Online Worship Services and Baptizing in Front of the Camera: Mediatization of Religious Practices among Old Believers

The article discusses how Old Believers of different denominations perceive the transfer of religious life to the online environment and the usage of new technologies within traditional practices. The main sources are field research data obtained in 2020—2022 and online interviews with Old Believers from Russia and abroad (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Republic of Moldova). Considering the attitudes towards online worship services and the use of modern technical means and media technologies to perform religious practices during the pandemic, the article examines how Old Believers search for answers about the extent to which the transformation of religious practices under the influence of mediatization is acceptable. Priestly Old Believers are more likely to positively perceive new technologies that allow them to expand missionary activities. As for the priestless Old Believers, most of the religious leaders and ordinary believers speak out against the active mediatization of traditional practices, since they no longer comply with the apostolic rules, while allowing the use of technical innovations and broadcasting of online worship services for educational purposes. Nevertheless, the variability of answers and interpretations can be traced not only at the level of different Old Believer denominations, but also within communities, while the region of residence does not play an important role in decision-making.