1 Baeva, Vihra. The Local Cult as a System of Interrelated Elements: On the Example of the Osogovo Monastery – Етɧɨлɨг. Ethnologist, № 15, ɋɤɨɩjО, 2013, 70-80. ISSN 1409- 6404 The Local Cult as a System of Interrelated Elements: On the Example of the Osogovo Monastery Vihra Baeva Abstract: The paper presents descriptions and analysis on the case of the Monastery of St. Joachim of Osogovo near Kriva Palanka in the Republic of Macedonia. On the example of this shrine it suggests the concept of local cult as a system of interrelated elements: patron saint, sacred place, major feasts, miraculous objects, rituals and beliefs, narratives and images. This approach, the author argues, could offer a good perspective to the functioning of religion at a local level which could be utilised in both academic research and the sphere of religious and cultural tourism. Key words: Orthodox Christianity, local cult, St. Joachim of Osogovo, Osogovo Monastery, local rituals, religious narratives In this paper I present ethnographic descriptions and systematic analysis of a particular case – the Monastery of St. Joachim of Osogovo near the town of Kriva Palanka in the northeast part of the Republic of Macedonia 1 . On the example of this sacred site I discuss the concept of local cult which offers a good perspective to the functioning of religion at a local level: as a specific type of cultural heritage, but also as a living system which is continuously changing and developing in the course of time. Simultaneously, with the globalisation of societies, the development of communications and the increased mobility, more and more local cults acquire extensive popularity and attract new visitors from near and far, thus emerging as pilgrimage and touristic destinations and offering resources for the development of religious tourism 2 . 1 At the end of August 2014 I conducted fieldwork at the monastery together with colleagues from the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies (Petko Hristov, Albena Georgieva, Ivaylo Markov and Mina Hristova) on a joint project between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. We observed the holidays of the Dormition of Mary (August 28) and the passing of St. Joachim of Osogovo (August 29) and conducted interviews with clerics, local people and visitors of the monastery. 2 In recent research the distinction between pilgrimage and tourism is being widely questioned and these two categories are often viewed as variants in the common field of travel as a specific cultural practice – see