Byzantine Translated and Slavic-Russian Original Akathists at the Initial Stage of Their Existence in Rus' (Beginning of the 15th — First Quarter of the 16th Century): Source Study Aspect

Abstract

Since the publication of the monograph by A. V. Popov «Orthodox Russian Akathists» (1903) up to the present time, researchers have not specifically considered the issue of the origin of the tradition of using akathists in Rus’. A significant obstacle to this is the meager number of known sources that can be attributed to the initial stage of the akathist tradition: the beginning of the 15th - first quarter of the 16th century. The authors’ own archaeographic search significantly expands the source base: sixteen manuscripts chronologically belonging to the early stage are examined, eight of which are used for the first time. This made it possible to identify eleven hymns that form the basis of the akathist tradition in ancient Russian literature. The authorship of some hymns, as evidenced by the titles of the lists, belongs to Greek and Slavic authors: Patriarch Isidore Vukhir, St. Philotheus Coccinus, Hieromonk Martyrius of the Caves, and Metropolitan of All Rus’ Theodosius (Byvaltsev). The main problems requiring solution in further study of the tradition are identified. Firstly, the problem of identifying stages in the process of formation of the composition of hymns, arising in connection with the different frequency of their appearance in the manuscripts. Secondly, the problem of pseudepigraphs in relation to texts inscribed with the name of Patriarch Isidore Vukhir, since only one hymn of tradition is reliably attributed to him (the Greek prototype is known), while in several cases his name is found in hymns that are obviously not his.