LIVES OF SAINTS AS A SOURCE OF DIDACTIC DISCOURCES IN THE PRIVATE CHRONICLE BY DEMETRIUS OF ROSTOV

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Category: Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Issue 24
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Acknowledgements: The article was completed with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 22-18-00174, https://rscf.ru/project/ 22-18-00174/), Pushkin House of RAS

The article examines the lives of saints as a source of didactic discources in the Private Chronicle (Keleynyi Letopisets) by Demetrius of Rostov. Private Chronicle, the last major work by saint Demetrius, the Metropolitan of Rostov, is a commented account of biblical history. Like all literary heritage of Demetrius of Rostov, Private Chronicle has spiritual and moral orientation. Every episode of the Holy Scripture retold in the Private Chronicle becomes the reason for lengthy didactic discourses. A large part of these discourses consists of references to lives of the saints. Examples from the lives of saints fit to the scheme which these didactic discourses are based on: at first the author gives examples from the Old Testament, then from the New Testament, then from lives of saints and at last from writings by the Church Fathers. Fragments from lives of saints included to the Private Chronicle literally coincide with The Book of Lives of Sanits (“Chet’i Minei”) by Demetrius himself, published in 1689– 1709. Boundaries of these quotation aren’t marked. At times the author simply mentions a saint’s name or briefly retells some episodes from a vita. In all cases he provides precise references to “The Book of Lives of Saints”, indicating a sheet number. On several occasions lives of saints serve as sources of quotations from works by sainted church writers (John Chrysostom, Isidore of Pelusium). In such cases not only “The Book of Lives of Saints,” but also the Moscow old- printed Prologue of 1685 is used.
Keywords: Demetrius of Rostov, Private Chronicle, lives of saints, biblical history, source studies, hagiography.
Author: Aleksandr V. Volkov
Information about the author:

Aleksandr V. Volkov, PhD in Philology, Research Fellow, Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Makarov Emb., 4, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6193-7804

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

Volkov, A.V. “Lives of Saints as a Source of Didactic Discources in the ‘Private Chronicle’ by Demetrius of Rostov.” Germenevtika drevnerusskoi literatury [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature]. Issue 24. Ed.- in-chief O.A. Tufanova, sci. ed. M.V. Kaplun. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2025, pp. 275–300. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2025-24-275-300 (In Russian)
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/JTZVLR
UDC: 821.161.1.0
Publication Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2025-24-275-300
Received: 13.05.2024
Approved after reviewing: 02.07.2024
Date of publication: 13.07.2025

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