ROMANIA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [754] | View Larger Image
For the Lippovans in the Delta, religious holidays are the highlights of the social calendar. For this young girl, the Feast of St. Mary (celebrated according to the Julian Calendar, 13 days later than the regular calendar) is an opportunity to don traditional dress and celebrate centuries-long traditions defining the identity of her community. Lippovans worship according to rites dating before 1652, when they fled to what is now south-eastern Romania after being the target of brutal persecution for the temerity of refusing reforms instituted by the Russian Orthodox Church. So important is faith in these poor communities that every family strives to afford a religious painting (icon) decorated with gold-leaf, which then becomes an heirloom passed from one generation to the next. Smoking is forbidden inside the Lippovans’ homes so as to not damage these icons.
