Slovene (Aug 2015)
On the Cult of Prince Andrey Bolshoy in Uglich and the Creation of his Life
Abstract
The article studies the local practice of the cult of Prince Andrey Bolshoy in Uglich, where he ruled during the last third of the 15th century. This work is based on data from the chronicles, especially the Uglich Chronicle of the 18th century; this is the primary source used in this study, and the most detailed information appears in the latest full versions, which date to the second half of the 18th century. These chronicles have “moved” the key biographical events of the last years of Prince Andrey’s life (his arrest and funeral) from Moscow to Uglich, which differs from other historical sources. According to the hagiography of Uglich saints, Prince Andrey was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Uglich Kremlin, not in the Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow. The cult of Prince Andrey was mentioned for the first time in hagiographic writings, not only for saints who were contemporaries of Prince Andrey (SS. Paisius and Cassian), but also for saints who lived later (Prince Roman of Uglich and Tsarevich Dmitry of Uglich). It was only later, in the 18th century, that the unique copy of the Life of Prince Andrey appeared. This source is now held in the State Historical Museum in Moscow. The article shows how the text of the Life is connected with other hagiographic texts relating to Uglich.
