“THE CHILD OF OBEDIENCE NEVER DIES”: THE IMAGE OF ST. ACACIUS OF SINAI IN LITERATURE AND ART

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Category: Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Issue 24
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The article was completed with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 22-18-00005-П, “Iconography and Hagiography of the ʽLadder’ of St. John Climacus”).
Abstract:

The article analyzes the image of the monk Acacius, created by St. John Climacus in the Homily “On Obedience.” This is the only source that has preserved information about the life of St. Acacius. The image of the young monk became a symbol of obedience and was further developed in Byzantine and Slavic culture. The name Acacius is firmly associated with the epithet “Sinai,” which is historically incorrect, because the story takes place not in Sinai, but in Asia Minor (Anatolia). St. Acacius suffered martyrdom, being killed by his evil mentor. Clarifications and additions have been made to the article about the St. Acacius in the Orthodox Encyclopedia (vol. 1). The date January 8 has been added to the saint’s feast days. A possible source of the incorrect wording “died after a short illness” has been identified; this inaccuracy may go back to the Menaions of St. Demetrius of Rostov, who added details to the text of the Life of Acacius that were missing in the Ladder. To the list of images of the St. Acacius from 4 names added 13 names of monuments of Byzantine, post-Byzantine and Russian art that preserved the image of the St. Acacius, including the Life Icon of St. John Climacus, painted in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery around 1572. The tradition of depicting Acacius in the image of an old man is especially noted as not at all corresponding to the literary source, but taking place in Novgorod monumental painting of the 12th–15th centuries and in Russian Art of the late 19th — early 20th centuries.
Keywords: Old Russian translated literature, Ladder of John Climacus, Acacius of Sinai, hagiography, iconography.
Author: Tatiana G. Popova
Information about the author:

Tatiana G. Popova, DSc in Philology, Professor, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nevskogo St., 14, 236041 Kaliningrad, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8431-2962

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

Popova, T.G. “‛The Child of Obedience Never Dies’: the Image of St. Acacius of Sinai in Literature and Art.” Germenevtika drevne- russkoi 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. 683–704. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2025-24-683-704 (In Russian)
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/BCYEZZ
UDC: 821.161.1.0
Publication Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2024-23-683-704
Received: 13.12.2024
Approved after reviewing: 02.02.2025
Date of publication: 13.07.2025

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