BYZANTIUM PATROLOGY AND CULT OF ELEMENTS IN ANTI-PAGAN LITERATURE OF ANCIENT RUS 

Lushnikov Alexander Alexandrovich, Doctor of historical sciences, doctoral student, sub-department of history of Russia, local history and history teaching methods, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), lushnikov1@mail.ru

930.85

Background. A subject of the cult of elements in Ancient Rus’ anti-pagan literature stays one of the main sources for a lot of contradictory theoretical reconstructions of the Slavs’ pagan religion. The aim of the article is to examine development of this plot in Ancient Rus’ books and its potential as a source of information about spiritual culture.
Materials and methods. The author carried out a comparative analysis of homilies, hagiographies, confession collections and monuments of ecclesiastical law of XI–XV A.D (with additions from later variants). The author used hermeneutics as the most efficient and perspective method in ancient Rus’ source studies.
Results. Works of Ephraem the Syrian and Cyril of Jerusalem were determined as the origins of blaming against the pagan cult of nature elements. The concrete Slav’s paganism was not so important for authors in Rus. Also the investigation shows social and political essence of the plot. It became a part of the so-called “execution from God” doctrine not later than XII A.D. In the end of XIII A.D. it became topical due to Mongol – Tatar invasion’s effects and efforts of the clergy to strengthen the discipline in church. This tendency was reflected in the rules of the Vladimir church council in 1274.
Conclusions. The popular subject about the cult of elements in anti-pagan literature of Ancient Rus is very discrepant. On one hand, the authors did not care about authentic paganism cults and used Christian patrology templates. On the other hand, foreign standards were very abstract and metaphorical, that is why they can be used for exposure of syncretic beliefs of their own society.

Ancient Rus, Ancient Rus’ literature, homily, paganism, Christianity, hermeneutics, patrology, religion, church.

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