Abstracts
Intolerance as a sign of holiness in the Eastern Roman Empire in the first half of 5th century: rules and exceptions (T. Alexandrova)
The article reviews the imperial laws against heretics, Jews and heathen, issued in the first half of 5th century in the Eastern Roman Empire, and their reflection in the hagiography of the epoch (lives of Sts. Porphyry of Gaza, Symeon the Stylites, Melania and the anti-Chalcidonian archimandrite Barsauma). It seems obvious that in these lives intolerance and strong measures against dissidents are considered as a highly positive quality. From this point of view also emperors are evaluated: intolerance is the sign of strength whereas tolerance is the one of weakness. Thus, for example, Theodosius II is supposed to be a weak ruler and his sister Pulcheria a powerful one.
Keywords: Theodosian Code, laws against heretics, Jews and heathen, Porphyry of Gaza, Symeon the Stylites, Melania the Younger, Barsauma, Nestorius, Theodosius II, Eudocia, Pulcheria, byzantine history, Christianity, saints.
Sts. Joseph Volotsky, Nil Sorsky and their disciples: a struggle of monastic ideals or a «Dispute that has never been»? (A. Alexeev)
In this study, it is argued that Joseph Volotsky came out against the judaizers [židovstvujuŝie] as early as spring-summer of the year 1502. The search for heresy, aiming at discrediting the Dmitry the Grandson’s [Vnuk] milieu and the metropolitan Zosima, began in Simonov Monastery after Joseph’s brother, Vassian Sanin, became the archimandrite there. The first pieces of evidence of this struggle, two Epistles to Vassian Sanin, Epistle to the bishop Niphont of Suzdal, Epistle to the archimandrite Euthymius, and the Epistle to the archimandrite Mitrophan, were written between 1502 and 1504. By this time, Joseph had the text of «The Enlightener», consisting of no less than 13 «Discourses»; in 1504, in view of the launched polemic with the «non-possessors» [nestyažateli], he supplemented it with the 14th «Discourse». Almost simultaneously, a dispute between two monastic groups over the monasteries’ right to landowning broke out. It will be argued that, contrary to the opinion of the D. Ostrovsky–A.Pliguzov’s version proponents, the polemic between the «josephites» [iosiphlyane] and the «non-possessors» is not a myth created by the efforts of publicists of the Stoglavy Sobor times and existing only in the minds of the scholars who are unable to assess critically those data; rather, it is a polemic, which reflected a deep contradiction between the new role of the monasteries and the traditional patronage relationships.
Keywords: Sts. Joseph Volotsky and Nil Sorsky, Ivan III and monastic landowning, josephites and non-possessors, heresy of judaizers, textological and creative history of the «Book against the heretics» or «The Enlightener»
Sacral days and female cults in medieval Latin, Greek and Slavonic traditions (E. Belyakova, T. Leber)
This article deals with the question of connections between the veneration of the sacral days and female saints (St. Petka, St. Nedelja and St. Theophano) in medieval Latin, Greek and Slavonic traditions. Particular attention is paid to the archaic popular veneration of St. Nedelja that was widespread all around the Balkans, in Orthodox as well as in Catholic milieus. We examine the issue of shaping the written tradition in the ecclesiastical circles as a way of “Christianisation” of the popular beliefs. Another question to be discussed is about a role of relics and transformation of cults in the context of formation of dynastic ideology.
Key-words: sacral days, Petka, Nedelja, relics, dynastic ideology
Development of the cult of Saint Radegund (N. Bikeeva)
This essay critically examines the origins of making and further development of the cult of Saint Radegund, patroness of the Poitiers, Frankish queen and the foundress of one of the first convent. The beginning of her cult can be traced back to the turn of the VI-VII centuries when two Radegund’s Vitae were written. Initially, this cult had a local character. The further development of cult refers to the Carolingian era when this cult was officially approved by Pope Leo III.
The new phase of the development of her cult rose in the XI century because of a series of events, such as transferring the relics, establishment of Radegund's feast day, composition of her new Life and liturgical texts.
Thanks to the patronage of members of the royal family, the church of saint Radegund turns into a place of pilgrimage and geography of her cult expands considerably.
The culmination of the development of the cult of the saint falls on the second half of the XIX century and the first quarter of XX century. At this time several social forces were interested in its further progress: the church, the mass consciousness, and the secular authority. Then Radegund became a sort of symbol of the “true France”, the “Holy Queen of France” and the “Mother of homeland”.
Key words: Radegund, saint, hagiography, Life, Vita, cult, relic, miracles, convent of holy Cross, Poitiers.
Do Apostle Andrew’s hair flame? (A. Vinogradov)
A permanent attribute of the Apostle Andrew, from his earliest images, is long “flaming” hair, which R. Pillinger associated with the idea of fire. This assumption can be supported by two apocryphal texts in the Coptic language. In one of them Jesus says: "Andrew, thy name is fire"; and the other text states that Andrew “was a flame of fire more than all the apostles." Andrew’s link with fire can be traced also in the apocryphal acts of Andrew and Matthias and of Andrew and Bartholomew, going back, obviously, to an early Christian conception. In the Middle Byzantine time Andrew’s representation became “canonical”, and in the texts the Apostle goes recognized through his image on icons.
Key-words: Apostle Andrew, iconography.
The social and the political aspects of the cult of saint prince Feodor of Yaroslavl (S. Gorodilin)
The article analyses origination and development of the cult of saint prince Feodor of Yaroslavl and his sons David and Constantin. The author rejects the existing hypothesis suggesting that generation of the cult was connected with Feodor's descendants' efforts to keep sovereignty and legitimize their dynasty's authority. He also argues against the idea that local cult of three saint princes existed before uncovering of their relics. Generation of the new cult is related in the article with seeking by secular and ecclesiastic elites of new symbols of the identity for society that is losing its independence. Following expansion of the cult beyond Yaroslavl is correlated with the circumstances that determined the particular importance of the three princes' veneration for the corporation of Yaroslavl princes at the great prince's service and later for the great princes Vasiliy III and Ivan IV. Besides that the author provides several observations concerning the correlation of dynastic memoria of princely families and generation of princes' veneration.
Keywords: Yaroslavl, saint princes, XV century, prince Feodor Rostislavovitch, the veneration of the saints, princes' memoria, saint Feodor of Yaroslavl, medieval Rus'
Confessional specifics of understanding the cult of saints in some polemic texts of Muscovite Russia of the end of fifteenth-sixteenth centuries (M. Dmitriev)
The article addresses the question of understanding the cult of saints in certain normative texts of the Orthodox culture of Muscovite Russia in the sixteenth century, i.e. during the period when the Great Menaion Reader was created, a range of Russian saints were "canonized", the Russian society started to contact and to polemicize with protestant Europe, and, finally, many new hagiographies were created and the corresponding cults were formed. The question posed is a reaction to the problem of confessional typological specificity of eastern Christian traditions transferred from Byzantine Empire to Rus'. Accordingly, the author tries to find out, first, how exactly the cult of saints and their sanctity were conceived in the relevant monuments to Russian religious thought of the Muscovite period (sixteenth century mostly). Secondly, the aim is to figure out how this manner to approach sanctity was different from the Catholic normative mainstream interpretation of sanctity in late Middle Ages and in the era of the Council of Trent. Obviously, both questions are very vast, and the article contains just several separate observations over this problematics.
Surreptitious Sainthood: Nikon of the Black Mountain and the “Euthymian History” (S. Ivanov)
The article deals with the recently published “Taktikon” written by Nikon at the turn of the 12th century. Nikon tells how the Empress Eudokia in the 5th century secretly buried two his servants among the relics of martyrs. Nikon cites as his source the “Euthymian History” – aenigmatic source which did not survive, except some minimal bits. This new exerpt allows to hypothesize on the nature of this work.
Keywords: Nikon of the Black Moutain, “Euthymian History”, Empress Eudokia, Empress Pulcheria, Byzantine hagiography
The Making of the Saint King: Franciscan Order and Royalty until 1270 (E. Kravtsova)
The article identifies the origins of the tendency to construct the image of Louis IX as the "Alter Franciscus" among the Franciscans during his canonization in the late XIII-beginning of XIV century. The author considers this process as a result of the cooperation between the Order and Royal power in France in the field of administrative government in the second half of XIII century. The article analyzes 19 sermons of Bonaventure, preached for the king in the 60's of the XIII century. The author shows how Bonaventura’s rhetoric builds the image of the king-peacemaker, a zealot of the order, whose authority can obey the mendicant monks: enquêteurs, tax-collectors for the Crusades, the dispensers of Royal alms.
The Making of saint hermit in «Vita Aemiliani» by Braulius of Zaragoza (E. Marey)
This paper will focus on the vita of Saint Emilian of Cogolla written by Braulius, bishop of Zaragoza, less than a hundred years after the saint's death. The composition of this vita was initiated by Fronimian, abbot of San Millán de Suso, the monastery which held the tomb of Saint Emilian. It is most likely that Fronimian aimed at glorifying his monastery and at gaining prestige for himself.
Emilians' image contrasts with these of other Visigothic saints. He did not belong to a noble family, he was illiterate and was not familiar with Holy Scripture. He herded a flock of sheep in his youth; then he came to believe in God and decided to become a hermit. He was far from taking part in politics and interacting with authorities (both lay and ecclesiastical). Over the course of his long life, he worked more miracles than all other Visigothic saints combined. It seems relevant that this image should have attracted all members of Braulius' congregation: noble and plain laymen as well as monks and hermits, who constituted the primary audience of Emilian's vita.
Veneration of the holy relics and sacral geography of medieval Bulgaria (D. Polyvyannyy).
Veneration of the holy relics accompanies the whole history of medieval Bulgaria from the adoption of Christianity to the Ottoman conquest, and nowadays it is still an important component of the spiritual life of the Bulgarian society. The territorial arrangement of the venerated objects as well as the configuration of main factors created the cultural geography of medieval Bulgaria and established its primary political and spiritual centers. Against the background of the other Slavic Orthodox medieval cultures, the Bulgarian practices of the relics’ veneration are characterized by their numerous transfers among towns and monasteries and their active use for strengthening the political and religious significance of the Bulgarian capitals, which had been moved from city to city. The veneration of the holy relics went on during those periods, when the Bulgarian statehood had been broken, thus providing continuity of the main concepts of the state and church ideology. The descriptions of the “posthumous travels” of the saints venerated in Bulgaria shaped sustainable literary tradition, which delivered to our time valuable information on the medieval Bulgarian past, while the whole complex of the cultural phenomena connected to the veneration of the holy relics established the most important aspect of the cultural identity of medieval Bulgaria.
Keywords: medieval Bulgaria, relics of saints, veneration of holy relics, transfer of holy relics, cultural identity.
The cults of saints in Peter Mogila’s time between Rome, Constantinople and Moscow (based on “Paterikon” by Sylvester Kosov and in “Teratugima” by Athanasius Kalnofoyskiy) (N. Synkevich).
The aim of this paper is to examine the representation of the cult of saints in two works written by contemporaries of Metropolitan Peter Mogila, namely in “Paterikon” by Sylvester Kosov and in “Teratugima” by Athanasius Kalnofoyskiy. In spite of the fact that these treatises have many similarities, the pantheons of venerated saints listed in it differ dramatically. The available evidence seems to suggest that in Peter Mogila's time there were two vectors of the development of spiritual life at Ukrainian lands. The first one was related to the immediate environment of Metropolitan Peter Mogila and is represented by Sylvester Kosov. Followers of this approach intended to recreate the “initial” kiev tradition of veneration of saints, where dominate the cults of Vladimir the great, Metropolitan Michael I of Kiev and some saints from paterikon of the Kiev Cave Monastery. The second approach derives from writings of Peter Mogila’s predecessors and is represented by Athanasius Kalnofoyskiy. His adherents lean on the cult of relics, widespread in Kiev Monastery of the Caves; they are also drawn towards spiritual traditions common for Christianas Orthodoxa and accepts cults of Moscow tradition.
Key-words: Peter Mogila's time, cult of saints, way of spiritual life.
Foolishness for Christ as the element of the behavioral model of the saints of the Russian church in the hagiography of the XVI — beginning XVIII century (L. Sukina)
Article is an attempt at the reconstruction of methods, with the aid of which hagiography of the XVI — beginning XVIII century were the lives of holy-foolish, whose respect is extended at this time in the Russian church. Absence of the traditional hagiographical canon of the description of life and exploits of foolishes in the Russian culture led not only to the literary primitiveness of their lives, which establish many researchers, but also it caused to the life special approaches to the simulation of the fate of a glorified saint and the explanation of a nonstandardness of his behavior. Formation with hagiography of the XVI — began XVIII century of the construction of the life of holy-foolish it is examined in the article in the context of the religious reforms in the Russian state of this time, which were passed synchronously with the processes of “confessionalisation” to the countries of West and East Europe. One of the intensions of these reforms was the restoration of “drevlikh” (“antique”) traditions of faith and piety, to what called the reformers of western Christianity.
Keywords: saints, hagiography, Russian church, Foolishness for Christ
Eastern Christianity tradition and “national” specific character of Stylites in Old Russia: problem and the sources of the historical cultural study (L. Sukina)
In the article the exploit of Stilites rare for Old-Russian holiness is examined. With the eastern Christian tradition Old-Russian Stylites brings together the asceticism of exploit, which included reclusion and silention. But in the remaining manifestations it is differed from “classical model”. However, this difference was not national uniqueness, but movement of another tradition, which was established in eastern Christianity in the Middle Byzantine period. Only two Russian devotees of the XII centuries were honored Holiness with the indication of Stylites. It also gave birth to into the consequence the illusion of its special rarity on the national religious soil. The basis of the study is the analysis of the early editorial staffs of the lives of the Old-Russian Stylites of Cyril Turovskiy and Nikita Pereslavskiy and monuments of Russian medieval architecture and iconography of the preserved the tracks practitioner of Stylites.
Keywords: Old Russia, Eastern Christianity, Stylites, hagiography, Old Russian architecture, icons
The symbolism of the holy "action": Archangel Michael and his miracle in Colossae in Kiev Old Russian and Baroque traditions (V. Ulyanovski)
Cults of "holy action" are individualized, especially in the temple dedication. They are almost always tied to some events, circumstances, church or theological ideas. In this article, we examine the evolution of the cult of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Colossae, taking the example of one of the most ancient monasteries of Kiev and Rus - Vydubychi. The publication proves that the original monastery was dedicated not to the archangel Michael himself (the traditional view of historiography), but especially to his miracle in Colossae, and it had an important symbolic value in the historical memory about "the baptism of Rus'. Chudovsky dedication can be proved on the unpreserved mural fresco of the temple and XII century graffiti in cave, where this dedication is mentioned. Such dedication may be associated with only one circumstance – binary of local miracle to the miracle in Colossae - the miraculous victory over the pagans with the help of Archangel. Local legend about it, come down only in the chronicle of the last third of the XVII century, should be recognized as the key to the decipherment of the dedication. The idea of such a consecration could be brought by the Greek clergy after the baptism of Rus. It has been restored and developed by hierarchy of the convent in the XVII and XVIII centuries as evidenced by numerous preserved monuments. Chudovsky cult of the "action" was present in the paintings, icons, sacred objects, books of three major temples of Vydubychi Monastery. Understanding the meaning of his presence here, on Vydubychi initially was manifested in the XI, in the spiritual and partly secular environment, but clearly was articulated only in the monuments of XVII-XVIII centuries. The cult of "action" has consistently maintained and emphasized by the hierarchy, the builders and the monks of the monastery, it remained a major. However, in the public mind, he contaminated in general cult of the Archangel Michael. After the reconsecration of the baroque temple in St. George's in the XVIII century, the two cults were united in worship of the monastery - the chiefs of the celestial armies of Christ and earthly warriors. In this case, both cults were manifested in the miracle action: Michael’s in Colossae and George’s with the Dragon.
Key-words: Miracle in Colossae, Archangel Michael, Kiev, Vydubychi Monastery
“Idiotas, ac sine litteris mulierculas”? Jean Gerson and phenomenon of female mysticism (O. Togoeva)
The article deals with the problem of women's sanctity in the interpretation of Jean Gerson, the most famous and influential French theologian of the late XIV - first half of the XV century. The three groups of Gerson's works are discussed in detail: his treatises devoted to the problem of discretio spirituum (distinguishing between true and false prophets), his public speeches related to the dispute about the "Roman de la Rose", and his works devoted to the problem of superstition and witchcraft. Analyzing these texts, the author comes to a conclusion about the inadmissibility of simplified judgments about whether Gerson was a supporter or an opponent of the phenomenon of female mysticism. Instead, as the author shows, we must deal with the theologian's attitude to the ethics and the behavior of those women who declared themselves seers and visionaries, to their ideas, which could spread among the laity as a collection of miracles, or revelations, i.e. in the form of written texts, and influence the perception of the world of these artless and uneducated people. Thus, Gerson opposed not the female mysticism as a phenomenon, but the educated men (especially priests and confessors), who recorded the testimony of their wards, distributed those texts and thus confused the "simpletons'" minds.
Saint Jeanne of Arc in the "Mystery of the Siege of Orléans" (O. Togoeva)
The article studies the image of Saint Jeanne of Arc in the "Mystery of the Siege of Orléans". Having analyzed the text of the "Mystery", one can see that this character does not fit into the frames of the designated genre, and for several reasons. As known, a mystery should tell a biblical story or be of hagiographical nature, i.e. narrate a localized story or a life of a local saint. However, the content of the "Mystery of the Siege of Orléans", created in 1430s-1470s, does not date to many centuries back, and the lead female character, Jeanne of Arc, is not a saint at all. Based on this, it can be assumed that the piece, written at the times when Jeanne was hereticized, was purposefully placed within a genre that supposed religious content and meaning. Indeed, the authors of the mystery call Jeanne of Arc "a creation of God" and "the saint hand of the Lord"; they also conclude that "she is filled with piety, saintity, and kindness". Further narrative also demonstrates that her image carries plenty of features characteristical for a saint: she faces hardships with dignity when undertaking her peculial mission on Earth, she is alone in her sufferings, and she takes on the role of Christ's warrior acting by the will of God. Thus, "The Mystery of the Siege of Orléans" is a synthetic mystery that incorporates several medieval genres.
On the cult of saint members of the Riurikid clan (F. Uspensky)
In the Riurikid clan, the cult of saints is intertwined with the reception of Christianity and veneration of saints in the country under their control. A tendency towards a «syncretic» veneration of saints and their accumulation and unification can easily be traced in the pre-Mongol princely environment. The prince who bore a certain saint’s name (Andrew the Apostle, for example) as his own baptismal name venerated all his celestial namesakes (Andrew of Crete, Saint Andrew the Commander and Andrew of Constantinople). Name-sharing thus became a pivotal point, unifying all the namesakes, dead and alive, terrestrial rulers and saints. The custom of likening by the conformity of names is very ancient in itself. In Rus(sia) it easily found its way into the naming culture because new members of the clan were usually connected to their ancestors through the name, so that every prince Andrew was likened to all saint Andrews and to all his ancestors who had ever borne this name before him.
On the other hand, every member of the ruling family had very particular relations to the saint patrons of his next-of-kin. Although in pre-Mongol Rus(sia), there existed no pronounced taboo for the Christian name of a son to match those of his living father and grandfather, a strong tendency towards differentiation in names can be observed. Therefore, their saint patrons differed as well. That’s why a prince called Fjodor venerated, for example, Theodore of Amasea and Theodore Stratelates (his celestial warrior namesakes), as well as all saint Andrews (his uncle and grandfather’s namesakes) and possibly several saint Georges (namesakes of his illustrious grand-grandfather).
The matter was further complicated by the fact that some saints turned from the patrons of particular princes into the objects of a massive cult, common for all members of the clan. In this case, some Riurikids could venerate saint George or archangel Michael despite the fact that these saints were not patrons of their relatives. It is noteworthy that the cults of saint namesakes and non-namesakes were not separated but intertwined and almost melded together. There is multiple pieces of evidence of this syncretism in the commemoration of saints; for example, it is manifested in the correlation between the construction of new churches and the liturgical calendar.
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