Pages: 301-324

The article analyses issues connected with religiousness of the Bessarabian Gagauzes and Bulgarians in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The author uses a wide range of archival and historiographical data, an important part of which is introduced for the first time in the scientific circulation. The analysis of materials allows us to conclude that the second half of 19th century was marked in Bessarabia by intensification of religious consciousness among the Gagauzes and the Bulgarians, as a result of the activity of the authorities and clergy.

Keywords: religiousness, orthodox identity, Bessarabian Gagauzes and Bulgarians, folk orthodoxy, folk tradition and customs

Information about author:

Elizaveta Cvilincova (Kishinev, Moldova). Doctor Habilitat of History. Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.
E-mail: [email protected]