Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature

1607-6192 2713-2226

IWL RAS

https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-295-326

Research Article

Articles

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

Fedotova

Marina A.

old-rus@imli.ru

2026

25 295 326

2026

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.

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