Historian Gary Marker traces the Russian veneration of St.
Catherine of Alexandria from its beginnings in Kievan times through
the onset of female rulership in the eighteenth century. Two
narratives emerge. The first focuses on St. Catherine within
Christendom and, specifically, within Russia. The second shifts
attention to the second wife of Peter the Great, Catherine I, who
became Russia's first crowned female ruler. Marker then explores
the evolution of divine queenship and the Catherine cult through
the reigns of Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. Russia's cult of
St. Catherine diverged from the veneration of Catherine in Western
Christendom in several ways, particularly in the evolution of the
Bride of Christ theme. Also, while St. Catherine became a figure of
personal intercession in the West, her persona in Russia took a
different path, one that valorized her regal and masculine
qualities-attributes that supported her emerging role as a patron
saint of the women of the ruling family. The intersection of
gender, power, and religion is a central theme of this study. Under
Catherine I, the ruler's identification with St. Catherine, her
name-day saint, became critical. In ever-widening cascades of
public ceremonies, Catherine was lauded as her saint's living
image, an affinity that ultimately provided the basis for
establishing a distinctly female path to divinely chosen
leadership. Imperial Saint draws upon extensive and often rare
sources, including service books, saints' lives, sermons, public
ceremonies, pilgrims' accounts, laws, and personal correspondence.
It also calls attention to icons, iconostases, fireworks,
processionals, and other visual evidence. For readers interested in
saints, cults, the ritualization of power, and the relationship
between gender and religion-as well as scholars who study St.
Catherine-this stimulating study offers valuable insights.
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