The problems of the religious life of Kievan Rus: testimony of the monuments of canon law

Abstract

In the article the author highlights the religious life challenges of the Russian Middle Ages on the basis of the analysis of Canon law monuments of Ancient Rus. It is shown that in the period of Christianization (the transitive period of religious development) of Ancient Rus there is unity of the problems facing the Church hierarchy. The Church sought to transform the moral level of the people by new high Evangelical principles. Paganism, which for centuries after the official Christianization of Rus remained a significant component of popular religiosity, can be considered the main problem. Th e canonical documents reflect such issues as simony, dual faith, low level of morality, including among the clergy, the problem of transition to the Catholic confession, and others. By the testimony of the monuments of Canon law we can conclude that the problems relating to the practical (ritual), or the moral aspect of religious life cause concern of the Church. At the same time, the low level of theoretical understanding of the Christian faith was not reflected in the monuments of canonical law as a problem of church life. We also explore the means by which the Church solved emerging problems. Refs 20.