Христианизация Новгородской земли в IX-XIV вв. Погребальный обряд и христианские древности [Xristianizacija Novgorodskoj zemli v 9-14 vekax. Pogrebal’nyj obrjad i xristianskie drevnosti]
Résumé
The book “Christianisation of the Novgorodian Land in 800-1400 AD” is dedicated to the early stages of Christianity in Russia. The information from the written sources seems unable to cover the process of Christianisation in Russia to the full, which demands active usage of archeo-logical materials. The book in view for the first time presents and analyses the whole variety of items of personal piety relating to IX–XIII centuries and discovered in the burial memorials of the Kievan Russia and the Novgorodian principality.
The Introduction declares that the study of the Christianisation of the ancient Russia on the basis of the archeological data requires not only collection, systematisation and analysis of the whole set of Christian antiquities of the medieval Russia (IX–XIII centuries), but also the exposure of all innovations in culture, connected with the dissemination of the new religion.
In the view of the research task the author frames himself to the analysis of the data from funeral memorials, as it is the archeology of the burial rite that presents the most informative mate-rial on the early stages of the new ideology formation. For the territory investigated, the Nov-gorodian land of late XIII century was chosen. The territorial approach to the phenomena of the clerical life and Christian culture is in keeping with the standards of the canonical law of the East-ern Church. Novgorod with its neighborhood from the very beginning acts as one of the two centers of the formation of the ancient Russian state, and the history of the Church in Novgorodian land re-flects all the features of the Christianisation of ancient Russia.
The features of political and social system in ancient Novgorod, as well as the peculiarities of its history (provided by the active Russian-Finnish contacts) left their imprint on the process of the development of Christian culture in Novgorodian land. As far as the main historical limits are concerned, two dates are accepted: 988 – the Baptism of Russia and the establishment of Russian church hierarchy; late XI century – the beginning of a new stage of social and political relations in this country (the assembly at Lubech in 1097) and the appearance of distinctive Christian culture in connection with the canonization of the first Russian saints.
Of all Christian antiquities of the IX–XIII centuries Russia, items of personal piety of Rus-sian Christians are chosen to be analysed in the book. The Novgorodian materials are viewed in the context of well-known Kievan Russia antiquities of the X–XI centuries. The list of personal piety items taken into account includes 199 entries, discovered by 150 excavations in 111 necropolises of Ancient Russia. For a comparative analysis, archaeological finds from the cultural layer of ancient Russian towns and settlements are used. To solve the historical and cultural questions of Christian society in Russia, ancient Russian chronicles, canonical texts of the Orthodox Church, hagiographic works, Scandinavian sagas, ancient Russian reports and birch bark charters are made use of.
The main methodological principle put into the foundation of the research is the complex analysis of the Christianisation phenomenon. The principle presupposes a separate study of differ-ent types of archaeological sources, making use of methods specific for each of them, and a follow-ing comparison of the results with a mutual verification of the resolutions.
Of utmost importance is the formal difference between the notions of “Christianisation” and “the formation of Christian culture”. The narrow meaning of the term “Christianisation” suggests the notion of the early stage of the new religion expansion, finished with the foundation of Church as an institution (the Baptism of Russia, 988). After that, under the influence of Byzantine civiliza-tion, the formation of a local Christian cultural structure took place, provided by the deep penetra-tion of Christianity into the national consciousness.
For the basis for the analysis of the items of personal piety, the author resorts to the principle of generation change of antiquities presented by a common iconographic type (N. Kondakov). This approach takes into account the peculiarities of the religious consciousness of the time. On the whole, the research in view revives such science as Church archaeology. In connection with it, the book makes a survey of the Church archaeological history in Russia in XVII-XX centuries. The at-tention is paid to the methodology of “the father of Russian Church archaeology” N. Pokrovsky ant to the peculiarities of his creative method capable of being used on the modern research level.
In Chapter I (“Russian Archaeology On the Way Of Comprehension Of the Ancient Russian Burial Culture”) two important problems are dealt with. At the beginning of the Chapter, a possibil-ity of the reflection of the processes of Church history and religious culture in archaeological mate-rials is estimated as positive. Then, the author throws into relief of the methods of seeking correla-tion between written sources and archaeological materials. The main attention is paid to the ap-proaches to the specification of the Christian antiquities from the burial rite of Ancient Russia, al-ready offered by Russian scholars. Strong and weak points of three main tendencies of the burial rite research are analysed.
The concept considering the discovery of the items of personal piety in tombs the evidence of Christianisation, and admitting the rite of laying the corpse Christian in the whole, is described in the papers of N. Nedoshivina, M. Fekhner, G. Solovieva, N. Makarov, D. Belenkaya, T. Panova.
The opposite point of view belongs to A. Uvarov, N. Brandenburg, D. Anuchin, D. Samokvasov; today its representatives are V. Sedov, A. Motsia and some others.
The concept of these scientists, based on the archaeological source study, is the following: the appearance of inhumation in Ancient Russia was not connected with Christianity and can be ex-plained by a range of reasons, like social and cultural ones or the influence of the Iranian mythology on the Slavic paganism; the burial mounds are recognised as pagan tumuli. Christian antiquities dis-covered in the barrows of Ancient Russia were used by the people without understanding their original meaning and do not reflect the process of Christianisation. There is also a “compromise” estimation of the religious side of inhumation (E. Nosov, V. Konetsky, E. Ryabinin, T. Pushkina), in certain cased finding the Christian origin possible if it can be proved by written sources.
The conclusions of the scholars denying the dependence of inhumation on Christianity can be explained by their non-differentiated approach to the burial elements study. They over-estimate the ability of archaeological (e.g. typological or ethnological) methods in the research of the spiri-tual culture of the past. One can also note an unjustified interpolation of modern Church rite stan-dards into the past and under-estimation of the written sources information. In the author’s opinion, a preliminary analysis of the written sources is a most important premise of an impartial research of material culture memorials. As the main burial rite novelties, the very process of inhumation and the Christian antiquities discovered in the graves are to be observed.
In Chapter II (“Causes and Stages of Christianisation in Ancient Russia”), a version of Christianity expansion in Russia is offered, based on the material of written sources. The most an-cient of the evidences clearly state the presence of Christians among Russians already in 820-840es (Biographies of St. Anskarius, St. Stephen of Surozh, George of Amastrida, the evidence of Ibn Khordadbeh). The baptism of the Russians in Constantinople and the foundation of Church hierar-chy among them in 860-870 is proved by the Patriarch Fotius’ Circuit epistle of 867 and by Con-stantine Porphirogenitus. The Chronograph of 1512 and the Nikonian chronicle identify this event with Ascold and Dire’s war campaign of 860/866.
The information provided by the Primary (Nestor’s) Chronicle in 912 (given in the author’s interpretation) suggests the catechism of Russian ambassadors in Constantinople under Leo the Wise, which is proved by an independent report of Al-Marvasi about the baptism of the Russians 912 AD. In the middle or late X century (Primary Chronicle, 944 г., 983 AD) Russian chronicles for the first time give clear evidence of Christian population in Kiev. The complex of written evidences enables the author to come to a conclusion that the process of Christianisation in Russia was based on social, ethnical, individual and religious preconditions. This process was in immediate connec-tion with the foundation of the ancient Russian state. The disintegration of tribal communities led to the collapse of the old moral rules, taken as a complex of civil rights, which demanded a new ethic law with a religious approval. The ancient Russian society came to a crisis, which could be over-come by perceiving religious and spiritual values. As a result of the active Euro-Asian interchange, a new ethnic community “rus” appeared, based Slavonic-Scandinavian contacts. It could be de-scribed as a wide super-tribal traders and prince guards social stratum, consolidated around the prince and protected by the prince’s code of law (“The Russian Truth”). The appearance of a new ethnic and social community demanded search for another spiritual values.
“The Russian Truth” states the existence of a considerable stratum of outcasts and brings them under the immediate prince’s protection. However, the fall out of the Slavonic community meant the lost of touch with the community religion. Consequently, having divorced oneself from the community, one tried to fill the spiritual emptiness up by entering a new system of religious values. The religious flimsiness of Paganism in Russia and its obvious crisis in the Xth century (the religious reform of 980) became another important reason for the Christianity expansion in Russia, with its almost two hundred years of existence before the official creation of the Russian Church.
Chapter III (“Peculiarities Of the Missionary Preaching And Features Of the Russian Church Organization In the Making”) the traits of Christianisation in Ancient Russia are estimated on the basis of written sources. West European and Scandinavian relics are brought to attention. Here one can note the rite of an “incomplete Baptism” on converts, described by Scandinavian sa-gas and identified with “primo signatio”, a part of the catechism rite preceding the Byzantine sac-rament of Baptism. Many neophytes forever stayed “non-christened Christians”, which created a special early Christian culture.
Mass Christianisation was preceded by converting high society. At the same time, the Euro-pean missionary code presupposed a flexible and tolerant attitude to the neophytes, admitting com-promises and concessions in Christian ethics and right.
Originally the ancient Russian clergy was not specified as a social stratum and was part of prince’s guards and boyars. The slavishness of a priest was a matter of concern for the Church hier-archy (1228, 1274 AD), as it put certain limitations on the priest’s preaching freedom, as well as the sphere of the spiritual power. A possible existence of simultaneous hierarchy in Russia and the so-cial dependence of some of the clergy on the prince’s guards or boyars did not help active pastoral control over the forming ancient Russian Church culture. All these features help the author come to the conclusion of the existence in IX-XI centuries some peculiarities, different from the ones in the later period of Church culture.
In Chapter IV (“Ancient Russian Funeral Rite According to the Authentic Code of Canoni-cal Law”) few survived canonical texts of Ancient Russia on funeral rite are dealt with. The oldest authentic code of law on funeral is “Canonical Questions of Cirike the Regular Deacon to Archbishop Nyphont of Novgorod” (1130-1156). An important issue here is the prohibition to bury personal piety issues together with the deceased. No tradition of a compulsory every-day wearing of personal crosses was observed. It appeared not earlier than in 1630es, which can be proved by ar-chaeological data. By 1300 AD, according to the canonical law codes, the funeral rite was unified in Russia on the basis of monastic culture. The author draws a conclusion that no generally accepted and specified burial rite existed in Ancient Russia. The funeral habits varied depending on local and family traditions.
In Chapter V (“Ancient Russian Funeral Rite According to the Written Sources”) a model of the Ancient Russian inhumation is offered, based on the evidence of written sources. The latter sug-gest that funeral as a Christian rite started developing in Russia by late IX century. The analysis of the written sources makes it evident that no compulsory burial canon existed in Ancient Russia. The only exception is the monastic funeral tradition, which proves it to be an illustration of the existing habits of the Studit Monastery (Constantinople) Tipicon. The chronicle entry of 1044, describing the reburial of princes Yaropolk and Oleg, is analysed in the light of the information on the Byzan-tine funeral rite that presupposed washing the remains during the ceremony, which proves that all grandchildren of Princess Olga were baptised.
In Chapter VI (“The Formation of Church Organisation on the Novgorodian Land”) the history of the Novgorodian diocese is dealt with. Time limitation is XIII century (A. Nasonov, V. Yanin, V. Kuza, E. Nosov). On the basis of written sources and by means of drawing maps of an-tiquities, separate cultural regions are discovered. Based on the written sources and archaeological data not connected with funeral, this chapter gives account of the development of the Novgorodian prelate power canonical territory.
In late X – early XI century the Church organisation in Novgorod (989-996) and Pskov (1010-1036) can be viewed as a proved fact. At the same time, the Christianisation of Ladoga started, which was completed by 1105-1114 AD. As the birch bark charters №№ 220 and 640 sug-gest (both mentioning the local clergy), in late XI – middle XII centuries the regions of Luga and Plussa rivers were christened. Several years earlier (1130-1134) around the Southern and Eastern outskirts of the Novgorodian land Church authority and Christian culture were firmly established within the nearest limits of the prince’s domain.
The question of the time and circumstances of the Tver diocese formation is thrown into re-lief. The diocese presumably appeared in middle XIII century together with the independent Tver principality on the territory of the law of Novgorod and Vladimir as a result of a certain canonical compromise.
In Zavolochje, Church structures appeared around 1050–1136 AD, which is stated by a charter of the prince Sviatoslav Olgovich. However, the first record of a temple in Matigorje dates back to 1271 AD. Obviously, the Church authority in the East and South-East of the Ladoga region had spread long before the completion of an agreement of sharing income in Obonezhje (South-West Ladoga coastline) It seems most obvious to have come from Ladoga or together with the stream of colonization along the watershed between the Baltic and the Volga basins. Simultane-ously, the Eastern area of the Novgorodian land was christened (in late XII and XIII centuries churches and chapels were proved to exist archaeologically. However, the written sources suggest the existence of non-christened Finnish and Slavonic people around Novgorod.
The North-Western Ladoga areas were christened in XII – early XIII centuries and finished with the formation of Church culture (1227–1270/1323 AD). The chapter offers a new interpreta-tion of uprisings of the Karelians in 1314 and 1337, connected, in the author’s opinion, with a tem-porary shift of the Karelian community under the jurisdiction of the Roman Church. Starting from XIII century, the Ladoga region was controlled by Novgorod’ Episcopacy represented by a prelate deputy.
On the Izhora plateau, Christianisation began in early XIII century, together with the Sla-vonic agricultural civilization. However, a certain political independence of the Ugro-Finnish tribes making part of the Novgorodian land, as well as the accepted toleration, led to the formation of cemeteries not earlier than in 1215-1240 AD. On the whole, the process of Christianisation accom-panied in Novgorod the expansion of feudalism, and the military and trade roads, as well as the colonization paths, became the main routs for the new religion.
Chapter VII (“Christian Antiquities of 800-1110 AD”) presents Christian archaeological an-tiquities of the time mentioned. They are: Frisian jugs (Tatinger), discovered in more than 30 places of Northern Europe and connected with the Russian mission of St. Anskarius, the Bishop of Hamburg (830–850 AD). One can distinguish two specimens from the grave №7 of the Plakun sep-ulchre in Staraya Ladoga. The grave dates from the late IX century and is presumably connected with Rjurik’s guards that came with him in 862. If Rjurik can really be identified with Frisian Rorik, the historical background gives reasons to state his baptism in 826 in Meinz, and his sur-rounding, as St. Anskarius’s biography suggests, included Christians.
Grave №11 of the same sepulchre contains a tomb of the 875-900 AD, presenting a chamber tomb. It is not only the most ancient chamber tomb in Russia, but the oldest inhumation of Ancient Russia epoch.
The inhumation itself should also be viewed as a result of the Christian culture influence. The inhumation itself should also be viewed as a result of the Christian culture influence. It is of utmost importance to note that the expansion of Christian antiquities went simultaneously with the appearance of the rite of corpse-laying within the single necropolis.
Sheet silver and bronze crosses, making the first generation of Christian antiquities, con-tains 31 items from 12 places. One can distinguish four typological groups. All of them date from middle X – late XI century and come from necropolises of trade or industrial settlements and from the cemeteries of was garrisons in the outlying districts of Ancient Russia.
One can find Scandinavian analogues (around 20 items) in в Бирке, South Norway and на Готланде, that date from X century and are connected with the mission of bishop Uno (930 AD). The fact of the antiquities coming almost exclusively from graves proves analogy to the studied crosses stage by stage, which is presented by the cemeteries of old German nobility of the Mero-vong epoch (VI–VII centuries).
The crosses are placed around such burial implements as arms, horse gear, wooden cups and pails, Scandinavian pins, Arabian coins and scales. It proves a high social level of the buried who wanted to show their Christian belief. The combination of a cross and a weapon is highly typical for the early stages of Christianisation of the European peoples and makes evident the psychology of the first Christians, perceiving themselves as the “guards of the Lord” (which is illustrated by iconographic and written materials). The appearance of the mentioned type crosses was in close connection with the formation of the new inhumation – chamber or cave funeral. The very appear-ance of it corresponds to the time of the early silver crosses and dates from the 925-950 AD. Chamber tombs appeared in Ancient Russia around the same time (by now, not less than 70 of them were discovered). In twelve chamber tombs, crosses were found (in Kiev, Gnezdovo, Timerevo, Udray, Shestovitzy, Podgortzevo). The chamber tombs with funeral candles among the implements taken into account (Gnezdovo, Timerevo, Shestovitzy), a conclusion can be drawn that up to 20% of such graves present an attempt to materialize Christian culture.
In XI century, the chamber rite and silver crosses were supplanted to the Northern outskirts of the Novgorodian land, which proves that the Christianisation of the Novgorodian principality came comparatively late and that the functions performed by the prince’s guards had considerably changed in the social and political system of Ancient Russia. The type of the Ancient Russian or-ganisation of the clergy, based on communities and the prince’s guards, was ousted by diocesan and parish structures that brought a new type of personal crosses – the ones with the so-called “crude depiction of the Crucifix” dating from the second generation of Christian antiquities in Russia. By now, the author possesses information on 44 crosses of the studied type, discovered in 27 areas, in-cluding: 22 items from 13 burial grounds (Glinikiky, Gochevo, Zmeyskoye, Zhovnino, Kiev, Ko-lodeznaya, Shaptchitzy, Orekhovo, Posady, Savinskiye Gorky, Saky, Christovo); 21 items – from the cultural layer of 13 settlements (Novgorod, Pskov, Zarechye, Kiev, Novogrudok, Pesky, Pugino, Roden, Ryazan, Timerevo, Cherepovetz, Daugmale, Khersones and Dinogetia); 1 – from a hoard (Tartu). All crosses belong to late X – XI century. About 20 crosses (including those with double-sided depictions) come from Fennoscandia and are defined by the accompanying implements as be-longing to late XI – XII centuries.
A characteristic feature of the Crucifix is a cross-like belt on Christ’s chest, originally pre-sent in Syrian and Coptic art of late VI – VII centuries (Ravula’s New Testament, 586 AD), and later make a peculiar feature of Anglo-Saxon art. These features may be connected with the English clergy who were among the surrounding of the Norwegian kings Olav Truegwasson and Olav the Saint. The crosses with the Crucifix were manufactured by Scandinavian masters and came to Rus-sia with them. Simultaneously, Byzantium influenced Scandinavian religious life through Russia. The double-sided depictions of the Scandinavian crosses are likely to be connected with the enkol-pion (a folding chest cross for keeping relics) of the Asian make (late X – XI centuries).
The crosses with a “crude depiction of the Crucifix” in Russia were mostly discovered in ancient urban centers and rural cemeteries, sometimes related to military garrisons. It reflects a change in the direction of the Christian expansion in Russia and the foundation of the clerical cul-ture in rural areas.
The author specifies the Byzantine coin pendants with the depiction of a cross as a special type of personal piety items. A series of Byzantine sources makes it evident that coins could serve as Baptism gifts and diplomatic gifts of the emperors. The total amount of coins discovered on the territory of Ancient Russia equals 29 items from 43 graves in 26 burial mounds. Most of the groups of coins possible to be identified as such, correspond not only to the peaks of the Russian-Byzantine contact activity (known from the chronicles), but also to the stages in Christianisation: 866, 912, 945, 957, 988 AD. This fact enables the coins from the graves to be perceived as Christian sacred objects.
Chapter VIII (“Christian Antiquities of 1000-1400 AD From the Burial Grounds of Novgorodian Land”) deals with the discovered in Novgorod 112 graves with the items of personal piety (grouped in 85 burial grounds). In these burial grounds (barrows, zhalniks - tumuli surrounded by large stones, ground and chamber graves, Christian graves situated in old Pagan barrows of the pre-vious epoch) not less than 131 objects of Christian cult were discovered, including: 72 personal crosses, 22 small icons, 3 zmeeviks – round pendent icons with a Christian depiction on one side and a picture of Gorgon Medusa on the other, 12 round pendants with crosses, 5 enkolpions, 12 Byzantine pendant coins, 2 cross-like flaps for commonly used objects.
The studied choice of crosses and icons is rather diverse. It includes 17 types of crosses, 10 types of icons and 3 types of zmeeviks. However, only 7 types of crosses are presented by groups of 2 two 9 items. Icons can be divided into 6 groups presented by two or more items. The most numer-ous group presents the so-called “Scandinavian type crosses” coming from the graves of late XI – early XII centuries (Alekhovshchina, Beseda, Derevyanitzy, Kekkomiaki, Corbola, Patreeva Gora, Tyaglino, Chelmuzhy). They are mostly characteristic for the Ugro-Finnish outskirts of the Nov-gorodian land. The second larger group is that of crosses with one or two balls at the ends. In three graves, zmeevik amulets of XII-XIII centuries are found, as well as their imitations (Likhareva Gorka, Svaretz, Kotorsk). Such objects are quite unusual for graves and serve to stress the connec-tion of the buried with the urban culture. Enkolpions dating from late XII-XIII centuries (Kositzkoye, Kotorsk, Resola, Tver region Volga coast) are also rarely discovered in rural cemeteries. A series of personal piety items in Novgorod is originally connected with the religious life of Vladimir and Suzdalian period of Russian history. They include icons with a mirror depiction of the Dor-mition of the Virgin (Kotorsk, Raglitzy) and the depiction of the Savior (Kotorsk) dating from late XII century.
On the whole, Christian antiquities coming from burial mounds of the Novgorodian territory, are distributed evenly. Compared to the general amount of studied graves, they make 1.2%, which is much less than in other areas of Ancient Russia. The small quantity of tombs with Chris-tian symbols can be explained by the huge size of the diocese compared to the insignificant number of urban and industrial centers.
The expansion of Christian antiquities on the Novgorodian territory reveal definite mecha-nisms of Christianisation through the social and economic connections of urban and rural territories. The position of a community on a crossroad of trade paths along which Christian symbols came into it, helped the number of personal piety items to enlarge. The diversity of studied cross types is, in our opinion, connected with the absence of Church regulations of wearing them which made them exclusively the tokens of personal piety. Thus, from late XI century through all pre-Mongolian pe-riod a new generation of Christian antiquities can be stated to appear. It is an evidence of an inde-pendent development of Russian Christian culture.
In Conclusion, the results of the research are drawn. The conclusions made on the basis of archaeological materials examination, are compared to the written sources data. The following stages of the Christianisation of Ancient Russian are discovered:
800-875 AD: the new ethnographic and social unit “Rus” is first acquainted with Christianity. On this stage, early inhumations and Christian sanctities appear, which is a result of the mis-sionary work.
875-945 AD: with the number of Christians increased, the inhumation rite is spreading; chamber graves appear; Christian sanctities extend; sheet silver crosses appear. Christians win the leading position in society and the state, and the first church is constructed in Kiev.
945-970 AD: the time a Christian community in the Middle Dnieper area flourishes. New types of Christian antiquities appear (a seal with an icon of Christ, crosses of the so-called “Scandi-navian type”), as well as some new elements of the rite, such as burial candles. The geography of Christianity in Ancient Russia widens. At the end of this stage (under Sviatoslav), a Pagan reaction comes.
970-1050 AD: Ancient Russian Christianity recovered after persecution and gain the support of the state government. The inhumation rite becomes mass; the majority of population comes to Christianity. The second generation of Christian antiquities appear – “crosses with a Crucifix”. The direction of Christianisation processes shifts from towns to rural areas, from the main trade routs to the outskirts, where Christian antiquities of the first generation are ousted.
1050-1400 AD: the formation of diocesan and parish structures of the Russian Church is completed. The third generation of Christian antiquities appears, making the independence of the Ancient Russian culture evident. In Novgorod area, only the Ugro-Finnish outskirts are touched by Christianity. Personal piety items, as well as inhumation, expand in the Novgorodian land simulta-neously with the written news of several regions turning to the Christian Church and serve as an evidence of Christianisation. The variety of burial rite forms in Ancient Russia coordinates well with the absence of information in written sources on the burial canon. Different variants of inhumation (tumulus, zhalniks, ground tombs) should be viewed as equivalent ways of the burial Chris-tian culture, the difference in which is presupposed by local traditions and natural phenomena.
The research made it possible to reveal the correlation between the Christianisation of Rus-sia and the history of the Church formation in the Mediterranean area and in Europe of early middle age. This process was accompanied by similar changes in mentality, referred to by European sci-ence as “la mort apprivoisee”. Simultaneously, almost an integral Christian culture can be de-scribed as existing in the East and in the West - Pax Baltica Christiana. It was only after 1200 AD that the world was split into Pax Baltica Romana and Pax Baltica Orthodoxa. Material antiquities make it possible to characterize the Ancient Russian culture as an integral system of values, corre-sponding to the Christian ideology. The notion of a “dual religion ” is perceived by the author as an artificial invention of the Ancient Russian scholars, unable to reflect the actual essence of spiritual processes in Russia.
Christianisation in the Russian history appears as a religious creativity phenomenon, revaluing archaic cultural traditions and including them into the new Christian culture.
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