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Miracles of the saints in Nikon's Chronicle as a source for the study of the church ideology during the 1520s–1530s

A.N. Novoselov

Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia

E-mail: alnovo92@mail.ru

Received September 9, 2020

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DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.6.58-73

For citation: Novoselov A.N. Miracles of the saints in Nikon’s Chronicle as a source for the study of the church ideology during the 1520s–1530s. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2020, vol. 162, no. 6, pp. 58–73. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.6.58-73. (In Russian)

Abstract

This paper examines the informative potential of miracles described in Nikon’s Chronicle. Miracles are understood as a symbolic genre of the Old Russian literature. They are stories about unexpected and miraculous events taking place through the will of God and solving some earthly problems. The miracles worked by the following Russian saints were analyzed: Saint Peter of Moscow, Sergius of Radonezh, Barlaam of Khutyn, etc. The texts of miracles from the saints’ lives, Russian chronicles dating from the 15th century to the early 16th century, and Nikon’s Chronicle were compared. It was concluded that the storylines had been considerably revised in the 1520s–1530s. A hypothesis was introduced that the texts were transformed as a result of the influence exercised by Maximus the Greek and the non-possessors, who expressed doubts that certain metropolitans and monastery rectors could have been recognized as miracle workers. This hypothesis was confirmed through the comparative analysis of Nikon’s Chronicle and the trial minutes of Maximus the Greek. The conclusion was made that the miracles described in the earlier sources were rewritten in the subsequent years to shift the emphasis on the important role played by certain church figures in the key historical events.

Keywords: miracles, Nikon’s Chronicle, Russian Church history, holiness, Russia, 16th century

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Miracles of the saints in Nikon's Chronicle as a source for the study of the church ideology during the 1520s–1530s