The Third Book of Ezra in the Religious Thought of Muscovy

The 3rd book of Ezra (4th in the Vulgate) was translated from Latin into Church Slavonic along with a number of other Old Testament books at the end of the 15th century. The translation was done at the court of the Novgorod Archbishop Gennadij. By combining the new texts with the already existing translations, the archbishop compiled the first complete collection of Old and New Testament books in Slavia Orthodoxa. The Council of Trent excluded the 3rd(4th) book of Ezra from the biblical canon, but in Old Russia its reliability was not in doubt. This book attracted the attention of Russian writers of the 15th-18th centuries much more than other Bible books translated from Latin. Their interest grew considerably during the years of spiritual crisis, because the content of the 3rd(4th) book of Ezra, which is an example of apocalyptic literature, corresponded to the religious quest of the people. The images of Ezra were projected onto the history of Russia and onto contemporary church problems. Outstanding writers took part in the discussion of the chapters concerning the creation of the world and its possible future, Fëdor Karpov, prince Semën Šachovskoj, Simeon Polockij among them.