The Tale of the White Hood. "The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk" Rozov's Tale of the White Klobuk

The emergence of the story, the last events of which date back to the time of Vasily's archbishopric in Novgorod (1330-1352), apparently dates back to the end of the 15th century. In the second quarter i 16th century it was reworked and then reworked many more times, reaching us in more than 250 lists of the 16th-19th centuries. The author of the first revision, perhaps, was a translator, (interpreter) Dmitry Gerasimov, an active employee of the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady in collecting and translating bible books, who traveled on embassy business and on the case of compiling Paschalia to Rome.

The story is preceded by a preface in the form of a letter from Dmitry to Archbishop Gennady, informing that Dmitry safely reached Rome, where he was instructed to find the scripture about the white klobuk. This scripture, according to him, not worthy, however, of trust, he obtained with great difficulty, since in Rome it was carefully concealed "for the sake of shame." The book keeper of the Roman church, Jacob, feeling affection for Dmitry and condescending to his pleas, informed him that the Greek original of the story of the white hood, brought by the pious Greeks to Rome after the fall of Constantinople, was destroyed by the rulers of Rome, and is kept: only the Roman translation of it is secretly . Dmitry, as he says, begged for this translation from a Roman book keeper and, in a Russian transcription, reports it to Gennady.

The story itself begins with the legendary story that the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (4th century), who persecuted Christians and the Roman bishop Sylvester, himself becomes a Christian after Sylvester, having baptized Constantine, miraculously heals him of leprosy. In gratitude for this, Constantine wants to place a royal crown on Sylvester's head, but the pope humbly refuses it, and after that, at the direction of those who appeared? Constantine in the vision of Peter and Paul, the king solemnly in the temple. puts a white hood on Sylvester's head. Having asked the king for a golden dish on which the royal crown is placed, Sylvester put on the dish a white hood, which he kept in the church “in a deliberate place”, and put it on only on major holidays. He bequeathed the same to his successors after his death. In the thirteenth year of his reign, Constantine decided that where the “priestly power” was established, it was indecent to be the power of an earthly king, and, having transferred Rome to Pope Sylvester, he moved to Byzantium, where he founded “Constantingrad”.

After the death of Pope Sylvester, all Orthodox popes and bishops gave great honor to the klobuk, as Sylvester commanded. And so a lot of time passed. But the adversary of the human race, "the adversary of the devil," erected a certain king, by the name of Karul, and Pope Formosus, and taught them "to deceive the Christian race with their false words and teachings," and they retreated from Orthodox faith and broke off the “union of the piety of the holy apostolic churches” (we are talking about the division of churches, to which, however, Pope Formosus had nothing to do). Both of them did not like the white klobuk and did not honor him. The hood was hidden in the church aisle, then the new pope wanted to burn it, but God did not allow this, and it was decided to send the hood to distant overseas countries in order to abuse it and exterminate it. But the klobuk was miraculously saved by one pious man and again returned to Rome, where, however, he was still not honored. According to the "command of God", transmitted to the pope through an angel who appeared to him in a dream, the klobuk was sent to Patriarch Philotheus in Constantinople.

At that time, a bright young man appeared in a night vision to Philotheus, who, having told the patriarch the history of the hood, ordered, upon arrival in Constantinople, to send it to the Russian land, to Novgorod, to be worn by the local Archbishop Vasily: “tamo bo (i.e., in Novgorod) now truly glorious is the faith of Christ. The patriarch met the hood with great honor and laid it on a solemn place in the church of St. Sophia until the time when, on the advice of the king, it is decided how to deal with him further.

The Pope of Rome, letting go of the hood, repented of this and demanded his return, but the patriarch, with a curse and reproaches to the pope, refused him this. After reading Filofey's reply message and learning that the patriarch accepted the ball with honor and wanted to send it to Novgorod, the pope became furious and fell into an illness: he did not like the Russian land so much because it kept the faith of Christ. Serious and disgusting illnesses befell him, and a great stench began to come from him. He got to the point where he howled like a dog and a wolf and ate his own filth. And so he ended his life.

Meanwhile, the patriarch made attempts to keep the klobuk in Constantinople, thinking of wearing it on his head. But in a vision, two bright unknown men appeared to him, who turned out to be Pope Sylvester and Tsar Constantine, and forbade him to think about holding a klobuk, for< через некоторое время Константинополем овладеют - за умножение грехов человеческих - агаряне (мусуль­мане) и осквернят все святыни, как предсказано было при самом основании города (имеется, очевидно, в виду вступление к повести Нестора-Искандера о взятии Царьграда). «Ветхий бо Рим,- го­ворит Сильвестр,- отпаде славы и от веры христовы гордостию и своею волею; в новом же Риме, еже есть в Коньстянтинеграде, насилием агарянским такоже християнская вера погибнет; на тре-тием же Риме, еже есть на Русской земли, благодать святаго духа воссия». «И да веси, Филофие,- продолжает Сильвестр,- яко вся християньская приидут в конец и снидутся во едино царство Рус-кое, православия ради. В древняя бо лета, изволением земнаго ца­ря Констянтина, от царствующаго сего града царьский венец дан бысть рускому царю; белый же сей клобук изволением небеснаго царя Христа ныне дан будет архиепископу Великаго Новаграда, и колми сий (т. е. клобук) честнее онаго (т. е. царского венца), по­неже архангельскаго чина есть царский венец и духовнаго суть». Сильвестр велит Филофею незамедлительно отправить клобук в Новгород. Как отнята была благодать от Рима, так отнимется она и от Константинополя, «и вся святая предана будет от бога вели-цей Рустей земли во времена своя, и царя рускаго возвеличит гос­подь над многими языки, и подо властию их мнози царей будут от иноязычных, под властию их и патриаршеский чин от царствую-щаго сего града такожде дан будет Рустей земли во времена своя, и страна наречется светлая Росия...»

Waking up in horror, Philotheus wept a lot, remembering what he had heard about the white klobuk and the future fate of Constantinople, and the next morning, after the liturgy, he honorably sent the klobuk to Archbishop Basil with many gifts and with "baptized" robes. Basil at that time, having dozed off, saw in a dream an angel with a white hood on his head. The angel explained to him the origin of the hood, which from now on he and the subsequent Novgorod archbishops would wear, and ordered in the morning to go towards the hood. Basil solemnly, with the whole church council and a multitude of people, met the Greek bishop, who brought the klobuk to Novgorod. And since then, a white hood has been established on the heads of the Novgorod archbishops. Then people from many cities and kingdoms began to come to Novgorod, marveled, as if at a miracle, seeing the local archbishop walking in a white klobuk, and they told about it in all kingdoms and countries.

The story about the white hood, which substantiates the idea of ​​the continuity of spiritual power by the fact of the continuity of the material symbols of this power, proceeded from the same tendentious premises as the stories about Babylon and The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir, written on the theme of the continuity of secular power.

Our story took a clear compromise position. At the time when Novgorod was conquered by Moscow, it was already too late for him to claim the Byzantine political inheritance: he cedes this inheritance to the “Russian Tsar”, that is, the prince of Moscow, but, as we see, Novgorod reserves the right to church succession. And what is very indicative for understanding this hidden compromise is, as it were, a slip of the tongue about how white the klobuk, “the royal crown of the Archangel rank”, is “more honest” than the royal crown in its literal sense. With this reservation, the story not only consolidated the indisputable authority of the Novgorod church, but also affirmed the superiority of the "priesthood" over the "kingdom" - a trend put forward in all its sharpness more than a hundred and fifty years later by Patriarch Nikon in his fight that ended in defeat with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. And it is not without reason that the Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667, which deposed Nikon, defined the story of the white klobuk as writing “falsely and wrongly”, and about its author, Dmitry the Tolmach, he responded as a man, “a hedgehog from the wind of his head.” The negative opinion of the cathedral about the story was also due to the fact that it gained great popularity among the Old Believers, as it undermined the authority of the Greek church, supported by the Nikonians.

Our story, besides Novgorod legend about a white klobuk, also used translated life of Constantine and his forged charter (the so-called "Gift of Constantine" - "Donatio Constantini"), fabricated, apparently, in the VIII century. in the interests of the papacy in its struggle with secular power for its privileges. The exposure of the false document was started by Italian humanists in the 15th century, but Catholic theologians finally stopped defending its authenticity only in XIX century. The Russian story, for all that, is distinguished by its sharp anti-Catholic and anti-papal orientation, which was a natural reaction to the Union of Florence.

At the beginning of the XVI century. in Novgorod, under Archbishop Serapion, a legend arose about the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, similar in its ideological meaning to the story of the white hood. The story is dated to 1383, 70 years before the fall of Constantinople. At this time, within the boundaries of Novgorod, on Lake Ladoga, the legend says, an icon of the Mother of God appeared, "by God's good pleasure" left Tsargrad, so that the Agarians would not take it. The fishermen, who were fishing in the lake, saw how the icon was moving through the air above the abyss of water, and then it flew away and appeared several times not far from Tikhvin. At the places where the icon appeared, the inhabitants built chapels and churches in honor of the Virgin. Finally, the icon stopped at Tikhvin, where it was solemnly greeted by the clergy and people, and where after that a church was built in the name of the Assumption. Soon after, the Mother of God herself, in a miraculous vision, appeared to a certain God-fearing husband, ordering at the same time to put on the church in her honor not an iron cross, as was supposed to be done, but a wooden one. Under Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, a stone church was built in honor of the Mother of God, consecrated by Archbishop Serapion in 1515, and at the same time the Tikhvin Monastery was founded.

Later, the Tikhvin icon was identified with the icon of the “Roman Mother of God”, which, according to legend, was painted by order of Patriarch Herman and released to Rome during the iconoclasm. After 150 years, she returned to Byzantium, and then moved to Novgorod. Thus, the Tikhvin icon, like the white klobuk, is associated not only with Byzantium, but also with Rome."

By the end of the 15th or the beginning of the 16th century. also applies to the hagiographic design of the Novgorod legend about the arrival in the XII century. to Novgorod from Rome of St. Anthony there. The life of Anthony says that he was born in Rome from a "Christian parent" and was raised in the Christian faith, which his parents held secretly, because Rome fell away from the Christian faith and fell into the "blasphemous" Latin heresy. Upon the death of his parents, Anthony distributed part of their wealth to the poor, and put the rest, together with precious church vessels, into a barrel, which he threw into the sea, and went into the distant desert, hiding from heretics in caves and earthly clefts. In the desert, he found monks "living and working for God's sake", and stayed there for twenty years in unceasing prayer and fasting. Then, at the instigation of the devil, the princes and popes began to pursue the monks who lived in the desert, who, fleeing from persecution, fled. Anthony went to the seashore and there he continued his asceticism, staying all the time on one stone. Once, when he stood on a stone, rose great excitement, and the stone, like a ship, sailed across the sea and fell into the Neva River, then into Lake Ladoga, from the lake sailed up the Volkhov and stopped at the village of Volkhovsk. Having learned the Russian language, Anthony continued to live on a stone, still day and night in prayer. Then, at the insistence of the bishop, he built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin on the spot where the stone landed.

A year after Antony's arrival in Novgorod, the fishermen who were fishing near Antony's stone, along with the fish, caught the same barrel that Antony once threw into the sea, and wanted to appropriate it, but by a court verdict, the barrel was given to Anthony. A richly decorated stone church and monastery were built on the gold and silver that were in the barrel, and Anthony, who had been in this rank for sixty years, became abbot until his death."

Study of the literary tradition in Novgorod in the 15th and early 16th centuries. testifies to the fact that for a long time, back in the 11th century, the literary culture that was found there in the future not only did not weaken, but by the time of the political fall of Novgorod, it grew more and more. This culture, which developed in parallel with the general culture of the city, was also expressed in the significant development of the bygone epic, which reflected the turbulent political reality of Novgorod, its way of life, trading practices, etc.

Book Novgorod literature especially warmly responded to those events that in one way or another were connected with the political fate of the once free city, which was gradually losing its independence. “There are few epochs in our history that would be surrounded by such a swarm of poetic tales as the fall of Novgorod liberty,” wrote Klyuchevsky. his voice fell silent, at St. Sophia and other local shrines, evoking ancient traditions from them” 2 .

Tver, which competed with Moscow in the XIV and XV centuries. for political primacy, created a number of literary monuments, partially reflecting the political self-consciousness of the tops of Tver society. First of all, it should be noted a rather intensive development in Tver since the end of the 13th century. chronicle case, which led to the formation already at the beginning of the 15th century. of the all-Tver chronicle code 3 . In 1406, as mentioned above, the so-called "Arsenievskaya" edition of the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon appeared within Tver. In the XV century. reworked in a new rhetorically-florid manner, written at the beginning of the XIV century. the story of the murder in the Horde of the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Yaroslavich 4 . In the same 15th century, under Prince Boris Alexandrovich, the life of the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver (died in 1399) 1 took shape. The second work is especially interesting. Establishing the genealogy of Mikhail Alexandrovich and leading his genealogy from the Kiev prince St. Vladimir, as it will be done later with respect to other princes of the Power Book, the author of the life seeks to honor Mikhail Alexandrovich, “yes, everyone will know from which such a bosad branch grow up." Both works were written by Tver patriots and aim to glorify the princes who defended the independence of the Tver principality.

Reading time: ~6 min.

The “Tale” is immediately preceded by a message from Dmitry from Rome to Archbishop Gennady, in which he reports that the Greek original of the story about the white hood has not been preserved and he could hardly find only a Latin translation of this work. Dmitry also attaches his own translation of this monument into Russian to the message.

The "Tale" begins with the story of the white hood. The Roman emperor Constantine, the successor of the persecutor of Christians Maxentius, orders to ease the persecution of Christians. But the sorcerer of Zambia slanders Constantine against the priest Sylvester, who baptized a certain "king's husband".

In the seventh year of his reign, Constantine falls ill with leprosy, which no one can cure. One of the healers advises the king to bathe in the blood of three thousand newborn baby boys. When the children have been gathered, the king goes to the Capitol to bathe there. Hearing the groans of his mothers, Konstantin abandons his decision, preferring to die himself.

At night, the apostles Peter and Paul appear to Constantine in a vision and tell him to call Sylvester to him, who can show the "bath of salvation." Having bathed in this font, Konstantin must recover. But it won't be just healing, but inheritance eternal life. For this, Constantine should give Sylvester a gift and allow the Orthodox Church to be renewed throughout the world. This is indeed what happens.

After healing, Constantine gives Sylvester honor and respect and calls him dad. Constantine offers Sylvester a royal crown, but the apostles who appear again give the king a white klobuk in order to crown Sylvester. Having received a golden dish from Constantine, on which lay the royal crown, Sylvester puts a white hood on it and orders to put it in a “deliberate place”, putting it on only on the master's holidays. Sylvester bequeathed the same to his successors. In the thirteenth year of his reign, Constantine decides that in a place where there is spiritual power, it is indecent to have secular power. Therefore, he leaves Sylvester in Rome, and he himself founds Constantinople and moves there.

Since that time, the sacred veneration of the white klobuk has been established. But after some time, some king Karul and Pope Formosa, taught by the devil, depart from the Christian teaching and reject the teachings of the Church Fathers. The Pope wants to burn the white hood in the middle of Rome, but he himself was afraid to do it. He decides to send the klobuk to distant countries and there to betray it to reproach to intimidate the rest of the Christians. A messenger, Indrik, is sent with the hood.

During the journey on the ship, Indrik somehow almost sits on the hood, but at that moment darkness sets in. God's power throws him over the side of the ship, and he falls relaxed and dies. Among the messengers is a certain Jeremiah, who secretly professed the Christian faith. He has a vision to save the hood. During the storm, which again miraculously arose, Jeremiah takes the hood in his hands and prays. The storm subsides, and Jeremiah returns safely to Rome and tells the Pope about everything. Despite the fact that dad is in great fear, he does not leave his thoughts to destroy or give away the white hood for desecration. In a vision, an angel with a fiery sword appears to him at night and tells him to send the klobuk to Constantinople. Not daring to disobey, Pope Formosus sends an embassy to Byzantium.

In Constantinople, the virtuous patriarch Philotheus receives a white klobuk, who also learns in a vision what he should do with the shrine. The Apostles Peter and Paul command that the symbol of spiritual authority be sent to Novgorod to Archbishop Vasily to be venerated at the church of Hagia Sophia. In Constantinople, the klobuk is met with honors, and another miracle is performed here: touching the klobuk cures the then emperor Ivan Kantakouzin from an eye disease.

Pope Formosa, meanwhile, regrets that he gave the hood, and writes a letter to the patriarch. The patriarch refuses to return the shrine and exhorts the pope, seeking to return him to the true path. Realizing that the white hood is in great honor in Byzantium, the pope falls ill from anger and his unbelief. It changes in the face, ulcers spread throughout the body, a “great stench” emanates from it, the spine ceases to hold the body. Dad loses his tongue - barks like a dog and a wolf, and then his mind - eats his feces. So he dies, cursed by the honest inhabitants of Rome.

Patriarch Philotheus, despite his virtues, also nearly makes a mistake. He wants to keep the hood to himself. Two unfamiliar men appear to him in a vision and explain why it was predestined to send the shrine to Novgorod: grace has left Rome. After some time, the Agarians will own Constantinople "for the multiplication of human sins", and only in Rus' did the grace of the Holy Spirit shine. Patriarch Philotheus listens to the words of the husbands and asks who they are. It turns out that Pope Sylvester and Tsar Constantine appeared to him in a vision. Of course, an embassy with a white hood immediately leaves for Rus'.

At this time, in Novgorod, Archbishop Vasily also receives a vision about receiving a white klobuk. The “Tale” ends with a description of universal joy when Archbishop Vasily receives a reliquary with a hood: “And people from many cities and countries came to look at the wondrous miracle - Archbishop Basil in a white hood, and in all countries and kingdoms they were surprised when they told about it ". Retold by E. B. Rogachevskaya

Source: All the masterpieces of world literature in brief. Plots and characters. Russian folklore. Russian literature of the XI−XVII centuries / Ed. and comp. V. I. Novikov. - M. : Olimp: ACT, 1998. - 608 p.

A. Nikitin

Sailing over three seas

Reading time: ~8 min.

In 1458, presumably the merchant Afanasy Nikitin set off from his native Tver to the Shirvan land (on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan). He has with him travel letters from the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich and from the Archbishop of Tver Gennady. There are also merchants with him - in total they go on two ships. They move along the Volga, past the Klyazma Monastery, pass Uglich and reach Kostroma, which was in the possession of Ivan III. His viceroy lets Athanasius go further.

Vasily Panin, the Grand Duke's ambassador to Shirvan, whom Athanasius wanted to join, had already passed down the Volga. Nikitin has been waiting for two weeks for Hasan-bek, the ambassador of the Tatar Shirvanshah. He rides with gyrfalcons "from the Grand Duke Ivan, and he had ninety gyrfalcons." Together with the ambassador, they move on.

On the way, Athanasius makes notes about his journey beyond the three seas: “the first sea is Derbent (Caspian), Daria Khvalisskaya; the second sea is Indian, Darya Gundustanskaya; the third Black Sea, Daria Istanbulskaya ”(Daria in Persian - sea).

Kazan passed without obstacles. Ordu, Uslan, Saray and Berenzan passed safely. The merchants are warned that the Tatars are waiting for the caravan. Hasan-bek gives gifts to informants so that they can guide them through a safe path. Wrong gifts were taken, but the news of their approach was given. The Tatars overtook them in Bogun (on the shallows at the mouth of the Volga). There were casualties on both sides in the shootout. The smaller ship, on which Athanasius' luggage was also, was plundered. A large ship reached the sea and ran aground. And he, too, was plundered and four Russians were taken prisoner. The rest were released "headless into the sea." And they went crying... When the travelers went ashore, and then they were taken prisoner.

In Derbent, Athanasius asks for help from Vasily Panin, who safely reached the Caspian Sea, and Hasan-bek, so that they intercede for the people captured and return the goods. After much trouble, people are released, but nothing else is returned. It was believed that what came from the sea is the property of the owner of the coast. And they parted ways.

Others remained in Shamakhi, others went to work in Baku. Athanasius, on his own, goes to Derbent, then to Baku, “where the fire burns unquenchable,” from Baku across the sea to Chapakur. Here he lives for half a year, a month in Sari, a month in Amal, about Ray, he says that the descendants of Muhammad were killed here, from whose curse seventy cities were destroyed. He lives in Kashan for a month, a month in Ezda, where "livestock is fed with dates." He does not name many cities, because "there are many more large cities." By sea he gets to Hormuz on the island, where “the sea steps on it every day twice” (for the first time he sees the ebb and flow), and the heat of the sun can burn a person. A month later, “after Easter on the day of the Rainbow,” he sets off on a tava (an Indian ship without an upper deck) “with horses across the Indian Sea.” They reach Kombey, “where paint and varnish are born” (the main export products, except for spices and fabrics), and then go to Chaul.

Athanasius has a keen interest in everything related to trade. He studies the state of the market and is annoyed that they lied to him: "they said that there is a lot of our goods, but there is nothing for our land: all the goods are white for the Besermen land, pepper, and paint." Athanasius brought a stallion "to the Indian land", for which he paid a hundred rubles. In Junnar, the khan takes away the stallion from Athanasius, having learned that the merchant is not a Muslim, but a Rusyn. Khan promises to return the stallion and give a thousand gold coins in addition if Athanasius converts to the Muslim faith. And he appointed a deadline: four days for the Day of the Savior, for the Dormition Fast. But on the eve of Spasov Day, the treasurer Mukhamed, a Khorasanian, arrived (his identity has not yet been established). He stood up for the Russian merchant. The stallion was returned to Nikitin. Nikitin believes that "the Lord's miracle happened on Spasov Day", "The Lord God took pity ... did not leave me, a sinner, with his mercy."

In Bidar, he is again interested in goods - “horses, damask (fabric), silk and any other goods and black slaves are sold at the market, but there is no other goods here. The goods are all from Gundustan, and only vegetables are edible, and there is no goods here for the Russian land ”...

Nikitin vividly describes the manners and customs of the peoples living in India.

"And here is the Indian country, and simple people they walk naked, but their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks around with their belly, and children are born every year, and they have many children. From common people men and women are all naked and all black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me - they marvel at the white man.

Everything is accessible to the curiosity of the Russian traveler: and Agriculture, and the state of the army, and the method of warfare: “The battle is being fought more and more on elephants, themselves in armor and horses. Big forged swords are tied to the elephants' heads and tusks... yes, they dress the elephants in damask armor, and turrets are made on the elephants, and in those turrets there are twelve people in armor, and all with cannons, but with arrows.

Athanasius is especially interested in questions of faith. He conspires with the Hindus to go to Par-wat - "that is their Jerusalem, the same as Mecca for the besermen." He marvels that there are seventy-four faiths in India, “and people of different faiths do not drink, eat, marry…” with each other.

Athanasius grieves that he has lost his Russian church calendar, holy books disappeared during the looting of the ship. “I do not observe Christian holidays - neither Easter nor the Nativity of Christ, I do not fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. And living among the non-believers, I pray to God that he save me ... "

He reads the starry sky to determine the day of Easter. On the "fifth Easter" Athanasius decides to return to Rus'.

And again he writes down what he saw with his own eyes, as well as information about various ports and trades from Egypt to the Far East, received from knowledgeable people. He notes where “silk will be born”, where “diamonds will be born”, warns future travelers where and what difficulties await them, describes wars between neighboring peoples…

Wandering around the cities for another six months, Athanasius gets to the port - the city of Dabhol. For two gold coins, he goes to Hormuz by ship through Ethiopia. Managed to get along with the Ethiopians, and the ship was not robbed.

From Ormuz, Athanasius goes by dry land to the Black Sea and gets to Trabzon. On the ship, he agrees to go to Kafa (Crimea) for gold. Mistaking him for a spy, he is robbed by the head of the city's security. Autumn, bad weather and winds make it difficult to cross the sea. “We crossed the sea, but the wind brought us to Balaklava itself. And from there we went to Gurzuf, and we stood here for five days. By the grace of God I came to Kafa nine days before Philippov's fast. God is the creator! By the grace of God I have crossed three seas. The rest God knows, God the patron knows. Amen!" Retold by A. N. Kuzin

The story consists of three parts. The first part is the history of the appearance of the klobuk. In gratitude for the healing of an incurable disease and for "enlightenment" (conversion to Christianity), Constantine named Sylvester pope, gave him a white hood and even gave him Rome at his disposal, having founded the new capital Constantinople, deciding that it was not appropriate to be a secular power in a single city and church.

The second part is the passage of the klobuk from Rome to Constantinople. Under the impious Pope Formosus and King Karula, after the division of the churches into Catholic and Orthodox, the white klobuk was no longer honored in Rome: Formosus retreated from the Orthodox faith. After a long time, the other pope, puffed up with pride, instigated by the demon, tries in vain to burn the hood, to send him to distant countries, so that there he "to scold and destroy". By the terrible command of the angel, the wicked pope is forced to send the hood to Constantinople, to Patriarch Philotheus.

The third part tells about the passage of the klobuk from Byzantium to Veliky Novgorod. By command "bright youth" who told Philotheus the story of the klobuk, as well as Sylvester and Constantine, who appeared to the patriarch in "thin" dream, Filofey is forced to send a white hood to Novgorod, because "grace will be taken away" from Tsargrad "and all the saints will be betrayed by the great god Rustey of the earth." In Novgorod, the hood is met with honor by Archbishop Vasily, who was warned in advance by an angel of his arrival. "And by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the blessing of His Holiness Philotheus, Patriarch of Constantinople, the white hood was established on the heads of the saints, the Archbishop of Great Novagrad."

Researchers believe that the author of the story is the interpreter Dmitry Gerasimov, who took an active part in the translation of biblical books carried out under the direction of Gennady and traveled to Rome on behalf of the archbishop. In the prefaced message addressed to Gennady, Dmitry Gerasimov reports that he fulfilled the order given to him by the archbishop to find the scripture about the white hood in Rome. This he managed to do with great difficulty, for in Rome the scripture "for shame's sake" carefully concealed. Only by begging the book keeper of the Roman Church, Jacob, Dmitry Gerasimov was able to get a Roman copy made from the destroyed Greek original. The text following the message, according to Gerasimov, is a transcription of the Roman copy.

Apparently, this is a kind of literary device that aims to prove the "historical" authenticity, documentary nature of the story. Only a few names are historical in the story: the kings Constantine, Carulus, John Kantakuzen, Pope Sylvester, Formosus, Patriarch Philotheus, Archbishop Basil. The story does not mention the name of the impious pope, who tried to scold and destroy the klobuk, but there is a curious reference to the fact that "His name in writing is utaisha, and applied in a different name: Ovi say Gevras his name, and others Eugenia, but no one is true story." Thus, the author of the story used not only "scripture", but also oral sources!

The central place in the story is given to fiction, subordinated to the general historical, philosophical and political concept of the transition of the symbol of world church power - the white hood from "old" Rome, "pride and own will" fallen away "from the faith of Christ" to the second Rome - Constantinople, where "Christian faith perish" "by the violence of the Agarians", and then to the third Rome, "there is a hedgehog on the Russian land"; "all Christians will come to the end and descend into one kingdom of Russian Orthodoxy for the sake of it."

Researcher of the story Η. N. Rozov showed its ideological echo with the works expounding the theory of the Russian state "Moscow is the third Rome". It seems, however, that there was a kind of polemic with the political concept of the Russian state, which was created in the circle of Moscow heretics and received official recognition in the act of crowning Dmitry to the kingdom. It is no coincidence that the third Rome is not specifically named in the story (it is on "Russian land" but only!). With the help of numerous miraculous "visions" in the story, it is emphasized that the transition of the hood is carried out "by the will of the heavenly king Christ", while the royal crown "by the will of the earthly tsar Kostyantin" "given to the Bystrian tsar". And the Heavenly Tsar gives this klobuk not to the Metropolitan of Moscow, but to the Archbishop of Novgorod!

The question arises whether this story did not reflect the intention of the militant churchmen and the ambitious dreams of Gennady to oppose the "new Constantine" and the "new Constantine city" - Moscow - the "new Rome" - Veliky Novgorod as the center of true Orthodoxy?

The story consistently conveys the idea of ​​the superiority of spiritual power over secular; white cowl "more honest" royal crown. For the same purpose, the story uses the "document" created in the Vatican - "The Gift of Constantine". At the same time, the veneration of the klobuk is equated with the "worship" of icons.

The wide popularity of the story is evidenced by its numerous lists (over 250) dating back to the 16th-19th centuries. In the middle of the XVII century. the idea of ​​the story about the superiority of the "priesthood" over the "kingdom" was used by Patriarch Nikon. Moscow church cathedral 1666–1667 acknowledged "deceitful" And "wrong" writing about the Novgorod klobuk, emphasizing that its author Dmitry Gerasimov "piss from the wind of his head."

The "Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk" adjoins the one that arose at the beginning of the 16th century. "The Tale of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God" and the finalized "Life of Anthony the Roman".

Thus, in the Novgorod literature of the XV century. reveals the presence of obvious separatist tendencies cultivated by the ruling elites of feudal society: archbishops, posadniks. In an effort to establish the idea of ​​​​independence of the "free city", they glorified its local shrines, its archbishops: John, Basil, Moses, Euthymius II, condemned "fierce" Pharaoh Andrey Bogolyubsky, who attempted on the independence of the city. Legendary narrative material is widely used in Novgorod literature. It occupies a significant place in Novgorod hagiography and historical legends. Folk ideas and artistic tastes reflected in it leave a peculiar imprint on Novgorod literature. Her best works are notable for their plot amusingness, concreteness of the image and the simplicity of style inherent in Novgorodians.

• Cm.: Rozov N. N."The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk" as a monument to the all-Russian journalism of the 15th century//TODRL. M.; L., 1953. T. 9. S. 178–219.

The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk
Message from Dmitry the Greek interpreter to Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod

Read the book The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk online

The rector of the most honorable and great, holy cathedral and apostolic church of Sophia, the wisdom of God, Mr. His Grace Archbishop of Great Novgorod and Pskov, Vladyka Gennady, the servant of your Holiness Mitya the Small beats with his forehead. With your most holy blessing and through your prayers, I reached the great city of Rome in full health, and by your most holy command I could hardly find the legend of the white klobuk in the Roman annals, because, fearing disgrace, they hide it very much there. And now I will tell you how I found the legend about this.

First of all, I flattered myself to the book keeper of the Roman church by the name of Jacob and gave him many gifts. The bookkeeper, seeing my kind attitude, showed me great hospitality with many refreshments and drinks. And often I came to him and dined with him in his house. And when one day I came to him, according to custom, to have dinner, he met me with pleasure and, taking me by the hand, led me into his house. And then I dined with him, praising our Greek faith to him, and also spoke to him about Russian land, about faith and prosperity, and about miracle workers who shone in the Russian land with numerous prophecies and miracles. And then he told him a very surprising story about that white hood, which you, the saint of great Novgorod, wear on your head. And the book keeper, as soon as he heard all this from me, sighed bitterly and said: “From the oldest and most reliable husbands, we once had the same story about this, as if this honest white hood, which you are talking about, was created in this the great city of Rome by Tsar Constantine, and as a token of honor to the Pope of Rome, Selyvestra was given to be worn on the head. But for many of our sins committed in Rome, this hood was sent to Constantinople to the patriarch. The patriarch sent him to the Russian land in great Novgorod. "

I asked, "Is it all written down?" He answered: "There is a new exposition, but there is no ancient one." And I began to question him in detail, but cautiously, so that he would tell me the whole truth, known about this white hood. And that bookkeeper, having suppered with me for a long time with great pleasure, saw how important everything that I asked for was important to me, and told me this story.

“Many of us,” he began, “various heard stories about this in the city, but some say one thing, and others say another, but no one knew the truth, because out of envy of the Orthodox, the former rulers of the city destroyed everything written about this. However, many years later, after the Turks took possession of the reigning city, some pious men from Constantinople took a lot of Greek books, wanting to save the Greek faith from the godless Turks, and went to Rome by sea. for some time they wanted to get acquainted with the writings of Eastern teachers, but earlier the Greek kings did not allow them to do this because of their apostasy from Orthodoxy. Latin language translated, the Greek books themselves were burned in the fire. And about the white hood, about which you ask, also the story from the Greek books was rewritten into Latin books, because before that, because of the shame in the Latin books, there was no legend about the white hood. And now they hide it very much."

But when I heard all this from the bookkeeper, I was even more inflamed with the desire to read it, and with an ardent request fell on his knees to give me notes about it. And with great prayers he barely begged him, and secretly rewrote everything for sure, and also the Eight-Part Book, and the Peaceful Circle. And I sent all this to you with a Moscow merchant with Foma and Sarev. Stay, sir, being saved and healthy in Christ, and do not forget us in your holy prayers, as before.

From Roman history, a short message about the amazing commands of the king,

About the order of the saint, from a part of the life of the faithful Tsar Constantine of Rome about the creation of a white klobuk,

And also from where and how it was first received by the archbishops of Veliky Novgorod,

That they wore it on their heads, unlike other hierarchs,

Here about all this authentic news is contained.

After the death of the impious king Maxentius, the persecution of Christians ceased, and complete calm ensued. The people who lived near Rome, although they were obsessed with unbelief, celebrated this great event in their city with merriment and joy, accepted the great and glorious Constantine into the kingdom with praises, calling him a savior and benefactor. And himself ready for the good, Tsar Constantine accepted the scepter of the Roman kingdom, and by his command everything was as it should be in both secular and ecclesiastical authorities. And to those who remained in the Christian faith, he commanded to live without persecution, and the Christians, seeing this beneficence, rejoiced all the more and, having fun, celebrated the victory, constantly glorifying the almighty God and Tsar Constantine also insanely magnifying. The Orthodox faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in Rome was then preserved and strengthened by the blessed Sylvester, the Christian bishop; he was then with a small number of associates and in harassment and taught his followers to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, but he did this in secret, and not openly - for fear of persecution from the faiths of the Jews and pagans, because Tsar Constantine himself then adhered to the pagan faith: worshiped idols.

In the third year of his reign, blessed Sylvester, Pope of Rome, baptized one of the king's associates, named Isumfer, and successfully instructed him to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. And there was a certain Zambria in Rome, a Jew and a sorcerer, beloved by all, with whom later the blessed Sylvester performed a great miracle, which, however, we will say elsewhere. And this Zambria could not see the Christian faith and gathered, calling, pagans and Jews. They all came to the king and said: “Lord, all-powerful king! The city of this Christian Bishop Sylvester, reviling us and reproaching us with obscene speech, meanwhile successfully preaches about some Crucified One, and denounces our glorious and great gods and declares them unworthy of veneration. Isumfer the nobleman with his speeches deceived and persuaded him to believe in the Crucified One. And by this he brought us bewilderment and great sadness. Meanwhile, he expounds the same to Your Majesty, wishing to seduce you with faith in the Crucified One, as happened already with Isumfer. , we cannot even hear about this villain and we implore you, great king, just command us, and we will destroy him. The king, having learned this, was terribly angry with the bishop because of Isumfer and wanted to seize him and lock him in prison, and disperse the other Christians. And Sylvester, having only heard of the royal wrath, was frightened and fled and hid on some mountain, so that God would save him for useful deeds. And he remained in hiding for a long time.

But the Creator of all creation, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not by force incline the human race to salvation, but at will, and as He always brings into the mind by action, so He wished to glorify the saint here too. And so, in the seventh year of his reign, the king fell into elephant leprosy, covered with ulcers all over his body, and lay in scabs, barely breathing. And many sorcerers and sorcerers came not only from the Romans, but even the Persians, but did not succeed in anything. And then they decided on a terrible thing and the wicked ones almost inspired the king to do this, saying: “It is necessary to put a font in the Roman Capitol and fill it with pure blood of newly born baby boys and wash yourself with this hot blood, then you will recover; the bodies of these babies give as a sacrifice to the gods. The king ordered this to be done as soon as possible, and three thousand baby boys were brought from all over the Roman region. And on the appointed day, when the king went with those sorcerers to the Capitol to bathe in infant blood, as soon as the priests were ready to slaughter the children, terrible groans and incessant cries were suddenly heard. Hearing them, the king was horrified and stood as if rooted to the spot and saw a multitude of bare-haired women standing and shouting and weeping and groaning with loud voices. And the king asked those who were going with him who these women were and what was the reason for their weeping. And they answered him that on the occasion of the slaughter of these children, it is their mothers who weep. And the king was imbued with pity, and, sighing from the depths of his heart, he began to cry loudly and say: “It is better for me to die for the salvation of these children than to be killed by them.” And, having said this, he returned to his chambers and not only commanded that the children be returned to the mothers, but also, honoring them with gifts, let them go. And those women were united with their children in great joy.

When that day had passed and the silence of the night had come, the holy apostles Peter and Paul appeared to the king in a dream, saying thus: “Since you did not want to sin and shed the blood of the innocent, we were sent from Christ our God to give you a way to be saved, and through it you will receive health. Hear our command and do what we command you. Since Bishop Sylvester of this city, avoiding your persecution, hides in the gorges of the state on Mount Sarente, then, having called him, they ordered him to come to you with honor. It is he who will show you the font of salvation, in which, having washed, you will cleanse all the filth of your scabs, and you will become healthy, and you will be granted eternal life thanks to the life that you gave to undefiled babies. and let in the whole universe Orthodox churches at your command, they will be renewed with sacred beauty, and may the name of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be glorified in them, and may they be adorned with service to His glory.

Summary.

The text is a message from the Greek Tolmach to Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod. First, it is explained where the text about the klobuk was taken from. The Greek, while in Rome, flattered himself to the book keeper Yakov and told him about the white klobuk worn by the archbishops of Novgorod. He told him that that hood was created in Rome by the emperor Constantine for the first pope Sylvester. The Greek begged Jacob to let him read about it. Here's what he found. Under Constantine, the Christian faith was established, but before that the emperor was a pagan. He subjected Sylvester and his people to persecution because he baptized the approximate king, Isumfer. But after a while, the king fell ill with elephant leprosy and became covered with scabs. The pagans offered him to slaughter three thousand babies and wash in their blood. The king agreed, but heard the crying of mothers and refused it. At night, the apostles Peter and Paul appeared to him and told him to call Sylvester for healing. Konstantin obeyed them. Sylvester told him to fast for 7 days, and then baptized him. The king was instantly healed. Constantine made Sylvester pope and even offered a royal crown, but Sylvester did not accept him. Then Peter and Paul again appeared to Constantine in a dream and showed how to make a klobuk. When Constantine's tailors made the klobuk, a strong fragrance came from it. Selyvestre had a sign about the hood, and during the service he put it on a golden dish. So did many popes after him. But here comes the king Karul and dad Formosa, and they fell into heresy, and they laid the hood with the dish in the wall. The other dad was even worse. He found a hood and was imbued with great hatred for him. He wanted to burn it, but God did not allow this to be done. Then the pope sent the klobuk to distant lands to be abused there. The hood was wrapped in dirty rags, and the dish was kept for themselves. On the ship, one of the wicked named Indrik decided to sit on the hood, but then he was thrown away, hit the ship's deck, his face turned back, his eyes went wide, and so he died. Another sailor, Yeremey, adhered to the Christian faith and revered the klobuk. He was the voice of God, which said that he must keep the hood, and will be saved in the storm. There was a fire in the storm, everyone died, except Yeremey. Constantine and Sylvester appeared to him and ordered him to take the klobuk to Rome. The pope in Rome fell into the ultimate heresy. He wanted to do something bad with the hood. But in a dream, a frightening angel appeared to him, and ordered to send the klobuk to Constantinople along with the dish. Dad got scared and did it. In Constantinople at that time the rules John Cantacuzene. The hood received the patriarch Philotheus who knew of the hood's arrival from a vision. He liked the hood, and he wanted to keep it for himself, but Sylvester and Constantine appeared to him and predicted: the first Rome fell into the Latin heresy; Constantinople - the second Rome - will soon be sacked by the Muslims. Klobuk should be in Russian land, in Novgorod, with the archbishop Vasily because there is true faith. Filofey did so. And the Pope at that time fell ill, covered with sores, went berserk and died. They tried to forget the name of that pope, and now some call him Gervasius, others Eugene, and true name no one knows. At this time in Novgorod, Archbishop Vasily had a vision about a klobuk. When it was brought and the ark was opened, a strong fragrance came out. They brought the klobuk to the church, and a voice was heard from heaven: “Holy to the saints!” The archbishop began to wear a klobuk during divine services. And it's all.

“The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk” is an example of Novgorod church journalism late 15th century. At this time, the unifying policy of Moscow was intensifying, especially under Ivan III. She met resistance in Novgorod. Rich Novgorod did not want to join Moscow.

Novgorod publicists in their works sought to prove that the spiritual power is higher than the secular one: "The priesthood is greater than the kingdom." The same goal is pursued by the author of The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk.

Researchers believe that the author of the "Tale" - interpreter Dmitry Gerasimov, who took an active part in the translation of biblical books carried out under the leadership of Archbishop Gennady and traveled to Rome on behalf of the archbishop. In the preface to the story, a message addressed to Gennady, Dmitry reports that he found in Rome a legend about a white hood. The text following the message, according to Gerasimov, is a translation made from a Roman copy.

Most likely, this is a kind of literary device, which aims to prove the "historical" authenticity, documentary nature of the story. Only individual names are historical in the story: kings Constantine, Karula, John Cantacuzenus, Pope Sylvester, Formosa, patriarch Filofea, archbishop Vasily. The story does not mention the name of the wicked pope, who tried to scold and destroy the klobuk, but there is a reference to the fact that “ some call him Gersavius, while others call him Eugene, but no one knows his true name. Thus, the author of the story used not only scripture, but also oral sources.

Central to the story allotted to fiction, subject to the general historical, philosophical and political concept of the transition of the symbol of world church power - the white hood from the "old" Rome, which fell away from the "faith of Christ", to the second Rome - Constantinople, where the "Christian faith will perish" from the Muslims, and then to the third Rome - to the Russian land.

There is an ideological echo of this work with stories that set forth the theory of “Moscow is the third Rome”. However, here it is peculiar controversy with the political concept of the Russian state, which was in the circle of Moscow heretics. It is no coincidence that the story does not name the third Rome as a city, but simply “Russian Land”. With the help of numerous visions, it is emphasized that the transition of the hood is carried out "by the will of the heavenly king Christ", while the royal crown - by the will of the earthly king Constantine "was given to the Russian Tsar". And the Heavenly Tsar hands over the klobuk not to the Metropolitan of Moscow, but to the Archbishop of Novgorod.

The story could reflect the plans of the militant churchmen and the ambitious dreams of Archbishop Gennady to oppose the "third Rome - Moscow" Veliky Novgorod as the center of true Orthodoxy.

The story consistently conveys the idea of ​​the superiority of spiritual power over secular. white cowl “more honest” royal crown. The veneration of the klobuk is equated with the worship of icons.

The story was very popular at the time. More than 250 lists of her, relating to the 16th-19th centuries, have been found. In the middle of the XVII century. the idea of ​​the superiority of the “priesthood” over the “kingdom” was used by Patriarch Nikon. Moscow Church Cathedral 1666-1667 acknowledged the story deceitful and wrong” and came to the conclusion that Dmitry Gerasimov invented everything himself.

Novgorod literature of the 15th century contains clear separatist tendencies cultivated by the ruling elites of feudal society: archbishops and posadniks. In an effort to establish the idea of ​​the independence of Veliky Novgorod, they glorified the local saints and especially the archbishops John and Vasily. Legendary narrative material is widely used in Novgorod literature. It occupies a significant place in the Novgorod hagiographic literature, historical tales. The best works of Novgorod literature are notable for their interesting plot, concrete depiction and simplicity of style. one popular, related to the most popular. ve spiritual power over secular. ticks and koi transition symbol concept