«AZBUKOVNIK» BY PROKHOR KOLOMNYATIN "WHICH SHOULD BE READ DAILY BY GOOD TEACHERS IN ADVICE TO THEIR DISCIPLES" (1680s)

Prokhor Kolomniatin Tikhomirov was a monk and an outstanding literatus with a wide range of interests, as can be seen from the five surviving manuscript miscellanies. The article examines one of these miscellanies, known as the "School ABCs" (1682–1683). This is a unique opus of 17th-century pedagogical thought, written in verse. After providing a general description, the author of the article focuses on one of the seven ABCs in this manuscript, the "Complete ABC". It is the most extensive (contains 32 chapters) and informative among others, written in prose with poetic prefaces. The sum of all knowledge is united under the general concept of "wisdom," and it is from the perspective of this transcendent entity, which is one of the Christ’s incarnations, that conversations with both students and teachers are conducted. Everything that Wisdom conveys is traditional for Orthodox literature and aimed at saving the human soul. Prokhor's innovation lies both in the poetic verse form in which this knowledge is presented, and in his attempt to apply it in school education.