Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature 1607-6192 2713-2226 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2024-23-73-103 Research Article Articles THE CREED OF ST. ATHANASIUS IN THE PRIMER OF SIMEON OF POLOTSK (1679) AND IN THE RUSSIAN LITERATURE OF THE 16TH–17TH CENTURIES Preobrazhenskaya Anastasia A. old-rus@imli.ru 2024 23 73 103 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article examines the literary history of the Old Church Slavonic translation of the Creed of St. Athanasius of Alexandria (Quicumque vult) in the Russian literature of the 16th–17th centuries. Special focus is placed on the study of the usage of the Creed in the primer compiled by Simeon of Polotsk in 1679. Examination of manuscript and printed sources made it possible to identify two editions of the Creed (the annotayted one and one without commentaries) and their textual variants. Each edition and variant are given a brief description. In the special section of the article, the literary texts which are closely associated with the Creed of St. Athanasius and which are regularly read together with the Creed in various texts are addressed. Also, a short text titled About the Saint Trinity and Faith is examined and its textual and functional relations to the Creed of St. Athanasius are studied. The conclusion about polemic, catechistic, and teaching usage of the Creed of St. Athanasius by Russian scribes and writers of the 16th–17th cc. is made. In the supplement to the article, the preliminary catalogue of manuscripts and old-printed books of the 16th–19th cc., which contain the Creed of St. Athanasius, is presented. Acknowledgements: The author is grateful to the colleagues, Irina Ivanova Makeeva and Alexander Vladimirovich Lavrentiev, for their assistance in working on the article and the valuable comments.