Innovations in the Eastern Udmurts Priesthood

Abstract

This report, based on the author’s field materials, is devoted to the consideration of the current state of the priesthood of the Trans-Kama (Eastern) Udmurts. It is shown that since the 1990s, with the revival of religious traditions, significant changes have taken place in the organization of the priests’ activities, dictated by the modern realities of life. The main criterion for their choice was the presence of positive moral qualities, in some cases their belonging to the “priestly family”.