Unrecognized Saint Procopius Ustyansky and new information about the creative biography of Semyon Shakhovsky

Abstract

The article compares two works of the 17th century: the poetic prayer of Prince S. I. Shakhovsky, dedicated to St. Demetrius of Vologda, and the prayer to the locally venerated Vologda ascetic Procopius Ustyansky, which was not recognized by the official church. These texts are almost identical. The author proves that the first was a poem by Shakhovsky, and it became the basis for creating a prayer to Procopius Ustyansky. This conclusion allows us to obtain new information about the creative biography of Shakhovsky, which are associated with problems with the authorities in the 1620s.

Keywords

• semyon shakhovskoy
• procopius ustyansky
• russian poetry of the 17th century
• vologda region
• verses
• patriarch filaret