'Teach Us How to Weep': The Spectacle of the Passion in Early Modern Ukraine

• In Event: Fear and Angst in Early Modern East Central Europe

Abstract

This paper analyzes the image of Christ’s suffering body in a range of written and visual
texts of Early Modern Ukraine centered on the Passion, situating them in their cultural
and historical contexts. It argues that this constellation of texts on “crucifixion piety”
embodies a sensibility in which feelings of grief and compassion are emotions
consciously constructed. The paper also argues that the construction of emotions
played a role in strengthening Orthodox identity by, for instance, aiming to regulate
collective behavior through sacramental penance, and that memorial and meditative
practices went beyond the exclusively private dimension of personal devotion.

Author

• Maria Grazia Bartolini, U of Milan (Italy)