Religion In Historical Fiction Writng

When I began writing my trilogy, I had no idea religion would so heavily influence my characters.  Initially, I tried to stay away from religion, which from the title of my first novel, Ikons: Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker, should have warned me of the futility.  I tried to make organized religion antiseptic by implying the village of Hutava could no longer afford a priest. My fictional village did have a church building, but it was not used as such except for special occasions.  I christened the church Saint Ivan Vladimir, for no special reason I can recall and described it as the standard Russian onion domed church with a fading icon of the name saint. 

Saint Ivan Vladimir in factious Hutava

Religion in Hutava

My main characters, having been raised Christian, rebelled against my attempts to secularize them and adhered to their religion as best they could.  Akulina and Massey followed the dicta of fast and abstinence, observed holy days, and traditional rites, such as the sacraments of baptism, marriage and anointing the sick.  In their family spiritual matters it was the patriarchs, Boris and Serge, who assumed the pastoral role in the priest's abstinence.

How much the Orthodox faith infused their beings was attested to during Massey and Akulina's courtship and wedding.  Their prenuptial traditions, banter and wedding reception antics were based on my recollections of my Eastern European relatives.  My maternal grandparents, John and Cecil Mores, provided some insight into Slavic wedding customs, but it was the reverence and frivolity of their children's ceremonies that I recalled and used as the basis for many scenes.

John and Cecil Mores on Their Wedding Day

There was nothing frivolous about Akulina's faith, however.  I gave her an unshaken belief in an afterlife that sustained her through the travails of her shortened existence.  But it was not just her who relied upon religion when she needed an anchor.

Religion In America

Religion increased in importance when Massey arrived in America.  Tossed into the turbulent waters of the new world, he and the others of the Orthodox community sought refuge in stability provided by their spiritual bond.

Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church - Joliet, Illinois

They founded Saint Nicholas Church which became the both their social and spiritual center.  I remember going to Saint Nicholas when it was housed in the building shown in the above photograph.  My most vivid memories of the church are not of the heavily perfumed ceremonies, but rather the ensuing trip to the Dairy Queen on the next block.  In the mid-40's Joliet was home to the very first Dairy Queen and for a nickle, I got a really large curly ice cream cone.

I based my characters' Russian religion on a mixture of my memories, current and historical religious programs, and imagination.  I'm grateful to the Orthodox church in Joliet for providing me with the history of the faith in Northern Illinois.  I believe I did them justice.

The Old Believers 

To bless with two fingers or three?  That was the question which caused the schism in the Orthodox church and created the Old Believers.  I introduced the Old Believers (Starovyery) in Banners: For God, Tsar and Russia and continued their story in Slogans: Our Children, Our Future.  Their isolated Siberian village of Unkuda, which became home for the refugees from Hutava, was 300 years out of step with the modern age and provided the backdrop for the Russian Civil War.  I didn't know much about the Old Believers, but I live in an area populated by Amish and other Christian sects of that nature.  The Amish became a surrogate for the Old Believers' language, life style and world view.

Old Believers

The differing views of the Orthodox religion provided ample opportunities for friction and misunderstanding between the refugees and the Old Believers.  For dialogue, I used old English words to delineate an Old Believer.  The clashes between the two groups were usually harmless and sometimes even humorous.  But all changed under the Red banner.