St. Feofan’s Letters to N. I. Kugusheva and Her Daughters in 1881‒1883

Abstract

The article analyzes the letters of St. Feofan 1881‒1883, addressed to N. I. Kugusheva and her daughters Alexandra and Anastasia, and undated letters adjacent to them. The research considers numerous examples of absolute and relative dating established as a result of cross-analysis of letters to different addressees. If more precise information is not available, we establish extreme chronological limits, no earlier and no later than the dating of the letter. The indications are historical events, circumstances of the biography of correspondents, mentions of famous persons as living or dead, and correlation with other letters. Events that are important for the family become milestones and do not allow dating letters earlier or later than the date they indicate, namely the death of daughter Maria, the wedding of daughter Alexandra, the appearance of a newborn granddaughter in the house, etc. These crucial landmarks, identified during the research, help form a reliable chronological outline in which, according to logic, undated letters are located.

Keywords

• st. theophan the recluse of vysha
• the kugushev family
• letters
• chronology
• dating
• attribution
• real commentary