Article by HSE Philologist Published in Slověne Journal

The article ‘St. Anthony of Kiev and the Earliest History of Russian Monasticism (Novitiates in Old Rus’)’ by Boris Uspensky, Head of the Laboratory of Linguo-Semiotic Studies, was published in the international journal of Slavic studies Slověne (№1 Vol.5, 2016).

Abstract:

According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, when St. Anthony settled in his cave near Kiev, people joined him and he tonsured them as monks. We know, however, that in certain cases he did not tonsure the newcomers but sent them to be tonsured by a priest (hieromonk). Obviously St. Anthony was not a priest. Why, then, in some cases did he do it himself and yet in other cases, he did not? If he was not a priest, how could he tonsure people? The author of the present article attempts to answer these and similar questions with reference to historical, philological, and liturgical data. The article is devoted to the evolution of the monastic tradition in Rus of the 11th century.