The article discusses the ideas about miracles and miraculous events that are reflected in Georgian historical traditions and legends, in the customs and practices of everyday life, in the art culture and folk memory.

. Miracle tales are often found in the texts of Chinese pilgrims who visited India in the 5^th – 7^th centuries. The role of “miracle” in the world outlook and the text of Buddhist pilgrim looks also structurally determined. One can trace a certain consistency in “embedding” stories of miracles into the overall structure of the text. Being associated with various sacred objects these stories form stable relationships with them and each category of shrines (stupa, statue, cave, etc.) has its own stories about the miracles. The obvious function of “miracles” marking the places of events of the sacred past is to “overcome” the length of time which separates past and present, what looks typical for mythological way of thinking. Miraculous phenomena connect the devotee with the sacred time of the tradition, include him in the attraction zone of deeds of the remote past, make it possible to tangibly feel an impact of the past. In that impact, the degree of holiness of the doer of ancient deeds recognized by the adept as well as the degree of his approach to a world of the true, are of decisive importance in this influence. The possession of “supernatural powers” (ṛddhi) is one of the topics on which attention is also focused in the narratives of the pilgrim.

Saint Agatha is an Italian martyr of the 3rd century, who is honored by the Catholic Church as the protector against fire accidents (she is also the patron saint of bell-makers, weavers, shepherdesses, wet nurses, sufferers of breast diseases, etc.). The article deals with the manifestations of religiosity of Latvia’s Roman Catholics–the tradition of Saint Agatha miracles. According to the examined folklore materials–folk beliefs, customs, Christian legends and notes on memorates –, the traditions related to Saint Agatha’s Day play a considerable role in the life of a practicing Catholics. Their importance emerges in honoring Saint Agatha, the practices of storing and using objects and substances blessed in the church on her commemoration day on February 5 (bread, water, salt), as well as in the stories about miraculous help in fire accidents (Agatha’s bread or water puts fire under control or distinguishes it). The miracle stories of Saint Agatha share a common textual structure: 1) The story is based on a real event; 2) The situation accelerates drastically; 3) Then comes a sudden turning point; 4) A happy ending. These memorates are stories whose key function is to assert folk religiosity regarding the intervention and help of the supernatural, divine force in the event of misfortune or accident.

The essay analyzes sangīt sādhanā, a discipline practiced by musicians performing Indian classical music. On the basis of many conversations, the author identifies the most important forms and aspects of the sacrament associated with the comprehension of music and its performance.

Pentecostalism is a Protestant denomination in whose worldview special attention is paid to the supernatural and miraculous action of God in the world. That category includes healings exorcism, and exalted spiritual practices. Miracle in the understanding of Pentecostals is a sign of heavenly life, an indicator of connection with God, a manifestation of the power of God, a confirmation of the truth of faith and the status of believers. The miracle for Pentecostals is what seems strange and unusual to worldly people but it is an everyday reality for believers who are in constant contact with God and who are awaiting His constant intervention.

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of a miracle in Cuba. The author traces the historical and cultural features of the development of Cuba and develops an idea of the transculturation of the miracle. He analyzes how Afro-genic traditions such as Santeria, Palo Monte and others were enriched with European-Christian and Indian elements, adapting them to their cosmologies and magical practices. Special attention is paid to the role of the trickster spirits, especially Eshu, as well as witchcraft with the help of dangerous, demonic forces. The article is based on the field material collected by the author in Cuba in 2013 and 2019 through informal interviews and participant observation.

The publication considers the main motifs of evidences about the so-called Kalinovka miracle that took place in the summer of 1923 in Ukraine (Podolia province). Analyzing folk stories about the “Kalinovka miracle” that are contemporary to the event, one can show how the evidences of miracles that occurred around the Kalinovsky cross correlate with the traditional plot schemes of folk legends about sacred objects and with ritual practices that arise and develop around venerated holy places. As it is shown in the legends, memorates, and folklore texts of other genres that were popular in 1923, the fact of the “Kalinovka miracle” became significant for society in the context of other phenomena, including rumors generated by the renewal of sacred objects or the general level of religious sentiment in that period of time. The influence of subjects related to the “Kalinovka miracle” not only on the folklore tradition of Podolia and Volyn’, but also on the traditions of other regions of Ukraine and Russia, is confirmed by the fixation of numerous versions of folklore texts that reflect this fact of religious life.

The article presents and analyzes a collection of votive items called pratima, collected by the author in the Garhwal district of the northIndian state of Uttarkhand (India) in 2004. Their main functions are revealed. A classification of available items is proposed.

The essay tells about the author’s experience in collecting data on vernacular astronomy of the peoples of India. The attention is paid to the mythological motif about the origin of meteors – “shooting stars”, which is widespread in two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and attempts to find out which element of local flora or fauna is associated in the popular mind with the stars that have fallen to the earth.

Indrajāla (literally “Indra’s net”) has the meanings of “illusion”, “deception”, “witchcraft” and belongs to the basic concepts associated with the magic in Indian culture. The paper offers a translation from Old Tamil and commentaries to a fragment of the poem “Kalingattupparani” by the poet Jayankondar (12th century), containing description of “witchcraft”. In that poem the demonesses (Tamil pēy), who make up the retinue of the victory goddess Kottṟavai, are deceived by a sorceress who creates illusory pictures of the battle. The demonesses, feeding on the corpses of warriors, horses and elephants who died in battle, are so exhausted by hunger that they are glad to be deceived and cannot distinguish a magical mirage from reality. The presented fragment of the poem shows the demonesses as comic characters.

The published text is an extract from the 18^th century case of Prince Efim Meshchersky, which shows the Prince’s atypical religious practice and reverence for the miracle-working Smolensk icon of the Mother of God kept in his house.

This paper is devoted to the letter of Bishop Seraphim (Ostroumov) of Oryol and Sevsk to the Synod on the subject of miraculous Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God from Mtsensk. The document is kept in the archives of Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod office (RSIA). Thanks to that archival document, one can trace how the parish church authorities could relax strict rules of “synodal period” that limited the veneration of local shrines not recognized by the Church formally.