The article, based on the methodology of comparative religion, attempts to explain the reason for the spread of the veneration of St. Christopher in Rus’ in the middle of the 16th century, and also clarifies the existing opinion about the connection between the iconography of this saint and the image of the Egyptian god Anubis. For a very short period of time in the middle of the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible, that saint became extremely popular in the Moscow state. In the name of St. Christopher, by order of the Tsar, churches were erected in Veliky Novgorod and the Moscow Kremlin; frescoes with his image appeared in new cathedrals in Sviyazhsk, Yaroslavl, and Vologda; his image was often placed in the deacon’s altar gates. The author argues that the unexpected wide distribution of images of St. Christopher in Orthodox iconography at the end of the 16th century in the North-West of Rus’, precisely where the “western frontier” of the state was located during the time of Ivan the Terrible, is associated with the desire to protect the northern lands, turning to the veneration of the general Christian protector saint, whose cult during this period was widespread in the Baltic lands. At this time, a kind of “evocation” took place in the Moscow state, that is, a call (enticing) of Saint Christopher as a heavenly patron to one’s side. In addition, interest in this dog-headed saint could also be caused by eschatological expectations characteristic of this period.
Key words: comparative religion, Christian holy martyrs, Saint Christopher, cynocephali, Hellenistic syncretism, evocation, eschatology, Ivan the Terrible
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2023_4_101
About the author
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Marianna М. Shakhnovich – Doctor of Science (Philosophy), Full Professor, Chair of the Department of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies, St. Petersburg State University; 5 Mendeleevskaya linya, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |