The image of the Earthly Paradise by Efrosin Belozerskii

Keywords: Efrosin Belozerskii, Russian manuscripts of 15th century, monastic bookishness, Kirillo-Belozerskii monastery, Earthly Paradise, records of stories, Vasilii Kalika

Abstract

The spiritual quest of Efrosin Belozerskii was inspired by the dream about searching for the earthly Paradise and its achievement. He not only did copy the writings of travelers, but also wrote down other people’s oral stories. Efrosin was interested in information about the areas where the earthly Paradise could have been located (according to the Bible, in the East). Efrosin’s autographs contain stories about the miracle of the resurrection of a young man who saw the earthly Paradise; and among the other texts an Epistle from Archbishop Vasilii Kalika of Novgorod to Bishop Fedor of Tver’ about Paradise. Vasilii proved his opinion that the earthly Paradise had not perished and gave examples of the righteous visiting or being near as well as the testimony of eyewitnesses, Novgorodian sea travelers who reached the borders of the earthly Paradise. Vasilii Kalika’s epistle is missing from all fifteenth century Novgorodian chronicles apart from Efrosin’s collection and the Sofia First chronicle, whose older copies come from the Kirillo-Belozerskii monastery. Additions to the original text resemble similar additions made by Efrosin in other texts; the indication of the place where certain ‘rachmans’ lived in the epistle reminds of the rachmans’ utopian country, where, according to Efrosin, there was no state, church, crimes, trade, industry, or conflicts among people. The manuscripts of Efrosin represent his dream of justice on the Earth, about the life without oppression and violence

Author Biography

A. G. Bobrov, The Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2023-5-1-64-77

Aleksandr G. Bobrov
The Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House) of
the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
abobrov1960@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5840-8995

Abstract
The spiritual quest of Efrosin Belozerskii was inspired by the dream about searching for the earthly Paradise and its achievement. He not only did copy the writings of travelers, but also wrote down other people’s oral stories. Efrosin was interested in information about the areas where the earthly Paradise could have been located (according to the Bible, in the East). Efrosin’s autographs contain stories about the miracle of the resurrection of a young man who saw the earthly Paradise; and among the other texts an Epistle from Archbishop Vasilii Kalika of Novgorod to Bishop Fedor of Tver’ about Paradise. Vasilii proved his opinion that the earthly Paradise had not perished and gave examples of the righteous visiting or being near as well as the testimony of eyewitnesses, Novgorodian sea travelers who reached the borders of the earthly Paradise. Vasilii Kalika’s epistle is missing from all fifteenth century Novgorodian chronicles apart from Efrosin’s collection and the Sofia First chronicle, whose older copies come from the Kirillo-Belozerskii monastery. Additions to the original text resemble similar additions made by Efrosin in other texts; the indication of the place where certain ‘rachmans’ lived in the epistle reminds of the rachmans’ utopian country, where, according to Efrosin, there was no state, church, crimes, trade, industry, or conflicts among people. The manuscripts of Efrosin represent his dream of justice on the Earth, about the life without oppression and violence.

Keywords: Efrosin Belozerskii, Russian manuscripts of 15th century, monastic bookishness, Kirillo-Belozerskii monastery, Earthly Paradise, records of stories, Vasilii Kalika

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About author

Aleksandr G. Bobrov
Dr. Sci. (Philology),
Leading Researcher at the Department of Old Russian Literature,
The Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House) of
the Russian Academy of Sciences
4, Makarov Embankment, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
E-mail: abobrov1960@yandex.ru

For citation:
Bobrov A. G. The image of the Earthly Paradise by Euphrosyn Belozersky. Journal of Visual Theology. 2023. Vol. 5. 1. Pp. 64–77. https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2023-5-1-64-77

Published
2023-06-28
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Vol 5 No 1 (2023): Journal of Visual Theology
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Articles
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