Description of the video lesson
Old Russian literature- literature of the East Slavic principalities from the moment of the creation of statehood in Rus' until the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
Without it, it is impossible to understand the work of modern writers, the history of the Fatherland. Main Law ancient Russian literature- the truth, the truth about the outstanding personalities who were the great Russian princes.
“What is this single and huge building, on the construction of which dozens of generations of Russian scribes worked for seven hundred years - unknown or known to us only by their modest names and about whom almost no biographical data has been preserved, and not even autographs remain?”- asks Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, a researcher of the literature of Ancient Rus'. And he notes in his research: it has one theme - meaning human life, one plot - world history.
Life- this is a description of the life of a saint. The hero of the life follows the instructions of Christ in his life and, going through many trials, becomes a saint.
The life strictly adheres to the composition: an introduction that tells the reasons for writing the work, in the main part there is a description of the life of the saint, his death and miracles. The life ends with the glorification of the ideal hero as an example of high morality. The authors did not reveal their names, emphasizing their modesty and humility. But these were educated and talented people. Without them, we would never have learned about the life of the Christian and politician Alexander Nevsky.
Work "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" was written in Vladimir, where the prince was buried, in the Nativity Monastery. Academician Dmitry Likhachev assumed that Metropolitan Kirill took part in the creation of the work.
IN "The Lives of Alexander Nevsky" image presented true patriot Russia, who not only prayed to God for the freedom of the Fatherland, but also, with arms in hand, valiantly defended it from envious people and enemies. With a small squad, trusting in the help of God, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, on June 15, 1240, attacked the Swedish knights who had invaded the northwestern lands of Rus', and won an absolute victory. The battle took place at the mouth of the Neva River, which is why Prince Alexander was named Nevsky.
Since 1241, there was a war with the Lithuanian knights who captured the Pskov and Novgorod lands. The decisive battle took place on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus. The battle ended with the defeat of the enemy. The battle went down in history as the Battle of the Ice.
Alexander Nevsky not only fought, but also took care of the civilians of the Russian land, maintained good relations with the Khan of the Golden Horde, believing that the strength of Rus' lies in its defense, and not in its offensive.
The author of the hagiographic story proves that, despite the subjugation of the Russian principalities to the Mongol-Tatars, princes, courageous and wise warriors remained in Rus', whose greatness is recognized even by their enemies: “I went through countries and peoples and never saw such a king among kings, nor a prince among princes.”
At the end of his life, after describing the exploits of Alexander Nevsky, a miracle occurs: “When the holy body was laid in the tomb, then Sebastian the steward and Cyril the Metropolitan wanted to unclench his hand in order to insert a spiritual letter. He, as if alive, stretched out his hand and accepted the letter..."
In 1547, Prince Alexander Nevsky was canonized for his devotion to God: “I believe, and that’s enough... Neither land nor gold can buy faith!”, for a life filled with dangers and battles, for deep faith in the Russian people: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword”.
Life as a genre of literature
Life ( bios(Greek), vita(lat.)) - biographies of saints. The life was created after the death of the saint, but not always after formal canonization. Lives are characterized by strict substantive and structural restrictions (canon, literary etiquette), which greatly distinguishes them from secular biographies. The science of hagiography studies the lives of people.
The literature of the “Lives of Saints” of the second kind - the venerables and others - is more extensive. The oldest collection of such tales is Dorothea, Bishop. Tire (†362), - the legend of the 70 apostles. Of the others, especially remarkable are: “The Lives of Honest Monks” by Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria († 385); then follow the collections of Palladius, Lavsaic (“Historia Lausaica, s. paradisus de vitis patrum”; the original text is in the ed. Renat Lawrence, “Historia chr istiana veterum Patrum”, as well as in “Opera Maursii”, Florence, vol. VIII ; there is also a Russian translation, ; Theodoret of Cyrrhus () - “Φιλόθεος ιστορία” (in the named edition by Renat, as well as in full meetings works of Theodoret; in Russian translation - in “Works of St. Fathers", ed. Moscow spirit. Academy and previously separately); John Moschus (Λειμωνάριον, in “Vitae patrum” by Rosveig, Antv., vol. X; Russian ed. - “Limonar, that is, a flower garden”, M.,). In the West, the main writers of this kind during the patriotic period were Rufinus of Aquileia (“Vitae patrum s. historiae eremiticae”); John Cassian (“Collationes patrum in Scythia”); Gregory, bishop. Toursky († 594), who wrote a number of hagiographic works (“Gloria martyrum”, “Gloria confessorum”, “Vitae patrum”), Gregory Dvoeslov (“Dialogi” - Russian translation “Interview about the Italian Fathers” in “Orthodox Interlocutor” "; see research on this by A. Ponomarev, St. Petersburg, etc.
From the 9th century a new feature appeared in the literature of the “Lives of the Saints” - a tendentious (moralizing, partly political-social) direction, decorating the story about the saint with fictions of fantasy. Among such hagiographers, the first place is occupied by Simeon Metaphrastus, a dignitary of the Byzantine court, who lived, according to some, in the 9th century, according to others in the 10th or 12th century. He published in 681 “The Lives of the Saints,” which constitute the most widespread primary source for subsequent writers of this kind not only in the East, but also in the West (Jacob of Voraginsky, Archbishop of Genoa, † - “Legenda aurea sanctorum”, and Peter Natalibus, † - "Catalogus Sanctoru m"). Subsequent editions take a more critical direction: Bonina Mombricia, “Legendarium s. acta sanctorum" (); Aloysius Lippomana, bishop. Verona, “Vitae sanctorum” (1551-1560); Lavrenty Suriya, Cologne Carthusian, “Vitae sanctorum orientis et occidentis” (); George Vicella, “Hagiologium s. de sanctis ecclesiae"; Ambrose Flacca, “Fastorum sanctorum libri XII”; Renata Laurentia de la Barre - “Historia christiana veterum patrum”; C. Baronia, “Annales ecclesiast.”; Rosweida - “Vitae patrum”; Radera, “Viridarium sanctorum ex minaeis graccis” (). Finally, the famous Antwerp Jesuit Bolland comes forward with his activities; in the city he published the 1st volume of “Acta Sanctorum” in Antwerp. Over the course of 130 years, the Bollandists published 49 volumes containing the Lives of the Saints from January 1 to October 7; By this time two more volumes had appeared. In the city, the Bollandist Institute was closed.
Three years later, the enterprise was resumed again, and another new volume. During the conquest of Belgium by the French, the Bollandist monastery was sold, and they themselves moved with their collections to Westphalia and after the Restoration they published six more volumes. Latest works are significantly inferior in merit to the works of the first Bollandists, both in terms of the vastness of their erudition and due to the lack of strict criticism. Müller's Martyrologium, mentioned above, is a good abridgement of the Bollandist edition and can serve as a reference book for it. A complete index to this edition was compiled by Potast (“Bibliotheca historia medii aevi”, B.,). All the lives of the saints, known with separate titles, are counted by Fabricius in the “Bibliotheca Graeca”, Gamb., 1705-1718; second edition Gamb., 1798-1809). Individuals in the West continued to publish the lives of saints simultaneously with the Bollandist corporation. Of these, worthy of mention are: Abbé Commanuel, “Nouvelles vies de saints pour tous le jours” (); Ballier, “Vie des saints” (a strictly critical work), Arnaud d’Andili, “Les vies des pè res des déserts d’Orient” (). Among the newest Western publications, the Lives of the Saints deserves attention. Stadler and Geim, written in dictionary form: “Heiligen Lexicon”, (sl.).
Many works are found in collections of mixed content, such as prologues, synaxari, menaions, and patericon. It's called a prologue. a book containing the lives of saints, along with instructions regarding celebrations in their honor. The Greeks called these collections. synaxars. The most ancient of them is the anonymous synaxarion in hand. ep. Porfiry Uspensky; then follows the synaxarion of Emperor Basil - dating back to the 10th century; the text of the first part of it was published in the city of Uggel in the VI volume of his “Italia sacra”; the second part was found later by Bollandists (for its description, see the “Messyatsoslov” of Archbishop Sergius, I, 216). Other ancient prologues: Petrov - in hand. ep. Porphyria - contains the memory of saints for all days of the year, except 2-7 and 24-27 days of March; Kleromontansky (otherwise Sigmuntov), almost similar to Petrovsky, contains the memory of saints for a whole year. Our Russian prologues are alterations of the synaxarion of Emperor Basil with some additions (see Prof. N.I. Petrova “On the origin and composition of the Slavic-Russian printed prologue”, Kyiv,). Menaions are collections of lengthy tales about saints and holidays, arranged by month. They are service and Menaion-Cheti: in the first, for the lives of saints, the designation of the names of the authors above the chants is important. Handwritten menaions contain more information about the saints than printed ones (for more information about the meaning of these menaions, see Bishop Sergius’ “Mesyacheslov”, I, 150).
These “monthly menaions,” or service ones, were the first collections of “lives of the saints” that became known in Rus' at the time of its adoption of Christianity and the introduction of divine services; these are followed by Greek prologues or synaxari. In the pre-Mongol period, a full circle of menaia, prologues and synaxarions already existed in the Russian church. Then patericons appear in Russian literature - special collections of the lives of saints. Translated patericons are known in the manuscripts: Sinaitic (“Limonar” by Mosch), alphabetic, monastery (several types; see description of the RKP. Undolsky and Tsarsky), Egyptian (Lavsaik Palladium). Based on the model of these eastern patericons in Russia, the “Paterikon of Kiev-Pechersk” was compiled, the beginning of which was laid by Simon, bishop. Vladimir, and the Kiev-Pechersk monk Polycarp. Finally, the last common source for the lives of the saints of the entire church is calendars and month books. The beginnings of calendars date back to the very first times of the church, as can be seen from the biographical information about St. Ignatius († 107), Polycarpe († 167), Cyprian († 258). From the testimony of Asterius of Amasia († 410) it is clear that in the 4th century. they were so complete that they contained names for all the days of the year. Monthly words under the Gospels and the Apostles are divided into three types: of eastern origin, ancient Italian and Sicilian and Slavic. Of the latter, the oldest is under the Ostromir Gospel (XII century). They are followed by monthly books: Assemani with the Glagolitic Gospel, located in the Vatican Library, and Savvin, ed. Sreznevsky in the city. This also includes brief notes about the saints under the church charters of Jerusalem, Studio and Constantinople. The Saints are the same calendars, but the details of the story are close to the synaxars and exist separately from the Gospels and statutes.
Old Russian literature of the lives of Russian saints itself begins with biographies of individual saints. The model by which Russian “lives” were compiled were the Greek lives of the Metaphrastus type, that is, the task was to “praise” the saint, and the lack of information (for example, about the first years of the life of the saints) was filled commonplaces and rhetorical rants. A number of miracles of a saint are a necessary component of life. In the story about the very life and deeds of saints, individual traits are often not visible at all. Exceptions from the general character of the original Russian “lives” before the 15th century. constitute (according to Prof. Golubinsky) only the very first J., “St. Boris and Gleb" and "Theodosius of Pechersk", compiled by Rev. Nestor, Zh. Leonty of Rostov (which Klyuchevsky attributes to the time before the year) and Zh., which appeared in the Rostov region in the 12th and 13th centuries. , representing an unartificial simple story, while the equally ancient Zh. Smolensk region (“J. St. Abraham” and others) belong to the Byzantine type of biographies. In the 15th century a number of compilers of Zh. begins Metropolitan. Cyprian, who wrote to J. Metropolitan. Peter (in a new edition) and several J. Russian saints included in his “Book of Degrees” (if this book was really compiled by him).
The biography and activities of the second Russian hagiographer, Pachomius Logofet, is introduced in detail by the study of Prof. Klyuchevsky " Old Russian Lives saints like historical source", M.,). He compiled J. and the service of St. Sergius, J. and the service of Rev. Nikon, J. St. Kirill Belozersky, a word about the transfer of the relics of St. Peter and his service; According to Klyuchevsky, he also owns St. J. Novgorod archbishops Moses and John; In total, he wrote 10 lives, 6 legends, 18 canons and 4 words of praise to the saints. Pachomius enjoyed great fame among his contemporaries and posterity and was a model for other compilers of the J. No less famous as the compiler of the J. Epiphanius the Wise, who first lived in the same monastery with St. Stephen of Perm, and then in the monastery of Sergius, who wrote J. of both of these saints. He knew the Holy Scriptures, Greek chronographs, palea, letvitsa, and patericon well. He is even more florid than Pachomius. The successors of these three writers introduce a new feature into their works - autobiographical, so that from the “lives” they compiled, one can always recognize the author. From urban centers, the work of Russian hagiography moves into the 16th century. in the desert and distant from cultural centers area in the 16th century. The authors of these works did not limit themselves to the facts of the saint’s life and panegyrics to him, but tried to introduce them to church, social and state conditions, among which the saint’s activity arose and developed. The works of this time are, therefore, valuable primary sources of the cultural and everyday history of Ancient Rus'.
The author who lived in Moscow Rus' can always be distinguished by tendency from the author of the Novgorod, Pskov and Rostov regions. A new era in the history of Russian Jews is constituted by the activities of the All-Russian Metropolitan Macarius. His time was especially rich in new “lives” of Russian saints, which is explained, on the one hand, by the intensified activity of this metropolitan in the canonization of saints, and on the other, by the “great Menaions-Chets” he compiled. These menaions, which included almost all the Russian journals available at that time, are known in two editions: the Sophia edition (manuscript of the St. Petersburg Spiritual Akd.) and the more complete edition of the Moscow Cathedral. The Archaeographic Commission has been busy publishing this grandiose work, which has so far succeeded through the works of I. I. Savvaitov and M. O. Koyalovich, publish only a few volumes covering the months of September and October. A century later than Macarius, in 1627-1632, the Menaion-Cheti of the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery German Tulupov appeared, and in 1646-1654. - Menaion-Cheti of the priest of Sergiev Posad Ioann Milyutin.
These two collections differ from Makariev in that they included almost exclusively J. and legends about Russian saints. Tulupov included in his collection everything that he found regarding Russian hagiography, in its entirety; Milyutin, using the works of Tulupov, shortened and redid the works he had at hand, omitting prefaces from them, as well as words of praise. What Macarius was for Northern Rus', Moscow, the Kiev-Pechersk archimandrites - Innocent Gisel and Varlaam Yasinsky - wanted to be for Southern Rus', fulfilling the idea of the Kyiv Metropolitan Peter Mogila and partly using the materials he collected. But the political unrest of that time prevented this enterprise from being realized. Yasinsky, however, brought him into this case St. Dimitri, later Metropolitan of Rostov, who, working for 20 years on the processing of Metaphrastus, the great Chetyih-Menai of Macarius and other manuals, compiled the Cheti-Menai, containing not only the South Russian saints omitted from the Menaion of Macarius, but the saints of all churches. Patriarch Joachim treated Demetrius’s work with distrust, noticing in it traces of Catholic teaching about the immaculate conception of the Mother of God; but the misunderstandings were eliminated, and Demetrius’s work was completed.
The Chetyi-Minea of St. were published for the first time. Demetrius in 1711-1718. In the city, the Synod instructed the Kiev-Pechersk archimandrite. Timofey Shcherbatsky revision and correction of Dimitry's work; This commission was completed after the death of Timothy by Archimandrite. Joseph Mitkevich and Hierodeacon Nicodemus, and in a corrected form the Chetya-Minea were published in the city. The Saints in the Chetya-Minea of Demetrius are arranged in calendar order: following the example of Macarius, there are also synaxari for holidays, instructive words on the events of the life of the saint or the history of the holiday , belonging to the ancient fathers of the church, and partly compiled by Demetrius himself, historical discussions at the beginning of each quarter of the publication - about the primacy of the month of March of the year, about the indictment, about the ancient Hellenic-Roman calendar. The sources the author used can be seen from the list of “teachers, writers, historians” appended before the first and second parts, and from quotes in individual cases (Metaphrastus is the most common). Many articles consist only of a translation of the Greek journal or a repetition and correction of the Old Russian language. In the Chetya-Minea there is also historical criticism, but in general their significance is not scientific, but ecclesiastical: written in artistic Church Slavonic speech, they still constitute favorite reading for pious people looking for in “J. saints" of religious edification (for a more detailed assessment of the Chetyi-Menya, see the work of V. Nechaev, corrected by A. V. Gorsky, - "St. Demetrius of Rostov", M.,, and I. A. Shlyapkina - "St. Demetrius", SPb., ). All individual works of ancient Russian saints, included and not included in the counted collections, number 156. In the present century, a number of retellings and revisions of the Chetyi-Menya of St. have appeared. Demetrius: “Selected Lives of the Saints, summarized according to the guidance of the Chetyih-Menya” (1860-68); A. N. Muravyova, “The Lives of the Saints of the Russian Church, also Iversky and Slavic” (); Philareta, Archbishop. Chernigovsky, “Russian Saints”; “Historical Dictionary of the Saints of the Russian Church” (1836-60); Protopopov, “Lives of the Saints” (M.,), etc.
More or less independent editions of the Lives of the Saints - Philaret, Archbishop. Chernigovsky: a) “Historical doctrine of the church fathers” (, new ed.), b) “Historical review of hymns” (), c) “Saints southern Slavs" () and d) "St. ascetics Eastern Church" (); "Athos Patericon" (1860-63); “The highest cover over Athos” (); “Ascetics of Piety on Mount Sinai” (); I. Krylova, “The Lives of the Holy Apostles and the Legends of the Seventy Disciples of Christ” (M.,); “Memorable tales about the life of St. blessed fathers" (translated from Greek, ); archim. Ignatius, “Brief biographies of Russian saints” (); Iosseliani, “Lives of the Saints of the Georgian Church” (); M. Sabinina, “Complete biography of the Georgian saints” (St. Petersburg, 1871-73).
Especially valuable works for Russian hagiography: prot. D. Vershinsky, “Months of the Eastern Church” (
Russian literature is almost a thousand years old. This is one of the most ancient literatures in Europe. It is older than French, English, and German literature. Its beginning dates back to the second half of the 10th century. Of this great millennium, more than seven hundred years belong to the period that is commonly called “ancient Russian literature.”
“Old Russian literature can be considered as literature of one theme and one plot. This plot is world history, and this theme is the meaning of human life,” writes D. S. Likhachev.
Ancient Russian literature is an epic telling the history of the universe and the history of Rus'.
None of the works of Ancient Rus' - translated or original - stands apart. They all complement each other in the picture of the world they create. Each story is a complete whole, and at the same time it is connected with others. This is only one chapter of the history of the world.
Acceptance of the ancient pagan Russia Christianity at the end of the tenth century was an act of the greatest progressive significance. Thanks to Christianity, Rus' joined the advanced culture of Byzantium and entered the family as an equal Christian sovereign power European peoples, became “known and followed” in all corners of the earth, as the first ancient Russian rhetorician and publicist known to us, Metropolitan Hilarion, said in his “Sermon on Law and Grace” (mid-11th century).
Large role in distribution Christian culture the emerging and growing monasteries played a role. The first schools were created in them, respect and love for books, “book teaching and veneration” were cultivated, book depositories and libraries were created, chronicles were written, and translated collections of moralizing and philosophical works were copied. Here the ideal of the Russian monk - an ascetic who devoted himself to serving God, that is, moral improvement, liberation from base, vicious passions, service high idea civic duty, goodness, justice, public good. This ideal found concrete embodiment in hagiographic (hagiographic) literature. Life has become one of the most popularized mass forms of propaganda in Rus' for the new Christian moral ideal. Lives were read in church during services and put into practice individual reading, both monks and laity.
Ancient Rus' inherited from Byzantium rich, widely developed traditions of hagiography. By the 10th century there, certain canons of various types of lives were firmly established: martyrdom, confessionary, saintly, venerable, lives of stylites and “for Christ’s sake” holy fools.
The life of martyrdom consisted of a number of episodes describing the most incredible physical tortures to which the Christian hero was subjected by a pagan ruler and commander. The martyr endured all the tortures, showing willpower, patience and endurance, and loyalty to the idea. And although he eventually died, he won a moral victory over his pagan tormentor.
Of the translated martyr's lives in Rus', the life of St. George the Victorious has gained great popularity. In Rus', George began to be revered as the patron saint of farmers, the holy warrior-defender of the peaceful labor of the rats. In this regard, his torment in his life fades into the background, and the main place is occupied by the image of a military feat: victory over the snake - a symbol of paganism, violence, evil. “The Miracle of George about the Dragon” in ancient Russian literature and iconography was extremely popular during the period of the struggle of the Russian people with the steppe nomads and foreign invaders. The image of George slaying a dragon serpent with a spear became the emblem of the city of Moscow.
At the center of confessional life is the missionary preacher of the Christian faith. He fearlessly enters into the struggle with the pagans, endures persecution and torment, but in the end achieves his goal: he converts the pagans to Christianity.
Close to the confessional life is the saintly life. His hero is a church hierarch (metropolitan, bishop). He not only teaches and instructs his flock, but also protects them from heresies and the wiles of the devil.
Among the Byzantine lives of saints, the life of St. Nicholas of Myra became widely known in Rus'. St. Nicholas the Merciful acted as an intercessor for those unjustly persecuted and condemned, a helper to the poor, he was a deliverer from captivity, a patron of sailors and travelers; he stopped sea storms and saved drowning people. Legends were made about his many miracles. According to one of them, Nikola, unlike Kasyan, was not afraid to get his light clothes dirty and helped a man in trouble. For this he received the encouragement of God, “Do this from now on, Nikola, help the man,” God tells him. “And for this they will celebrate you twice a year, but for you Kasyan - only once every four years” (February 29). According to popular belief, Kasyanov's year (leap year) was considered bad and unlucky.
A monastic life was dedicated to the life of a monk, usually the founder of a monastery or its abbot. The hero, as a rule, came from pious parents and from the moment of his birth strictly observed fasts, shunning children's games; he quickly mastered literacy and devoted himself to reading divine books; in solitude, he reflected on the frailty of life; refused marriage, went to deserted places, became a monk and founded a monastery there; he gathered the brethren around him and instructed them; overcame various demonic temptations: malicious demons appeared to the saint in the guise of wild animals, robbers, harlots, etc.; predicted the day and hour of his death and died piously; after death, her body remained incorrupt, and the relics turned out to be miraculous, granting healing to the sick. Such are, for example, the lives of Anthony the Great, Savva the Sanctified.
The lives of the stylites are close to the type of venerable life. Rejecting the world “lying in evil”, the pillars secluded themselves in “pillars” - towers, severed all earthly ties and devoted themselves entirely to prayer. This is, for example, the life of Simeon the Stylite.
The lowest level in the hierarchy of saints was occupied by holy fools. They lived in peace, in city squares, markets, spending the night with beggars on the porches of churches or under open air along with stray dogs. They neglected clothing and rattled their chains, flaunting their ulcers. Their behavior was outwardly absurd and illogical, but hid a deep meaning. The holy fools fearlessly denounced powerful of the world This, they committed outwardly sacrilegious acts, patiently endured beatings and ridicule. This is, for example, the life of Andrei Yurodivy.
All these types of lives, having come from Byzantium to Rus', acquired their own special original features here, clearly reflecting the originality of the social, political and cultural life of the Middle Ages.
The life of martyrdom did not become widespread in Rus', because the new christian religion was imposed from above, that is, by the government of the Grand Duke. Therefore, the very possibility of a conflict between a pagan ruler and a Christian martyr was excluded. True, the functions of Christian martyrs were taken over by princes Boris and Gleb, who were villainously killed by their brother Svyatopolk in 1015. But with their death, Boris and Gleb affirmed the triumph of the idea of clan seniority, so necessary in the system of princely succession to the throne. “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” condemned the princely feuds and sedition that were destroying the Russian land.
The type of martyrdom found real ground during the period of invasion and domination of the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. The fight against the wild hordes of steppe nomads was interpreted as a fight between Christians and the filthy, that is, pagans. The behavior of Prince Mikhail of Chernigov in the Horde was assessed as a high patriotic feat (“The Tale of Mikhail of Chernigov”). The Russian prince and his boyar Fyodor refuse to fulfill the demand of the wicked Tsar Batu: to go through the purifying fire and bow to the bush. For them, performing this pagan ritual is tantamount to treason, and they prefer death.
Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver, who was brutally killed by the khan’s minions in 1318, behaves steadfastly and courageously in the Horde.
The type of martyrdom received a new interpretation in Rus' in the 16th century. : The victims of Ivan the Terrible’s bloody terror are awarded the crown of martyrdom.
The life of the monk also became widespread. The earliest original work This type is the “Life of Theodosius of Pechersk,” written at the end of the 11th century. Nestor.
The Kiev Pechersky Monastery, founded in the middle of the 11th century, played big role in the development of the culture of the ancient Russian state. The first Russian chronicle, called the “Tale of Bygone Years,” was created in the monastery; it supplied church hierarchs to many cities of Ancient Rus'; the literary activity of a number of outstanding writers took place within its walls, including Nikon the Great and Nestor. The name of the abbot and one of the founders of the monastery, Theodosius, who died in 1074, enjoyed special respect and veneration.
The purpose of the life is to create “praise” for the hero, to glorify the beauty of his deeds. Emphasizing the truth and reliability of the facts presented, Nestor constantly refers to the stories of “samovids”: the cellarer of the monastery Fyodor, the monk Hilarion, Abbot Paul, the driver who carried Theodosius from Kyiv to the monastery, etc. These oral stories that existed among the monastery brethren and enveloped the living human image the haze of a pious legend being created, and form the basis of the “Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”.
Nestor’s task as a writer was not only to write down these stories, but also to process them literary, to create the image of an ideal hero who “is an eighth image of himself,” that is, would serve as an example and role model.
In the time sequence “in a row” of the events described related to the life and deeds of Theodosius and his most prominent associates, it is not difficult to detect traces of a unique monastic oral chronicle, the milestones of which are the founding of the monastery, the construction of the cathedral church and the acts of the abbots: Varlaam, Theodosius, Stephen, Nikon the Great.
A large place in life is occupied by the episode associated with the struggle of the youth Theodosius with his mother. As Nestor reports, it was written based on a story by the mother of the future abbot. The desire of the son of the princely tiun (tax collector) to “become humble,” that is, to strictly fulfill the norms of Christian morality, following and imitating Christ in everything, meets with sharp resistance from Theodosius’ mother and everyone around him. The mother, a pious Christian, tries in every possible way to turn her son away from the intention to devote himself to God: not only with affection, persuasion, but also with cruel punishments and even torture. After all, by dressing in “thin” clothes, working in the field together with slaves, a baker, Feodosia disgraces in the eyes of society, not only himself, but also his family. The behavior of the boyar’s son Ivan evokes a similar attitude in society. All this indicates that the “monastic rank” did not initially meet with respect and support from the ruling circles of early feudal society. It is characteristic that Vladimir Monomakh in his “Teaching” does not recommend that children become monks.
The attitude of ordinary working people towards monks is evidenced in the life of an episode with a driver. Mistaking the famous abbot for a simple monk, the driver invites him to sit on the box, since he, the driver, is tired of constant work, and the monks spend their lives in idleness.
Nestor contrasts this point of view in his life with the depiction of the labors of Theodosius and the brethren around him, who are in constant worries and “do the work with their own hands.” The abbot himself sets an example of exceptional hard work for the monks. He carries water from the river, chops wood, grinds wheat at night, spins yarn for binding books, comes to church first and last to leave. Indulging in asceticism, Theodosius does not wash, wears a hair shirt on his body, he sleeps “on his ribs,” and puts on a “retinue of hoodoo.”
The “thinness of the vestment” of the Pechersk abbot is contrasted by Nestor with the purity of his life, the lightness of his soul. “The Lordship of the Soul” allows Theodosius to become not only a teacher and mentor of the brethren, but also a moral judge of the princes. He forces Prince Izyaslav to take into account the rules and norms of the monastery charter, enters into open conflict with Svyatoslav, who illegally seized the grand-ducal table and expelled Izyaslav. The Pechersk abbot refuses the prince's invitation to dinner, not wanting to “partake of that waste of blood and murder.” He denounces the usurper prince in speeches that arouse Svyatoslav’s rage and intention to imprison the obstinate monk. Only after lengthy persuasion from the brethren is it possible to reconcile Theodosius with the Grand Duke. True, Svyatoslav initially receives the abbot without due respect. Theodosius is present at the princely feast, sitting modestly on the edge of the table, with his eyes downcast, for the more desirable guests of the princely feast are the buffoons who amuse the prince. And only when Theodosius threatened Svyatoslav with heavenly punishments (“whether it will happen in the next world”), the prince ordered the buffoons to stop their games and began to treat the abbot with great respect. As a sign of final reconciliation with the monastery, Svyatoslav gives him land (“his field”), where the construction of a stone monastery church begins, on the foundation of which the prince himself “laid the beginning of digging.”
A large place in life is given to the image economic activity abbot. True, Nestor portrays the appearance of new supplies in the monastery storerooms and money “for the needs of the brethren” as a manifestation of God’s mercy, allegedly shown to the monastery through the prayer of the monk.
However, under the mystical shell of the miracle, it is not difficult to discover the nature of the real relationship between the monastery and the laity, through whose offerings the treasury and storerooms of the monastery are replenished.
As a typical medieval ascetic, Theodosius happens to enter into a fight with demons. They sometimes appear in the guise of buffoons, sometimes as a black dog, and sometimes invisibly commit small dirty tricks: they spill flour in the bakery, spill bread leaven, and do not allow the cattle to eat, settling in the barn.
Thus, the traditional canon of life is filled by Nestor with a number of specific realities of monastic and princely life.
“The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk,” written by Nestor, was, in turn, a model that determined further development venerable life in ancient Russian literature.
Based on this example, Ephraim builds the “Life of Abraham of Smolensk” (first third of the 13th century). The work uniquely reflected the spiritual life of one of the major political and cultural centers of North-Western Rus' - Smolensk at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries.
The reader is presented with the extraordinary personality of an educated, learned monk. In the suburban Smolensk monastery, in the village of Selishche, he creates a scriptorium, supervising the work of many scribes. Abraham himself is not limited to reading Scripture, the works of the church fathers, he is attracted to “deep books,” that is, apocryphal works that the official church included in the indexes of false, “denied books.” Abraham's scientific studies arouse the envy and indignation of the abbot and the monks. For five years he patiently endures the dishonor and reproach of the brethren, but in the end he is forced to leave the monastery in Selishche and move to the city, to the Monastery of the Holy Cross.
Here Abraham acts as a skilled teacher-preacher, an “interpreter” of Scripture. Ephraim does not say what the essence of this “interpretation” was, emphasizing only that the sermons of the learned monk attracted the attention of the entire city. At the same time, Ephraim turns his attention to another side of Abraham’s activity - he is a skilled painter.
The popularity and success of a talented personality among the townspeople “offends the proud mediocrity,” and ignorant priests and monks accuse Abraham of heresy.
It is very significant that the Smolensk prince and nobles came to Abraham’s defense; the Smolensk bishop Ignatius and the bishop’s successor Lazar became his patrons.
Glorifying the feat of “patience” of Abraham, Ephraim cites numerous analogies from the lives of John Chrysostom, Savva the Sanctified. He actively intervenes in the course of the narrative, gives his assessment of the behavior of the hero and his persecutors in rhetorical and journalistic digressions. Ephraim sharply denounces the ignorant who accept the priesthood, argues that no one can live their life without misfortunes and adversity, and they can only be overcome with patience. Only patience allows a person to navigate the ship of his soul through the waves and storms of the sea of life. In the praise that concludes his life, Ephraim glorifies not only Abraham, but also his hometown of Smolensk.
In the 15th century in Smolensk, on the basis of oral traditions, another remarkable work is created - “The Tale of Mercury of Smolensk”, glorifying heroic feat a fearless Russian youth who sacrificed his life to save his native city from the hordes of Batu in 1238.
The traditions of hagiography of Kievan Rus continued not only in the north-west, but also in the north-east - in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. An example of this was religious and historical legends: tales of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, of the enlightener of the Rostov land, Bishop Leonty.
Also connected with Rostov is the legend about the Horde prince Peter, the nephew of Khan Berke, who converted to Christianity, settled on Rostov land, granted to him by the local prince, and founded a monastery there. The legend is probably based on a family chronicle, telling not only about Peter, but also about his descendants, sons and grandsons. The story clearly reflects the nature of the relationship between the Golden Horde and Rus' in the 15th century. So, for example, according to legend, the ancestor of Boris Godunov was Prince Chet, a native of the Horde, who allegedly founded the Ipatiev Monastery near Kostroma.
“The Tale of Peter, Tsarevich of Ordyn” gives an idea of the nature of those land litigations that Peter’s descendants had to wage with the appanage Rostov princes.
A new stage in the development of ancient Russian hagiography is associated with grand-ducal Moscow, with the activities talented writer late XIV - early XV centuries. Epiphany of the Wise. He authored two outstanding works of ancient Russian literature - the lives of Stefan of Perm and Sergius of Radonezh, which clearly reflected the rise of national self-awareness of the Russian people associated with the struggle against the Golden Horde yoke.
Both Stefan of Perm and Sergius of Radonezh are examples of perseverance and determination. All their thoughts and actions are determined by the interests of their homeland, the good of society and the state.
The son of an Ustyug cathedral cleric, Stefan, is purposefully preparing himself for the future missionary activity in the Perm region. Having learned the Perm language, he creates the Perm alphabet and translates Russian books into this language. After this, Stefan goes to the distant Perm land, settles among the pagans and influences them not only with a living word, but also with the example of his own behavior. Stefan cuts down the “vicious birch”, which was worshiped by the pagans, and enters into a fight with the sorcerer (shaman) Pam. In front of a large crowd of pagans gathered, Stefan puts his opponent to shame: he invites Pam to enter together into the raging flames of a huge fire and exit it, enter an ice hole and exit another, located far from the first. Pam categorically refuses all these tests, and the Permians are convinced with their own eyes of the powerlessness of their sorcerer, they are ready to tear him to pieces. However, Stefan calms the angry crowd, spares Pam's life and only expels him. Thus, Stephen’s willpower, conviction, endurance, and humanism prevail, and the pagans accept Christianity.
Epiphanius the Wise portrays Sergius of Radonezh (died 1392) as the ideal of a new church leader.
Epiphanius presents the facts of Sergius' biography in detail and in detail. The son of a bankrupt Rostov boyar who moved to Radonezh (now the village of Gorodok, two kilometers from the Khotkovo Yaroslavskaya station railway), Bartholomew-Sergius becomes a monk, then the founder of the Trinity Monastery (now the city of Zagorsk), which played no less a role in the political and cultural life of the emerging centralized Russian state than the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery in the life of Kievan Rus. Trinity Monastery was a school of moral education, in which the worldview and talent of the brilliant Andrei Rublev, Epiphanius the Wise himself, and many other monks and laity were formed.
With all his activities, the abbot of the Trinity Monastery helps to strengthen the political authority of the Moscow prince as the head of the Russian state, contributes to the cessation of princely strife, and blesses Dmitry Ivanovich for the feat of arms in the fight against the hordes of Mamai.
Epiphanius reveals the character of Sergius by contrasting him with his brother Stephen. The latter refuses to live with Sergius in a deserted place, far from main roads, where no food supplies are brought, where everything has to be done with one’s own hands. He leaves the Trinity Monastery for Moscow, to the Simonov Monastery.
Sergius is contrasted with the monks and priests of his time, who were money-loving and vain. When Metropolitan Alexei, shortly before his death, invites Sergius to become his successor, the Trinity abbot resolutely refuses, declaring that he has never been and will never be a “gold bearer.”
Using the example of the life of Sergius Epiphanius, he argued that the path of moral transformation and education of society lies through the improvement of the individual.
The style of the works of Epiphanius the Wise is distinguished by lush rhetoric and “good language.” He himself calls it “weaving words.” This style is characterized by a wide use of metaphors-symbols, likenings, comparisons, synonymous epithets (up to 20-25 with one defined word). Much attention is paid to characterization psychological states characters, their “mental” monologues. A large place in life is given to lamentations, praise and panegyrics. The rhetorical-panegyric style of the lives of Epiphanius the Wise served as an important artistic medium propaganda of moral and political ideas of the state emerging around Moscow.
From political and cultural life Novgorod XII-XV centuries. Novgorod hagiography is inextricably linked. Here the lives of local ascetics and heavenly patrons of the free city were created: Varlaam Khutyisky, Archbishops John, Moses, Euthymius II, Mikhail Klopsky. These lives in their own way reflect the uniqueness of the life of the boyar feudal republic, the relationship between spiritual and secular authorities, and certain aspects of the everyday and social structure of the city.
The most interesting and significant works of Novgorod literature of the 15th century. are legends associated with the name of Archbishop John (1168-1183). He is one of the central characters of “The Tale of the Sign from the Icon of the Mother of God,” which tells about the miraculous deliverance of Novgorod from the Suzdal people in 1169. The main idea of the legend is that Novgorod is supposedly under the direct protection and patronage of the Mother of God and any attempts of the Grand Ducal Moscow to encroach on the free city will be stopped by heavenly forces.
“The Tale of the Journey of Novgorod Archbishop John on a Demon to Jerusalem” aims to glorify the famous saint. At the same time, its fantastic, entertaining plot reveals the real features of the life and morals of the princes of the church; it is based on a typically medieval motif of the struggle of a righteous man with a demon and demonic temptations. The saint not only imprisons the demon who tried to confuse him in a vessel, but also forces the crafty tempter to take him to Jerusalem in one night and bring him back to Novgorod.
The behavior of the archbishop becomes the subject of a nationwide discussion at the meeting, which decides that a shepherd leading such an indecent life has no place on the holy throne. The Novgorodians expel John, putting him on a raft. However, through the prayer of the saint, the raft floated against the Volkhov current. Thus, the holiness and innocence of the shepherd is proven, the demon is put to shame, and the Novgorodians repent of their actions and pray to John for forgiveness.
The entertaining nature of the plot and the liveliness of the presentation attracted attention to the “Tale of the Journey of the Novgorod Archbishop John on a Demon to Jerusalem” by the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin, who began writing the poem “The Monk” at the Lyceum, and N. V. Gogol, who used the motif of the hero’s trip to demon in the story “The Night Before Christmas”.
An original work of Novgorod literature of the 15th century. is “The Tale of the Life of Mikhail Klopsky,” which clearly reflects the uniqueness of the political life of the urban boyar republic shortly before the final annexation of Novgorod to Moscow.
In the first half of the 16th century. In Moscow, the “Tale of Luke Kolodsky” was created, written on the basis of the legend about the appearance in 1413 of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God on the Kolocha River. However, the church legend recedes into the background in the story, and the main place in it is given to the fate of the peasant Luka, who found a miraculous icon in the forest and made enormous wealth from it due to the “free donations” of believers. “Giving” is enough not only for the construction of the temple. “A simple villager” Luka uses funds collected from the people to create mansions for himself and begins to compete in wealth with the Mozhaisk prince Andrei Dmitrievich. And only after Luka was thoroughly mauled by a bear released from a cage on his orders, he, having experienced the fear of death, repented and, renouncing his wealth, became a monk of the Koloch monastery founded by the prince. We find a reflection of the plot of this legend in the poem “Vlas” by I. A. Nekrasov.
The height of moral ideals and the poetry of hagiographic tales repeatedly attracted the attention of Russian writers of the 18th-19th centuries. The means of promoting advanced educational ideals is the life in the work of A. N. Radishchev “The Life of Fyodor Vasilyevich Ushakov.” The revolutionary writer saw in his fate similarities with the fate of Philaret the Merciful, whose life he worked on.
A. I. Herzen found “divine examples of selflessness” in the lives, and in their heroes - passionate, obsessive service to the idea. He turns to the life of Theodora in his early romantic story “The Legend”. IN mature years Herzen compared the noble revolutionaries - the Decembrists - with the heroes of hagiographic literature, calling them “ascetic warriors who deliberately went out to obvious death in order to awaken the younger generation to a new life and purify children born into an environment of execution and servility.”
I saw “Our Russian real poetry” in hagiographic literature L. N. Tolstoy. He was attracted by the moral and psychological side of ancient Russian works, the poetry of their presentation, and “naively artistic” places. In the 70-80s. of the last century, collections of hagiographic works - Prologues and Menaions - became his favorite reading. “Excluding miracles, looking at them as a plot expressing a thought, reading this revealed to me the meaning of life,” wrote L. N. Tolstoy in “Confession.” The writer comes to the conclusion that the so-called saints are ordinary people. “There have never been and cannot be such saints, so that they were completely special from other people, those whose bodies would remain incorruptible, who would work miracles, etc.,” he noted.
F. M. Dostoevsky considered Theodosius of Pechensky and Sergius of Radonezh to be historical folk ideals. In the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” he creates a “majestic positive figure” of the Russian monk - Elder Zosima, refuting the individualistic anarchic “rebellion” of Ivan Karamazov. “I took a face and a figure from ancient Russian monks and saints,” wrote Dostoevsky, “with deep humility, boundless, naive hopes about the future of Russia, about its moral and even political destiny. Didn’t St. Sergius, Peter and Alexei Metropolitans always have Russia in mind in this sense?”
G.I. Uspensky considered Russian ascetics to be the type of “national intelligentsia”. In the series of essays “The Power of the Earth,” he noted that this intelligentsia brought “divine truth” to the people. “She raised the weak, helplessly abandoned by heartless nature to the mercy of fate; she helped, and always in action, against the too cruel pressure of zoological truth; she did not give this truth too much scope, she set limits to it. she was the type God's saint. No, although our people's saint renounces worldly concerns, he lives only for peace. He is a worldly worker, he is constantly in the crowd, among the people, and does not talk, but actually does the work.”
Old Russian hagiography organically entered the creative consciousness of such a remarkable and still truly invaluable writer as I. S. Leskov.
Comprehending the secrets of the Russian national character, he turned to legends.
The writer approached these books as literary works, noting in them “pictures that you cannot imagine.” Leskov was struck by the “clarity, simplicity, irresistibility” of the story, “the narrowness of the faces.”
Creating the characters of the “righteous” - “ positive types Russian people,” Leskov showed the thorny path of a Russian person’s search for a moral ideal. With his works, Leskov showed how “magnificent Russian nature is and how beautiful Russian people are.”
The ideals of the moral and spiritual beauty of the Russian person have been developed by our literature throughout its almost thousand-year development. Old Russian literature created characters of staunch in spirit, pure in soul ascetics who dedicated their lives to serving people, public good. They complemented the folk ideal of the hero - the defender of the borders of the Russian land, developed by folk epic poetry.
Having studied the poetics of individual works of ancient Russian literature, we can draw a conclusion about the features of the genre of hagiography. Life is a genre of ancient Russian literature that describes the life of a saint.
IN this genre There are different hagiographic types:
Life-martyrium (story of the martyrdom of a saint)
Monastic life (story about everything life path the righteous man, the miracles he performed, etc.)
The moment of miracle, revelation (the ability to teach is a gift from God) is very important for the genre of monastic life. It is a miracle that brings movement and development to the biography of a saint.
The genre of hagiography is gradually undergoing changes. The authors depart from the canons, letting the breath of life into literature, decide on literary fiction (“The Lives of Mikhail Klopsky”), and speak a simple “peasant” language (“The Life of Archpriest Avvakum”).
Old Russian literature developed and took shape along with the growth of the general education of society. Old Russian authors conveyed to modern readers their views on life, reflections on the meaning of government and society, the role of religion, and shared their life experiences. New life works of ancient Russian literature have been found in our days. They serve as a powerful means of patriotic education, instilling a feeling national pride, faith in the indestructibility of the creative, vital force, energy, and moral beauty of the Russian people, who have repeatedly saved the countries of Europe from barbaric invasion.
Ancient written literature is divided into secular and ecclesiastical. The latter gained special distribution and development after Christianity began to occupy an increasingly strong position among other world religions.
Genres of religious literature
Ancient Rus' acquired its own written language, which was brought from Byzantium by Greek priests. And the first Slavic alphabet, as you know, was developed by the Thessalonica brothers, Cyril and Methodius. Therefore, it was church texts that became the basis by which our ancestors comprehended book wisdom. The genres of ancient religious literature included psalms, lives, prayers and sermons, church legends, teachings and stories. Some of them, for example the story, were subsequently transformed into the genres of secular works. Others remained strictly within church boundaries. Let's figure out what life is. The definition of the concept is as follows: these are works dedicated to describing the lives and deeds of saints. We are not talking only about the apostles who continued the preaching work of Christ after his death. The heroes of hagiographic texts were martyrs who became famous for their highly moral behavior and suffered for their faith.
Characteristic features of hagiography as a genre
From this follows the first distinctive sign of what living is. The definition included some clarification: firstly, it was compiled about real person. The author of the work had to adhere to the framework this biography, but pay attention precisely to those facts that would indicate the special holiness, chosenness and asceticism of the saint. Secondly, what is a life (definition): this is a story compiled to glorify a saint for the edification of all believers and non-believers, so that they are inspired by a positive example.
An obligatory part of the narrative was messages about the miraculous power that God endowed with his most faithful servants. Thanks to God's mercy, they were able to heal, support the suffering, and perform the feat of humility and asceticism. This is how the authors painted the image of an ideal person, but, as a result, many biographical information and details of private life were omitted. And finally one more distinguishing feature genre: style and language. There are many appeals, words and expressions with biblical symbolism.
Based on the above, what is living? The definition can be formulated as follows: it is an ancient genre of written literature (as opposed to oral folk art) on religious theme, glorifying the deeds of Christian saints and martyrs.
Lives of the Saints
Hagiographic works have long been the most popular in ancient Rus'. They were written according to strict canons and, in fact, revealed the meaning of human life. One of the most striking examples of the genre is “The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh,” set forth by Epiphanius the Wise. There is everything that should be in this type: the hero comes from a pious family of righteous people, obedient to the will of the Lord. God's providence, faith and prayers support the hero from childhood. He meekly endures trials and trusts only in God's mercy. Having realized the importance of faith, one's conscious life the hero spends his time in spiritual labors, not caring about the material side of existence. The basis of his existence is fasting, prayer, taming the flesh, fighting the unclean, and asceticism. The Lives emphasized that their characters were not afraid of death, gradually prepared for it and accepted their departure with joy, as this allowed their souls to meet God and the angels. The work ended, as it began, with glorification and praise of the Lord, Christ and the Holy Spirit, as well as the righteous man himself - the venerable one.
List of hagiographic works of Russian literature
Peruvian Russian authors own about 156 texts related to the genre of hagiography. The first of them are associated with the names of princes Boris and Gleb, treacherously killed by their own brother. They also became the first Russian Christian martyrs-passion-bearers, canonized by the Orthodox Church and considered intercessors of the state. Next, the lives of Prince Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and many other prominent representatives of the Russian land were created. A special place in this series is occupied by the biography of Archpriest Avvakum, the rebellious leader of the Old Believers, written by himself during his stay in the Pustozersky prison (17th century). In fact, this is the first autobiography, the birth of a new
Life- a genre of church literature that describes the life and deeds of saints. The life was created after the death of the saint, but not always after formal canonization. Life is characterized by strict substantive and structural restrictions (canon, literary etiquette), which greatly distinguish it from secular biographies. Hagiography is the study of lives.
The genre of hagiography was borrowed from Byzantium. This is the most widespread and beloved genre of ancient Russian literature. Life was an indispensable attribute when a person was canonized, i.e. were canonized. The life was created by people who directly communicated with a person or could reliably testify to his life. Life was always created after the death of a person. It performed a huge educational function, because the life of the saint was perceived as an example of a righteous life that must be imitated. In addition, life deprived a person of the fear of death, preaching the idea of immortality human soul. Life was built according to certain canons, from which they did not deviate until the 15-16 centuries.
Canons of Life
The pious origin of the hero of the life, whose parents must have been righteous. The saint's parents often begged God.
A saint was born a saint, not made one.
The saint was distinguished by an ascetic lifestyle, spending time in solitude and prayer.
A mandatory attribute of the life was a description of the miracles that occurred during the life of the saint and after his death.
The saint was not afraid of death.
The life ended with the glorification of the saint.
One of the first works of the hagiographic genre in ancient Russian literature was the life of the holy princes Boris and Gleb.
Genre of life in ancient Russian literature
Old Russian literature of the lives of Russian saints itself begins with biographies of individual saints. The model by which Russian “lives” were compiled were the Greek lives of the Metaphrastus type, that is, the task was to “praise” the saint, and the lack of information (for example, about the first years of the life of the saints) was filled with commonplaces and rhetorical rantings. A number of the saint’s miracles are a necessary part of life. In the story about the very life and deeds of saints, individual traits are often not visible at all. Exceptions from the general character of the original Russian “lives” before the 15th century are (according to Prof. Golubinsky) only the very first lives in time - “Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearers Boris and Gleb” and “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”, compiled by the Monk Nestor, the life of Leonty of Rostov (which Klyuchevsky dates back to before 1174) and the lives that appeared in the Rostov region in the 12th and 13th centuries, representing an unartificial simple story, while the equally ancient lives of the Smolensk region (“Life of St. Abraham” and others. ) belong to the Byzantine type of biographies. In the 15th century, a number of compilers of lives began to be metropolitan. Cyprian, who wrote the life of Metropolitan. Peter (in a new edition) and several lives of Russian saints included in his “Book of Degrees” (if this book was really compiled by him).
The biography and activities of the second Russian hagiographer, Pachomius Logofet, is introduced in detail by the study of Prof. Klyuchevsky “Old Russian Lives of Saints, as a Historical Source”, M., 1871). He compiled the life and service of St. Sergius, life and service of St. Nikon, life of St. Kirill Belozersky, a word about the transfer of the relics of St. Peter and his service; According to Klyuchevsky, the life of St. belongs to him. Novgorod archbishops Moses and John; In total, he wrote 10 lives, 6 legends, 18 canons and 4 words of praise to the saints. Pachomius enjoyed great fame among his contemporaries and posterity and was a model for other compilers of lives.
No less famous as the compiler of the lives of Epiphanius the Wise, who first lived in the same monastery with St. Stephen of Perm, and then in the monastery of Sergius, who wrote the lives of both of these saints. He knew the Holy Scriptures, Greek chronographs, palea, letvitsa, patericon well. He is even more florid than Pachomius. The successors of these three writers introduce a new feature into their works - autobiographical, so that from the “lives” they compiled, one can always recognize the author. From urban centers, the work of Russian hagiography moves in the 16th century to deserts and areas remote from cultural centers in the 16th century. The authors of these lives did not limit themselves to the facts of the saint’s life and panegyrics to him, but tried to introduce them to the church, social and state conditions among which the saint’s activity arose and developed. The lives of this time are, therefore, valuable primary sources of the cultural and everyday history of Ancient Rus'.