HOLY SELFIE AS THE CHANNEL OF MEDIA MEMORY IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Selfiee as a s)ecial genre of digital )hotogra)hy )erforms a variety of functions, giving users the )ossibility to refer themselves to )laces, )ersons and events, thus )ersonifying one's self-)resentation and ex)ressing the author's attpitude to the world and their own ex)eriences. Selfiee is actively used in the re)resentation of religious life, fierst of all, documenting the connection of the authors to sacred )laces, objects, )ersons and events, )reserving the memory of signifiecant moments in the life of an individual and making it available to the )ublic. Thee memorial function of )hotogra)hy in the holy selfiee format merges with its communicative function, changing the motivation of religious )ractice, redirecting it from the acquisition of religious ex)erience to its sharing, em)athy and )artici)ation, i.e. socializing religious ex)erience. By analysing likes and re)osts of selfiee content, one can create strategies for the union of virtual religious communities around the offliine ex)erience of their members. In this article we will try to identify the diffeerences in the ways of organizing the semantic s)ace of holy selfiee, )racticed by the followers of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Holy selfiee will be studied as a new media memory channel to which users resort in order to correlate the )ractices of constructing )ersonal and grou) memory for the re)roduction of religious context by banal religion. Our work is based on the content analysis of selfiee )hotos )osted on Instagram.


INTRODUCTION
Thee study of the social visual re)resentation of religious ex)erience in the digital environment is com)licated by the fact that it is a relatively new socio-cultural )henomenon. On the one hand, the technologies that gave rise to it have a))eared quite recently. On the other hand, the endogenous logic of the functioning of religious institutions )lays the role of an inertial, restraining force in relation to the im)lementation of new media technologies in religious )ractices, as well as to the long-term controversy over the ethical as)ects of their use and the search for com)romise solutions. Nevertheless, the rootedness of the media in daily life is inevitably refleected in religious life. Media act as a tool for the users to build their own identity, including it in ideological, religious and retros)ective com)onents. Most religious organizations fiet their institutionalization into the national context, while states, building their confessional )olicy, take into account the contribution of s)ecifiec confessions to state-building. Thee formation of religious identity involves com)lex )roblems of self-determination in the relations between the individual and the state, the individual and the denomination, and the denomination and the state. Theey are also infleuenced by the )attperns of family, confession and state history. Theese com)lex )rocesses are taking on a digital form in the modern world, ada)ting to the formats and genres of social media, memes, blogs, )osts, user )hotos, becoming a manifestation of religious ex)erience and commemoration at the same time.

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Within the framework of this study, selfiees will be considered as a s)ecial channel of media memory, the use of which gives users the o))ortunity to design their own identity in the religious s)here, embedding their content in multi-level memory )ractices.

METHODOLOGY
Thee theoretical basis of the study is the conce)t of memory studies, the theory of mediation and mediatization of religion. Thee authors used communication a))roach, network a))roach and a media version of content analysis ada)ted to ex)lore the visual content of social networks.

MEDIA, RELIGION AND EXPLANATORY THEORIES
Thee com)lexity of the relationshi) between religion and media is a serious methodological challenge for researchers of religion. In recent years, the effeorts of researchers have been concentrated around the theories of mediatization and mediation, which serve as the develo)ment and, at the same time, criticism of the conce)t of secularization (Berger, 2019). Thee disenchantment of the world has had a negative im)act on the classical institutional forms of religion, but it cannot neutralize its ontological existential essence. Thee theories of mediatization reveal, basically, the ada)tation of religious institutions to new social reality, demonstrating the stability and viability of religion under any social conditions. Organized religion, indeed, is causing less interest nowadays, but this does not mean a decrease in individualized forms of religious belief, which form the basis of the media )resence of religion in the digital environment. In this article, we will adhere to the defienition of religion as "a set of symbolic forms that relate a )erson to the fienal conditions of his existence" (Bellah, 1972) understanding all its vulnerable as)ects and leaving o))ortunities for their analysis in other works. For the )ur)ose of media analysis, a clear defienition of the )henomenon of religion and religiosity is secondary to the very act of manifestation and declaration of religious ex)erience, since the vagueness of meaning when correctly marked within the cultural code does not )revent the transmission of a religious message through the media channel. However, the general logic of communication systems is sensitive to institutional norms, and in this regard, the theory of mediatization, integrating social constructivist and institutional traditions, shows the transformation of institutional religious norms under the infleuence of background everyday knowledge about religion, transmittped by s)ecifiec media channels (He)), 2013).
Thee im)ortance of the conce)t of mediatization for our work is connected with the fact that it is designed to bridge the e)istemological ga) between the two institutional worlds, the world of religion and the world of media. Stuart Hoover tries to reject the o))osition of religion and the media as two coherent, transistor, and unchanging forms that exist autonomously and act )otentially inde)endently of each other, in favor of the understanding their kinshi), similarity and unity in the realization of their own goals and functions in modern societies, their ability to act as resources for the narrative construction of active social actors .
Thee conce)t of mediatization was formed as an attpem)t to describe the growth of media infleuence in )olitics or in late modern society as a whole, and as such it goes back to the theorists of )ostmodernism, fierst of all, to the conce)t of simulacra by J. Baudrillard and the society of the s)ectacle by G. Deborah, describing the media symbolic mediation of all structures of the social order. As a))lied to religion, it means the symbolic re)resentation of religious )ractices in the media s)here. Stig Hjarvard )ostulates that mediatization )resu))oses the decline of institutionalized religious )ower in the )rocess of establishing media dominance with the constant )resence, trans- formation and signifiecance of religious fantasies in secular societies . He defienes mediatization itself as a new social and cultural condition in which the media cease to serve other social institutions (religion, science, cultural institutions, )olitical )arties and movements) and begin to )lay a diffeerent role in culture and society, )roviding )ublic re)resentation . In this sense, the media are autonomous in relation to other institutions, which does not )revent them from being included in institutional contexts, mediating inter-institutional interactions and functioning as channels, languages and environments.
Mediatization is described by S. Hjarvard on the basis of the central )rovisions of Lynch's structural analysis: media are secular or have weak confessional orientation; religious organisations are institutionalized; the )o)ulation has littple contact with religious institutions, becoming involved in religious issues via media narratives; society, organizations and )ersonality are secular to a high degree . Theis structural arrangement leads to the fact that religious organizations are )oorly able to control their )ublic re)resentation, the religious media created by them serve the internal )rocesses of self-identity formation, and the media re)licate mainly "banal religion" -culturally recognizable religious content without )ro)aganda, used for entertaining intertextual trans-genre semiotic games (reality shows, TV sermons, )ersonal stories, etc.), fueling the interest of the audience.
Thee idea of mediatization as a structural condition of religious )ractice is ex)anded by Andreas He)), who tries to combine social-cognitive and institutional as)ects of transmediality in the analysis of modern religious life (He)), 2013). He connects the transmedial a))roach to mediatization with the identifiecation of communicative )attperns on which individuals build their mediatized worlds. Mediatization for him is a conce)t used to critically analyze the (long-term) relationshi) between changing media and communication, on the one hand, and changing culture and society, on the other; the changes themselves can be considered both qualitatively and quantitatively. Using the conce)t of mediatized worlds (small life or social worlds, articulated by media) that exist as an extraterritorial network, he o)ens religious communication for em)irical analysis as a s)ecifiec communicative )attpern in which communicative actions which diffeerently articulated by diffeerent media are intertwined. Mia Lövheim inter)rets mediatization as the )rocess of s)reading a weak banal religion through the media and uses this conce)t to show not the damage caused by secularization to institutional religion, but to discover new forms of religious existence associated with both )ersonal signifiecance and the )ublic )resence of religion under modern media conditions . Here, in our o)inion, exist broad )ros)ects for identifying the forms of integration of new digital technologies and religious traditions. In this regard, we consider the following idea of Levheim extremely im)ortant: the use of the media by religious )ersons and institutions to mediate the transcendent and organize social relations in such a way that they meet the conditions of life in modern society is not equivalent to the loss of core values by religion. Thee use of media is a holistic, continuous way of ex)ressing and )rofessing religion.

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE, MEMORY OF THE PAST AND MEDIA MEMORY
Thee religious ex)erience of the individual is directly related to their individual memory of the )ast. Religion forms ideas about the )ast on a )ar with such agents of socialization as the family, the school, and the state, since the memory of the religious )ast of communities is an integral )art of everyday religious )ractice. Thee history of religion )resented in texts, architectural buildings or signifiecant )laces of remembrance attpracts )ilgrims seeking to ex)erience the same religious state that others have ex)erienced before them. Thee institutionalization of religious )laces of memory takes )lace by giving them the status of being signifiecant for the history of religion and the formation of the identity of the religious community. Theese )laces are associated with legends and stories, transmittped not only in the form of storytelling, but also having a canonical character.
In traditional society ancestral memory served as the instrument of )ersonal identifiecation. It also incor)orated social norms of behavior regulation: family traditions, religion, rituals, etiquettpe, and folklore. Theey formed the basis of the grou) memory transmittped via the culture of a community. Theus, grou) cultural memory formed the basis of a )erson's intellectual ex)erience and constituted their individual memory. Thee transition from the traditional society to the industrial one, and then to the )ost-industrial and information society was marked by the ru)ture of ancestral ties, and, therefore, the loss of ancestral memory, which marked the emergence of historical memory, storing knowledge not only about the )ast of individuals and their families, but about the )ast of )eo)les, states and religious communities.
At the same time, the need for )ersonal identifiecation and bond with a )articular community have remained the most im)ortant factors in the existence of the individual, forcing them to turn to the grou) cultural memory for images of the )ast, which could re)lace the lost ancestral memory. Thee history of religion as an element of grou) memory thus becomes )art of the structure of individual historical memory, su))orted by the direct religious ex)erience of a )erson, accom)anied by becoming familiar with material confessional values, via holy selfie among other things.
Thee mediatization of society has led to the new way of the storage, transformation and transmission of information, which has changed the nature of historical memory and the )ractice of oblivion. Thee media and social media are becoming no less im)ortant factors in creating a new view of the )ast than )rofessional academic historians. Historical memory does not sim)ly use media channels to transmit the image of the )ast, it makes them an integral )art of the system of re)resentation of history, so the theory of mediatization needs a digital "turn", allowing new media to give a new im)etus to religious life.
Thee above said suggests the emergence of media memory, which can be understood as a digital system of storage, transformation, )roduction and dissemination of information about the )ast, forming the historical memory of individuals and communities. Media memory can be considered as a virtual social mechanism of remembering and forgettping, it )rovides diffeerent forms of re)resentation of history in the s)ace of everyday life, ex)ands the )ractice of )resenting the )ast and commemoration, as well as increases the number of )eo)le creating and consuming memorial content.
Media memory subjects historical knowledge to a certain selection, including relevant information about the )ast in the agenda, and obliviating things that have no )ublic need. Historical knowledge becomes segmented between diffeerent elements of the media s)here, which can be seen in the variety of historical Internet resources aimed at diffeerent target audiences.
Media memory is characterised by the dominance of )ersonal and family memory, with re)resentations of the )ast based on )ersonal emotional ex)eriences taken for granted. Biogra)hical testimonies and memoirs arouse the greatest interest of modern )eo)le, who have the o))ortunity to tell their stories on social media. For a religious )erson, the stories that refleect his or her religious affilliation are signifiecant.
Media memory is democratic. It is created on the basis of free ex)ression of thoughts and feelings of )eo)le by available language means. User )hotogra)hs and documentary evidence )lay an equally im)ortant role in sha)ing )erce)tions of the )ast, along with subjective )erce)tions of reality and evaluative statements. Historical information )roduced and distributed by individuals serves their ideological and )ersonal needs, on the basis of which a )erson forms their own identity and worldview. Media memory acts as the historical dimension of )ost-truth, when )ersonal history and )ersonal ex)erience of reality re)lace objective data. Holy selfiees act as a tool to confierm the historical objectivity of the religious ex)erience of community and to manifest relation to religious )laces of memory.

HOLY SELFIE AS THE CHANNEL OF RELIGIOUS MEDIA MEMORY
Technologically, a selfiee can be described as a sociocultural )ractice of creating images of oneself using digital technology, fieltering these images and )osting them on social media. Theis technological basis forms the social and communicative innovativeness of selfiees, which involves the living dynamic environment and the fleow of grou) consciousness in real time .
Thee technological and social-communicative )eculiarties of the selfiee determine its visual canon. Firstly, it includes the way to make an image: a selfiee is always a )hoto, it can't be a drawing, animation or video. Secondly, the canon involves a set of )ictorial conventions by which a )hoto is identifieed as a selfiee regardless of whether it is accom)anied by a hashtag. Such conventions include the bodies of )eo)le and their gestures. Thee )hotogra)hing subject is always in the frame: "grou) selfiees are )articularly striking exam)les of this transformation, where the )hotogra)her is usually at the forefront of the grou) of faces and bodies, visibly )artici)ating in the )rocess of com)osing the )icture as it is received" .
Since the selfiee is taken at arm's length of the subject, at least one hand must be )resent in the frame.

THE CASES OF SELFIE EVALUATION BY RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
An im)ortant as)ect of the )o)ularity of selfiees among believers is the attpitude of )riests to the )henomenon of selfiee. For the Roman Catholic Church, the issue of selfiees has been relevant for a long time. Thee )henomenon of #Pa)alselfiee demonstrates )ositive attpitude of both the Pontiffe and the Catholic clergy to selfiees with the head of the Church. Theis )ractice is an im)ortant way of sha)ing modern image of the Catholic Church in the media s)ace, as well as a tool for its missionary and catechetical activities on the Internet. Thee fierst )ublic selfiee with Po)e Francis was taken by Italian teenagers in 2013.
In com)arison, the fierst selfiee with Patriarch Kirill, )osted on his offilcial )age on VK, was made only two years later in 2015. It is also worth noting that the selfiee of the head of the Church was not available on the network. Thee Patriarch and the winners of the com)etition "Orthodox initiative" organised by the Simbirsk metro)olis were )hotogra)hed in the )rocess of taking a selfiee. Russian Instagram at the time of the study has more than 11,5 thousand )hotos with #)atriarchkirill, among which there are no selfiees taken directly with or against the background of the )rimate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Mass media contain the statements of )riests about the attpitude of the church to selfiees. In 2018, at a meeting with the )riests and lay leaders of the Diocese of Rome in the United States, Po)e Francis noted that he had realized the negative social im)lications of technology a few days earlier when he was greeting teens )artici)ating in a )rogram of the international network of "Scholas Occurrentes. " "Theey were all there waiting for me, " he said. "When I arrived, they made noise, as young )eo)le do. I went to greet them and only a few gave their hand. Thee majority were with their cell)hones (saying), ')hoto, )hoto, )hoto. Selfiee!'" "I saw that this is their reality, that is the real world, not human contact. And this is serious. Theey are 'virtualized' youths, " the Po)e said.
"Thee world of virtual communication is a good thing, but when it becomes alienating, it makes you forget to shake hands. " .
Thee offilcial )osition of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding selfiees of laity taken during service in churches has been re)eatedly ex)ressed in the media by )riests. In 2017, RIA-Novosti )ublished the o)inion of the )riests and Professor of the Moscow Theeological Academy and Seminary Arch)riest Maxim Kozlov, who noted that "during the service it is necessary to turn offe mobile )hones. If someone uses them to take a selfiee during worshi), then it is, of course, wrong. It is desirable to refrain from this naive, though understandable, vanity" (the ROC called on )arishioners †, 2017). In the same 2017 Arch)riest and Associate Professor of the Moscow Theeological Academy Pavel Velikanov urged women not to take selfiees during ba)tismal bathing: "I would like to urge any users of social networks to remember that if we take res)onsibility for any idle word, then even more so we will take res)onsibility for the wrong, embarrassing and tem)ting images that we )ublish on social networks" (the ROC called on women †, 2017) .
It should be noted that the Patriarch did not s)eak directly about the attpitude to the culture of selfiees among Orthodox users of social networks.
At the same time, )riests use social media to )romote the teachings of the Church and to attpract )arishioners. Theis is the case of the missionary work of David Peters from the USA, Texas, and hieromonk Alexander Mitrofanov from Novosibirsk, who use the a))lication "TikTok" to attpract young )eo)le to the Church. Selfiees for these missionaries are not just a tool to communicate with young )eo)le in a familiar language, but also a way to )resent their religious ex)erience associated with certain )laces of memory.

VISUAL ANALYSIS OF HOLY SELFIE
Thee analysis of selfiee images during the study was carried out according to the following )arameters: com)osition, including the foreground and background of the )hotogra)h, the number of )hotogra)hs and their gender, as well as the volume that the )hotogra)her's face occu)ies in the )hotogra)h; facial ex)ressions / faces in the )hotogra)h, )ostures, gestures; )laces where selfiees were taken; fielters, tem)lates, decor used by users when )rocessing )hotos.
It should be noted that both Catholic and Orthodox Instagram users, des)ite the negative o)inions of the clergy regarding selfiee culture, consider selfiee )ractice to be quite acce)table, and in some cases a necessary as)ect of their s)iritual life. Thee selfiees of Catholic users are characterized by a free com)osition, showing diffeerent angles and shooting )oints. Ofteen in selfiees of Catholic users, you can note the fielling of the frame with the subject of the shooting, that is, the face or faces of the )hotogra)hs. Theis is usually due to the user's desire to focus on the )erson with whom the selfiee is being taken (Po)e or )riest) or is due to )urely technical features of creating a selfiee (the inability to shoot from a long distance). Posts tagged with #holyselfiee are more likely to be from Catholic men, although statistically women are more likely to )ost selfiees. Thee volume of a face or faces in most cases occu)ies more than 2/3 of the )hoto, which indicates the im)ortance for Catholic users of their own )erson and the em)hasis on their own religious ex)eriences, and not on the situation or )lace in which they are.
For Orthodox users, a more ascetic com)ositional structure of a selfiee is characteristic. In )hotogra)hs, there is a tendency to maintain a linear )ers)ective. Shooting is carried out from the front, there is no variety in terms of shooting angles. Users try to focus on the background, thereby demonstrating the to)os of creating a selfiee. Thee )oses in )hotos are static, and the selfiee itself always has a story center. Thee image in most cases is laconic and minimalist, there is no attpention to detail, which indicates the desire of users to concentrate on the environment, to demonstrate the im)ortance of the sacred s)ace in which they are or the status of the clergyman with which they are )hotogra)hed, i.e. to show their involvement in something something signifiecant. Thee volume of faces in the )hoto takes no more than 1/3 of the selfiee.
Catholic selfiees are characterized by a variety of religious themes used in )hotogra)hy. Theey can be divided into several ty)es: )hotogra)hs with )riests and against the background of Catholic churches )revail among them. For Orthodox users, selfiees taken in )laces of )ilgrimage tri)s, as well as visits to tem)les, are more signifiecant. Catholic selfiees are distinguished by a variety of facial ex)ressions ca)tured on them (smiles, for exam)le), while Orthodox selfiees are serious. Basically, the number of )eo)le in Orthodox selfiees is no more than 2 )eo)le, and the man is ofteen in the foreground. Catholics u)load both collective and individual selfiees to the network, and the number of )eo)le in the frame signifiecantly exceeds 2. Orthodox users are much less likely than Catholics to use fielters or tem)lates, as well as s)ecial )rograms for )rocessing )hotogra)hs.

CONCLUSIONS
Media memory channels are fast and user-friendly, they easily ada)t to any s)ecifiec social context. Thee holy selfiee case demonstrates the ex)ansion of contem)orary )ractices of individual commemoration, focused on linking )ersonal ex)eriences and )laces of memory, into Orthodox social contexts. Thee cautious and even hostile attpitude of religious institutions to new digital technologies is ex)lained not so much by the confrontation between the world of religion and the world of technology and science, as by the confrontation between the world of religion and consumer society, with its culture of using digital gadgets. Thee s)read of digital forms of religious media memory is initiated by religiously oriented users, it has the direction of u)ward fleows coming from the"earth". Offilcial )ositions of confessions softeen as new technologies take root in everyday life, but the s)eed of this change de)ends largely on the confessional social doctrine, fleexibility of missionary )olicy and willingness to o)en u) to the world. Theroughout the second half of the twentieth century the Vatican im)roved the ways of communication with the world, while the Russian Orthodox Church received a )rivileged )osition in the )ost-Soviet )eriod, which weakened its willingness to com)ete in the struggle for minds. Theerefore, Orthodoxy demonstrates a more modest