Beltsy i Prostetsy. Social Statuses in the Church of Ancient Russia

Abstract

Already the Ancient Church was characterized by the idea of a royal priesthood, that extended to the entire community of Christians, the church institutions of the Middle Ages a developed and complex hierarchical system already represented, where the position of a person was deprived of this royal equality. In the conditions of medieval society, a person’s position in a complex system of social strata and hierarchies determined his place in the church, also shown by liturgical practices. Ancient Russia and its church organization were no exception. Some of the rules of Metropolitan Ioann’s Canonical responses the noted states of affairs quite clearly demonstrate. The article provides a general historiography, showing that researchers have not paid enough attention to this important sourse, and an overview of its translations into Slavic and Russian, as well as publications. The main subject of the article are social terms “beltsy” (laikou) and “prostetsy” (kosmkou) in one of the recommendations given by Metropolitan regarding who can stay sitting during the relevant part of the divine service. A analysis of the rule demonstrates how a person’s social status in liturgical actions was reflected. The article analyzes the moments of worship itself, the social terms used in the ninth rule of the Canonical responses, and the nature of the prohibition. The authors note the discrepancy between Byzantine social realities and Old Russian ones, the not entirely successful relationship between Greek and Old Russian social terms, as well as the poor quality of the Canonical responses translation by the Old Russian scribe.

Keywords:

сanon law, history of the Russian Church, Ancient Rus, Metropolitan Ioann II,, divine service, social structure