A Newly Discovered Epistle of Patriarch Hermogenes to Priests and Laity

Abstract

The article is devoted to the newly found epistle of Patriarch Hermogenes addressed to the priests and laity of parish churches. Until now, information about this epistle has been limited to brief quotations in the writings of “zealots of piety” about unison chanting. The full text of the epistle has been preserved in three manuscripts. The authenticity of the epistle is confirmed by the realities reflected in it of the situation of the parish clergy in Russia in the 16th–17th centuries: the patriarch writes in detail about violations of the liturgy; concerns the question of hired priests; denounces the practice of custom liturgies. He pays special attention to the relationship between the church clergy and parishioners. Patriarch Hermogenes reproaches parish priests for their resemblance of the laity in everyday life and disregard for the rules prescribed to the priests and denounces the desire of the parishioners to influence church affairs. The Patriarch directly demands that parishioners, irrespective of their high their rank, should not interfere in the course of the church service and declares the unaccepatability of shortening the service for the sake of the everyday needs of the laity. The article argues that the epistle dates to the time of the overthrow of Vasilii Shuiskii from the throne and the beginning of the events of the first militia and proposes a hypothesis about the existence of its original in the circles close to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the Moscow Printing House. The epistle of Patriarch Hermogenes available in all known copies and commentaries on its sources are included in the Appendix.