (3) those who do not celebrate holidays, and (4) those who celebrate them. As to heuristic results, a temporal component of respondents’ identities was explored and explained.Each cluster has its own unique calendar within the annual cycle. In some groups this calendar is determined by religious or secular calendar, while others do not take into account at all.