Priesthood, Tsardom, and the History of Andrey Kurbsky in the Manuscript Collections of the Patriarchal Circle

This article examines the literary context of the Compiled Edition of the History of the Grand Prince of Moscow by Andrey Kurbsky, preserved in several collections associated with the names of scribes of the patriarchal circle of the late seventeenth century. The intentions of Evfimy Chudovsky, the creator of the edition, and the reading interest of other scribes are presented in the context of the relationship between priesthood and tsardom. The Compiled Edition was combined in collections with texts devoted to relevant ecclesiastical and canonical issues or representing historical examples demonstrating the negative consequences of rulers’ disregard for divine laws and church decrees. The article provides arguments in favour of the fact that the creation of the Compiled Edition was a reaction to the divorce proceedings of Tsar Peter I and is directlyassociated with Patriarch Adrian. However, the reading and rewriting of this and other texts of the patriarchal circle that were perceived as a unity (on beard shaving, infidels, the Church’s immunity from secular authorities, etc.) was not so much a symbolic political gesture but a reflection of the more complex ideas of this reading community. The article provides a detailed description of the composition of the Voumlenie manuscript collection from the early eighteenth century, which belonged to Metropolitan Tikhon (Voinov); also, the author identifies the copies that served as prototypes of individual texts that make up this collection. A study of the biography of Metropolitan Tikhon demonstrated that in the 1690s, he was the closest person to Patriarch Adrian and a reader of many works, primarily associated with Evfimy Chudovsky. The composition of Metropolitan Tikhon’s collection reflected the diversity of doctrinal and didactic plans and religious and historical ideas of his associates, which were rapidly losing their relevance in the period between patriarchates.