Preamble to the Sixth novel of St. Justinian’s the Great in russian written tradition

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of perception in the Russian written tradition of the preamble to the sixth novel of St. Justinian the Great. It contains a well-known theory of “symphony”. As follows from the text of the introduction to the novel, the signifi cance of the emperor for the emergence of “good harmony” is great: he must govern the Orthodox state in a fair way, take care of the clergy, monitor the observance of dogmata and canons. The role of the priesthood is reduced to prayer and performance of the sacraments. The preamble to the sixth novel was included in the collection on church issues, later translated into the Slavonic language. There are two versions of the novel in the Slavonic languages, the later of which considerably distorts the meaning of the text of the preamble. According to the later version, both the priesthood and the reign govern the state. Both editions are found in a number of manuscripts and had been circulating in Russia for several centuries. Up to a certain time, the diff erence in translation was not signifi cant for the perception of the preamble. Only in the 17th century, when the later edition of the translation became part of the Russian printed Books of the Helmsman, it infl uenced the formation of the concept of Patriarch Nikon. This concept assumed the existence of the “wise two” in the person of the king and the patriarch, to whom pertained all the duties before God in administrating the Orthodox people, whereas according to St. Justinian, these belonged to the Byzantine emperor.

Keywords

• church-state relations
• symphony
• empire
• church
• preamble to the sixth novel
• emperor Justinian the Great
• patriarch Nikon