Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2015 number

The article examines a number of polemical writings by Evfimiy, the Chudov Monastery monk, one of the brightest representatives of the Russian literature culture of the second half of the XVII century. His works devoted to the Orthodox doctrine’s protection were used as a material for research. Protection of the Orthodoxy and Orthodox traditions of Russian culture was the main theme of Evfimii Chudovsky’s book activities notable for the variety of directions and forms. The article analyzes the writer’s works created in the course of a well-known dispute about the moment of the Holy Gifts transubstantiation during the liturgy (80s-90s of the XVII century); polemical texts associated with the names of Petr Artemyev and Grigory Skibinsky who studied in Europe and experienced the influence of Catholicism, and Evfimiy’s other works aimed at asserting the Orthodoxy and against the influence of Western religions. The article reveals a range of themes related to the disputable issues of interdenominational relations of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, which attracted the writer’s interest and were reflected in his polemical writings: the issue of the moment of the Holy Gifts change at liturgy differently interpreted by “Graecophiles” and “Latinophiles”, to which the writer devoted several of his works; the Catholic doctrine of the Holy Spirit procession, which was also the subject of his criticism. Analyzing the involved works, the article considers some peculiarities of Evfimiy Chudovsky’s creative laboratory, techniques and principles of writing the text based, as a rule, on a vast array of authoritative sources. Connection of his works with Christian ancient texts is established (Evfimiy demonstrates deep knowledge of the patristic and church-canonical literature). The author made observations concerning Evfimii Chudovsky’s notes and comments in the margins of manuscripts, which also characterize the specificity of the writer’s work with the text.