Easter online: Constructing co-presence in a mediatized ritual

Abstract

Epidemics of COVID-19 led to major lockdowns all over the world in 2020. This situation severely limited the possibility of a number of social activities, including religious gatherings. In Russia, the peak of the epidemic coincided with the central period in the Orthodox calendar - the last week of Lent and Easter. As the Patriarch blessed “stay-at-home” policies, churches were officially closed for everybody but the clergy and livestreams of services in social media were organized, while believers had to adapt swiftly to a new mode of co-presence in church by participating in services online. To do this, they had to make a choice between the places from which a livestream was organized, transform the space of their homes to accommodate the sacrality of the event, rethink the locality of their own body in being simultaneously at home and “in church”, manage communication with the priest, fellow parishioners and family members during Easter night. This involved not only formal decoration of homes but also subtle mechanisms of balancing authority within the network of sacred objects, gadgets and people. Based on digital ethnography (including participant observation online) and 40 in-depth interviews, the paper investigates how believers constructed and reflected the space of the Easter service in their homes, and presents three key strategies: synchronization, spacing and appellation to experience.