Orthodox Icons and Cosmonaut Exemplars
Which Way to Heaven?
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:24th Sep '26
£171.99
This title is due to be published on 24th September, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This book offers a fascinating ethnography of Russian Orthodox people and things in outer space, and of outer space in Russian Orthodoxy. It considers how the Russian Orthodox participate in cosmonautics on Earth and in outer space, and how they relate with humans venturing off Earth in their religious practices on Earth. The book’s central ethnographic concern is the practice of sending icons to the International Space Station. Building on existing anthropological theory of Orthodox material culture, the author argues that icons are model objects that instruct the Orthodox in how to grasp God in all created things around them and, accordingly, how to orient themselves in the creation towards communion with God. Whatever one does for a living, including technoscientific research and flying to outer space, icons serve as a constant reminder for the Orthodox to always seek communion with God. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in Russian Orthodox parishes with links to the technoscientific industry of cosmonautics, the volume describes how living cosmonauts practice Orthodoxy and how deceased cosmonauts are remembered as Orthodox exemplars. It is especially relevant to scholars of the anthropology of religion and those interested in the social study of outer space, as well as others working on Orthodox Christianity, material culture, science and technology studies, and Russian and post-Soviet studies.
“Situated at the intersection of Russian Orthodoxy and scientific cosmonautics, this groundbreaking and beautiful ethnography rethinks the legacy of Soviet materialism. The International Space Station and the Orthodox temple appear here not as opposing worlds, but as interconnected sites within a shared, modern landscape. Moving across churches, space museums, and orbital missions, the book develops an evocative account of contemporary cosmopolitics. It re-theorizes the icon as a ‘relationally immanent’ map of creation—one that turns rockets and spaceflight into unexpected paths toward the divine. Here, the ascent into space is not transcendence, but a detour that leads back to Earth, prayer, and the temple.”
- Alexei Yurchak, University of California, Berkeley
“Gorbanenko’s book is richly ethnographic, theoretically grounded, and written with clarity and depth. She offers a compelling account of how Russian Orthodox Christianity understands space exploration, carefully distinguishing between the ‘second sky’ of outer space and the uncreated Heaven of the ‘third sky’. Her icon-focused analysis, revealing a cosmos that is both spiritually compelling and potentially dangerous, contributes importantly to the anthropology of religion. By highlighting the relative coherence of Russian Orthodox interpretations of space in contrast to more fragmented Western frameworks, Gorbanenko invites a rethinking of how cultural, religious, and cosmological assumptions shape engagements with the heavens, and offers a model for comparable studies in other spacefaring contexts. At the same time, she offers a timely reminder that secular perspectives should not be mistaken for neutral ones.”
- Deana Weibel, Grand Valley State University
“This book offers an ethnography of Russian Orthodoxy and space exploration written from a consciously non-secular position. Following icons and cosmonauts to and from the ISS, the author brings Orthodox theology into dialogue with anthropology, challenging secular assumptions about religion, science, and knowledge itself.”
- Jeanne Kormina, Yerevan Center for International Education
ISBN: 9781041264088
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
288 pages