Sermons in memory of St. Gurias of Kazan: on the problem of Dimitry’s of Rostov unknown texts

Abstract

Sermons are one of the largest parts in the literary heritage of the holy bishop Dimitry, metropolitan of Rostov and Yaroslavl (1651–1709), which is the reason why problems of attribution with regard to many of his sermons are still topical. The sermons are found in manuscrip collections of his works. Some of them were compiled and originated from the scriptorium of Rostov (among these there are the author’s manuscripts from the metropolitan’s library), the others are read in collections of sermons that were not created in the metropolitan’s lifetime, but were written with the use of his draft manuscript materials. Among such collections there is a manuscript that is studied in this article. It originates from the collection of Rostov Museum-Reserve, № 828 and contains two unknown and previously unpublished sermons surviving in a single copy only in this manuscript. They were written for the feast day of St. Gurias, metropolitan of Kazan: the fi rst one for 20 January (the day of the translation of the relics of the saint to Kazan Cathedral of Annunciation); the other one for 5 December (the day of death of the saint). The article off ers the analysis of these sermons, as well as of other writings of bishop Dimitry of Rostov made for the feast day of Gurias of Kazan. Among these texts there are two services written, like the sermons, for the day of death of St. Gurias and for the day of the translation of his relics; a prologue Life and another sermon that became very popular in the manuscript tradition and was published in Dimitry’s fi rst collection of works (1786). All these texts could form a unifi ed complex that was not completed, as opposed to, for example, the texts dedicated to the nine martyrs of Cyzicus.

Keywords

• St Dimitry metropolitan of Rostov
• author’s manuscripts
• unknown works
• problems of attribution
• sermons
• hymnography