Nadieszda Kizenko

Orthodox Christian women turned to confession of sins as autobiographical narrative at three key historical moments: on the eve of the revolutions of 1917, during and after the fall of communism, and during the wars starting in the Donbas in 2014. Their narratives reveal an internalization of received formulae and notions of sin alongside a desire for voice and agency. Women produced written confessions out of frustration with spoken (auricular) confession, desire to establish intimacy with a priest, resistance to conform to established narratives of sin, a defiant insistence on one’s inner life at a time of turmoil, a wish to tell one’s life story in one of the few forms available. By examining these narratives alongside the formal templates offered by the Orthodox Church, I hope to cast light on how religious women in times of crisis have sought to understand—and refashion—their lives.

 Website address: https://www.albany.edu/history/faculty/nadieszda-kizenko