Deconstruction of Religious Symbols of Minsk as National-cultural Constants

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/urbis-2022-2(3)-94-108

Elina Usovskaya
Belarusian State University, Minsk, Republic of Belarus
[email protected]

ORCID: 0000-0002-7828-9380

Abstract

Culture and its mental field are a complex interweaving of various attitudes and values that become stable, basic, and of exceptional importance for understanding the essence and trends in the development of society and the state. Contradictory and bright in content, the path of the Belarusian nation is represented in religious culture, including places of worship. They concentrate on a variety of cultural and national contexts. Historically, Belarus was formed as a state and a European-Slavic type of culture in intensive interaction with various ethnic communities and religions, which was reflected in the appearance and character of the topos of Belarusian cities and towns, including Minsk. Of particular importance for understanding national and cultural constants is the Upper City (Cathedral Square) and the adjacent spaces as part of its preserved part. It embodies a number of central characteristics, and constants of the cultural and mental field – polyconfessionalism, religious tolerance, and dialogism. In the topos of Minsk, one can see the coexistence of Catholic, Orthodox, Uniate, and Protestant Christian cathedrals and mosques, Jewish synagogues, and prayer houses. Deconstruction, axiological approach, and visual analysis, along with the principles of the geography of religion, made it possible to consider religious cult monuments in the context of cultural and national constants.

Keywords: culture, religion, cathedral, Minsk, mental field, cultural constant, Belarusian culture, polyconfessionality, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, tolerance.

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About author

Elina A. Usovskaya
Belarusian State University, Minsk, Belarus
E-mail: [email protected]

For citation:
Usovskaya E. A. Deconstruction of Religious Symbols of Minsk as National-cultural Constants. Urbis et Orbis. Microhistory and Semiotics of the City. 2022. 2 (3). P. 94–108. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/urbis-2022-2(3)-94-108