Article

Name: ANCIENT PIETY ZEALOTS THEME IN THE NEWLY DISCOVERED WRITINGS ON PATRIARCH NIKON

Authors: S. K. Sevastianova

Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Literary Life of the Plot

Abstract: The article analyzes the polemical techniques by writers of the Old Believers early period such as archpriest Avvakum, priest Nikita Dobrynin and other members of the ancient piety zealots «circle». At the end of the XVII century the anonymous author of the newly discovered writings on Patriarch Nikon uses these techniques to decorate a polemical speech of Nikon to the Old Believer leaders and their supporters. Zoomorphic images (pig, dog, mice) and comparing opponents with demoniac and «lunatics», which were characteristic to the creativity of writers the Old Believers early period, not only beautify polemical speech of Patriarch Nikon, but also showed the unity of writers’ art system. In the accusatory narrative about the first teachers the author used the most popular images and comparisons by these writers, borrowing them at the lexical and phrasal levels. This stylistic method had the important purpose to defeat ideological opponents by their methods.

Keywords: newly discovered writings on patriarch nikon, patriarch nikon, ancient piety zealots, archpriest avvakum, priest nikita dobrynin, the unity of the art system, zoomorphic images and comparisons

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