Eschatological Imagery in the Hand-Drawn Lubki of the Voronezh Catacomb Church Community

True Orthodox Christians (TOC) are a set of movements within the Russian Orthodox Church that emerged in the 1920s–30s under the conditions of the harsh anti-religious policy of the Soviet state. Their field study was conducted by A. I. Klibanov's group and later by his student A. I. Demyanov in the late 1950s–1970s. Dozens of works on TOC have appeared in the post-Soviet period; however, comprehensive field research on TOC has been practically non-existent. Our research group has been conducting a comprehensive field study of TOC in the Central Black Earth Region since 2018. This article introduces materials on TOC in the Voronezh region into scholarly discourse, based on materials obtained during an expedition in 2025. The aim of the study was to identify the role of hand-drawn popular prints (lubki) in the worldview of the local catacomb community. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: 1) to identify the place of Voronezh hand-drawn lubki in the system of popular piety; 2) to reconstruct the historical fate of the lubki; 3) to characterize the genre of visions in the folk tradition; 4) to describe the plot and figurative specifics of Voronezh lubki; 5) to establish the ideological foundations of the corresponding figurative solutions in the context of the socio-political processes of the second half of the twentieth century. In implementing this study, we relied on modern approaches in the field of anthropology of religion. The research methodology at the stage of collecting materials included comprehensive fieldwork, observation, in-depth and biographical interviews; at the stage of analysis the research methodology employed archaeographic description of the identified sources, comparative-historical and plot analysis of hand-drawn lubki and similar works of the Chasovennye Old Believers, as well as lubki of the Synodal period; as well as analysis of visual artifacts in line with the material turn. As the result, hand-drawn lubki within the TOC milieu have been identified and described for the first time and their role in the visual preaching has been established. Conclusions: (1) Wall leaflets and popular prints became widespread in the 18th century and retained their significance for the personal prayer space of believers even during Soviet anti-religious campaigns. In the 20th century, hand-drawn lubki were created not only by Old Believers but also by members of the TOC communities. (2) Thanks to the work with the archive of the secret monastery, the author of the images was identified—the repeatedly repressed Hieromonk Meletiy (Matvey Efimovich Shcheglov (1913-2013)). The lubki were created by him during his exile in the Krasnoyarsk region in 1964. (3) Meletiy calls his lubki visions, which increases their status within the community. Eschatological visionary work allows for the legitimization of the behavioral strategies of the catacomb community members: refusal to join collective farms, participate in elections, receive benefits, etc. (4) The key themes presented in the lubki are the Church as a boat of the elect; the Last Judgment over Soviet citizens; the fate of the Church in the era of persecution. (5) These images reflect the features of radical visual preaching, clearly separating the perceived antichrists of the world and the community-boat of the elect. Further study of these and similar artifacts will allow for a more complete picture of the diversity of religious life in Russia during the Soviet period.

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