On the Reception of the Chetii Minei (Menaion Reader) by Dimitry of Rostov: to Problem Statement

JATS XML:

XML
BibTEX:

BIB
Research Information Systems Citation Format:

RIS
Category: Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Issue 25
Full text:

PDF
Funding Sources:

The study was completed with the support of the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-18-00174-П, https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00174/, IRL RAS.
Abstract:

The article examines the reprints, paraphrases, translations of the Chetii Minei of St. Dimitry of Rostov, as well as new collections created on the basis of his Book of Vitaе of the Saints in Russian literature of the second half of the 18th — early 20th centuries. The menologions; synodal editions, beginning with the first synodal edition of 1759 and ending with the multi-volume work Vitaе of the Saints, presented in Russian according to the guidance of the Chetii Minei of St. Dimitry of Rostov of 1902–1916, prepared by the Moscow Synodal Printing House under the scientific supervision of historians V.O. Klyuchevsky and S.I. Smirnov; Old Believer collections; the collections of lives of Saints compiled by A.N. Muravyov and archbishop Filaret (Gumilyovsky); the Book of Vitaе of Saints written by the writer A.N. Bakhmeteva and adapted for children’s audiences and educational purposes, the poetic paraphrases of hieromonk Victor (Minervin) are the object of the description. All of them are considered as a special type of reception of the Chetii Minei of Dimitry of Rostov by scribes and publishers, spiritual writers and poets. This type of reception reflects the development of the Chetii Minei as a genre. The editors and compilers had different goals (from simple abbreviation or, conversely, filling with new texts or new information, from the creation of original thematic or educational collections to the desire to meet the demands of historical-critical scholarship), but all of them, in the context of the editorial practice of the New Age, strove to make Chetii Minei generally accessible and in demand in both secular and popular environments.
Keywords: Dimitry of Rostov, Chetii Minei, reception, arrangements, translations, publishing practice, Russian spiritual literature
Author: Marina A. Fedotova
Information about the author:

Marina A. Fedotova, DSc in Philology, Leading Research Fellow, Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Makarov Emb., 4, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5167-3414

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For citation:

Fedotov, M.A. “On the Reception of the Chetii Minei  (Menaion  Reader)  by  Dimitry  of  Rostov:  to  Problem Statement.”  Germenevtika  drevnerusskoi  literatury  [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature]. Issue 25. Ed.-in-chief O.A. Tufanova, sci. ed. M.V. Kaplun. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2026, pp. 295–326. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-295-326 (In Russian)
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/QGDUFF
UDC: 821.161.1.0
Publication Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-295-326

REFERENCES

  1. [A.O.] “S.I. Smirnov” [“S.I. Smirnov”]. Professor Sergei Ivanovich Smirnov [Professor Sergei Ivanovich Smirnov]. Moscow, MelanarE , 2009, pp. 3–12. (In Russian)
  2. Aksenenko, M. “Poeticheskii dialog igumena Antoniia (Bochkova) i monakhini Marii (Shahovoi)” [“A Poetic Dialogue between Abbot Anthony (Bochkov) and Nun Maria (Shakhova)”]. Don-Kihot russkogo monashestva: Zhizn i tvorchestvo igumena Antoniia (Bochkova) (1803–1872): Issledovaniia i publikatsii [Don Quixote of Russian Monasticism: The Life and Works of Abbot Anthony (Bochkov) (1803– 1872): Research and Publications, comp. E.M. Aksenenko, Hierodeacon Anthony (Kozin)]. St. Petersburg, Pushkin House Publ., 2010, pp. 139–240. (In Russian)
  3. Gzhibovskaia, V. Zhitiia sviatykh v rossiiskoi istoriografii XIX — nachala XX vv [Vitaе of the Saints in Russian Historiography of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries]: PhD in History Thesis. Kazan, 2009. 25 p. (In Russian)
  4. [Gorskii, V., protoierei.] Sv. Dimitrii, mitropolit Rostovskii [St. Dimitry, Metropolitan of Rostov]. Moscow, Tipografiiа Gote Publ., 1849. 203 p. (In Russian)
  5. Grodeckaia, G. Otvety predaniia: zhitiia sviatykh v dukhovnom poiske Lva Tolstogo [Answers to Tradition: Vitaе of the Saints in Leo Tolstoy’s Spiritual Quest]. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 2000. 264 p. (In Russian)
  6. Derzhavin, Aleksandr, protoierei. Raduiut vernykh serdtsa / Prilozhenie k sochi- neniiu ‘Chetii-Minei sviatitelia Dimitriia, mitropolita Rostovskogo, kak tserkovno- istoricheskii i literaturnyi pamiatnik’ (Razbor i analiz zhitii) [Gladden the Hearts of the Faithful / Appendix to the Work ‘Chetii Minei of Dimitry, Metropolitan of Rostov, as an Ecclesiastical-Historical and Literary Monument’ (Analysis of the Vita)], part 1. Moscow, LEKSRUS Publ., 2012. 501 p. (In Russian)
  7. Derzhavin, Aleksandr, Raduiut vernykh serdtsa. Chetii-Minei sviatitelia Dimitriia, mitropolita Rostovskogo, kak tserkovno-istoricheskii i literaturnyi pamiatnik [Gladdening the Hearts of the Faithful / ‘Chetii Minei of St. Dimitry, Metropolitan of Rostov, as an Ecclesiastical-Historical and Literary Monument’], part 1. Moscow, LEKSRUS Publ., 2006. 287 p. (In Russian)
  8. Derzhavin, Aleksandr, Raduiut vernykh serdtsa / Chetii-Minei sviatitelia Dimitriia, mitropolita Rostovskogo, kak tserkovno-istoricheskii i literaturnyi pamiat- nik [Gladden the Hearts of the Faithful / ‘Chetii Minei of St. Dimitry, Metropolitan of Rostov, as an Ecclesiastical-Historical and Literary Monument’], part 2. Moscow, LEXRUS Publ., 2008. 383 p. (In Russian)
  9. Derzhavin, Aleksandr, Chetii-Minei sviatitelia Dimitriia, mitropolita Rostovskogo, kak tserkovno-istoricheskii i literaturnyi pamiatnik. Martovskaia polovina goda [Chetii Minei of St. Dimity, Metropolitan of Rostov, as an Ecclesiastical- Historical and Literary Monument. March Half of the Year]. Moscow, LEKSRUS Publ., 2018. 453 p. (In Russian)
  10. Kochetova, O. “Russkii dukhovnyi poet XIX v. ieromonakh Viktor Minervin: biografiia i tvorcheskii put” [“Russian Spiritual Poet of the 19th Century, Hieromonk Victor Minervin: Biography and Career”]. Vestnik TGU, no. 4 (60), 2008, pp. 238–242. (In Russian)
  11. Kochetova, O. “Stikhotvornye Cheti Minei ieromonakha Viktora Minervina kak kniga dlia semeinogo chteniia” [“The Verse Chetii Minei by Hieromonk Victor Minervin as a Family Reading Book”]. Rumiantsevskie chteniia — 2008: Rol bibliotek v razvitii i ukreplenii semeinykh tsennostei i reshenii demograficheskikh problem: materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii (15–16 aprelia 2008 g.) [Rumyantsev Readings — 2008: The Role of Libraries in Developing and Strengthening Family Values and Solving Demographic Problems: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference (April 15–16, 2008)]. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2008, pp. 54–58. (In Russian)
  12. Krasheninnikova, A. “Poetika srednevekovogo zhitiia v biograficheskoi proze pervoi poloviny XVIII v.” [“Poetics of Mediaval Vita in Biographical Prose of the First Half of the 18th Century”]. Dokumentalno-khudozhestvennaia literatura v Rossii XVIII–XIX vv. [Documentary Fiction in Russia of the 18– 19 Centuries], ex. ed. V.M. Guminsky. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2022, pp. 68–82. DOI: 10.22455/978-5-9208-0680-2-68-82 (In Russian)
  13. Kruming, A. “Cheti Minei sviatogo Dimitriia Rostovskogo: Ocherk istorii izdaniia” [“Chetii Minei of St. Dimitry of Rostov: An Essay on the History of the Publication”]. Filevskie chteniia. Vyp. 9: Sviatoi Dimitrii, mitropolit Rostovskii: Issledovaniia i materialy [Filevskie Chteniia, iss. 9: St. Dimitry, Metropolitan of Rostov: Research and Materials], ed. L.A. Iankowski. Moscow, AKMЕ Publ., 1994. pp. 5–52. (In Russian)
  14. Mangilev, I., protoierei. “Sobranie zhitii sviatykh v russkom perevode iz knizhno-rukopisnogo sobraniia LAI UrFU (predvaritelnoe soobshhenie)” [“Collection of Vitaе of the Saints in Russian Translation from the Book and Manuscript Collection of the Laboratory of Archaeographic Research of the Ural Federal University (preliminary report)”]. Tserkov. Bogoslovie. Istoriia, no. 3, 2022, pp. 504–513. (In Russian)
  15. Pigin, V., and S.A. Semiachko. “Severnorusskie zhitiia sviatykh v ‘Alfavite rossiiskikh chudotvortsev…’ staroobriadcheskogo knizhnika Iony Kerzhenskogo” [“The Nortnern Russian Vitaе of Saints in the ‘Alphabet of Russian Miracle Workers…’ by the Old Believer Scribe Jonah Kerznensky”]. Russkaia literature, no. 1, 2024, pp. 146–158. DOI: 10.31860/0131-6095-2024-1-146-158 (In Russian)
  16. [S. ] “Neskolko slov po povodu ‘Zhizni sviatykh’ sviashhennika Vinogradova i ‘Izbrannykh zhitii sviatykh g-zhi Bakhmetevoi’.” [“A Few Words Regarding the ‘Lives of the Saints’ by Priest Vinogradov and the ‘Selected Lives of the Saints’ by Mrs. Bakhmeteva”]. Moskovskie eparkhialnye vedomosti, no. 8 (20 fev.), p. 66. (In Russian)
  17. Sviatogorets, chto na Zhitiia sviatykh russkikh, takzhe iverskikh i slavianskikh. 1855–1859. V 12 t. Soch. A.N. Muraveva: [Rets.]. [Vitaе of Russian, Iveron, and Slavic Saints. 1855–1859. In 12 volumes. Works by A.N. Muravyova: [Review]]. St. Petersburg, Tserkovnaia letopis Duhovnoi besedy Publ., 1866. 46 p. (In Russian)
  18. Semiachko, A. “Zhitie kak zhanr literatury XVIII v. (Agiograficheskoe tvorchestvo arkhimandrita Makariia)” [“Vita as a Genre of Literature of the 17th century (Hagiographic Works of Archimandrite Macarius)”]. O drevnei i novoi russkoi literature: Sb. st. [On Old and Modern Russian Literature: Collection of articles], ed. M.V. Rozhdestvenskaya. St. Petersburg, Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University Publ., 2005, pp. 238–250. (In Russian)
  19. Stareeva, M.O. “O neizvestnom proizvedenii ieromonaha Viktora Minervina iz sobraniia V. Barsova” [“On the Unknown Work of Hieromonk Victor Minervin from the Collection of E.V. Barsov”]. Rumiantsevskie chteniia — 2009: Istoriko- kulturnye traditsii i innovatsionnye preobrazovaniia Rossii. Prosvetitelskaia otvetstvennost bibliotek: materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii (21– 23 aprelia 2009 goda) [Rumyantsev Readings—2009: Historical and Cultural Traditions and Innovative Transformations of Russia. Libraries’ Educational Responsibility: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference (April 21–23, 2009)]: in two parts, part 1. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2009, pp. 227–228. (In Russian)
  20. Tereshkina, B. ‘Cheti Minei i russkaia slovesnost Novogo vremeni [‘Chetii Minei’ and Russian Literature of the Modern Age]. Velikii Novgorod, Novgorod State University Publ., 2015. 332 p. (In Russian)
  21. Fedotova, A. “K voprosu o Chetikh Mineiakh Dimitriia Rostovskogo: Ob itogakh i perspektive izucheniia” [“Concerning the ‘Vitaе of Saints’ by Dimitry of Rostov: Research Results and Prospects”]. Russkaia literature, no. 2, 2024, pp. 98–107. DOI: 10.31860/0131-6095-2024-2-98-107 (In Russian)
  22. Fedotova, M.A. “‘Ia naprasno iskal Vasiliia Blazhennogo v Chetikh Mineiakh…’: A.S. Pushkin i ‘Kniga zhitii sviatykh’ Dimitriia Rostovskogo” [“‘I Searched in Vain for Basil the Blessed in the ‘Chetii Minei...’: A.S. Pushkin and the ‘Book of Vitaе of the Saints’ by Dimitry of Rostov”]. Commentarii litterarum. Ad honorem viri doctissimi Valentini Golovin, ed. M.L. Lurye. St. Petersburg, Pushkin House Publ., 2020, pp. 9–21. (In Russian)
  23. Shliapkin, A. Sv. Dimitrii Rostovskii i ego vremia (1651–1709) [St. Dimitry of Rostov and His Time (1651–1709)]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiia i Khromolitografiia A. Transhel Publ., 1891. X, 460, 101 p. (In Russian)
  24. Shliapkin, I.A. Tsarevna Natalia Alekseevna i teatr ee vremeni [Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna and the Theater of Her Time]. Petersburg, Tipografiia “V. Balasheva i Ko” Publ., 1898. LVIII, 85 p. (In Russian)
  25. Iudin, A., and V.V. Podoprigora, and I.A. Shilova, and A.N. Kovalenko. “Tserkovnye knizhnye sobraniia Sibiri v dele sokhraneniia natsionalnogo kulturnogo naslediia” [“The Role of Church Book Collections in Siberia in Preserving National Cultural Heritage”]. Quaestio Rossica, vol. 13, no. 1, 2025, pp. 285–299. DOI: 10.15826/qr.2025.1.966 (In Russian)
  26. Iuhimenko, M. Vygovskie Chetii Minei: poslednii agiograficheskii svod drevnerusskoi traditsii [Vygovsky Chetii Minei: the Last Hagiographic Collection of the Old Russian Tradition], ed. N. V. Ponyrko. St. Petersburg, Pushkin House Publ., 2025. 576 p. (In Russian)