Saint Sergius of Radonezh, His Trinity Monastery, and the Formation of the Russian Identity

359 Pages·2010·15.407 MB·English

by  David B. Mille

S
aint SergiuS
of radonezh,
hiS trinity MonaStery,
and the forMation of
the ruSSian identity

northern iLLinoiS uniVerSity PreSS / deKaLB
S
aint
S
ergius
of radonezh,
hiS trinity MonaStery,
and the forMation of
the ruSSian identity
David B. Miller
© 2010 by Northern Illinois University Press
Published by the Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb, Illinois 60115
Manufactured in the United States using postconsumer-recycled, acid-free paper.
All Rights Reserved
Design by Julia Fauci
Title page illustration: “The Trinity-Sergius Monastery.” Photograph by William Craft
Brumfield, professor of Slavic Studies at Tulane University and honorary fellow of
the Russian Academy of the Arts. A selection of his work is available online at
http://www.cultinfo.ru/brumfield.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, David B.
Saint Sergius of Radonezh, his Trinity Monastery, and the formation of
the Russian identity / David B. Miller.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-87580-432-3 (clothbound : alk. paper)
1. Sergii, Radonezhskii, Saint, ca. 1314–1391 or 2. 2. Troitse-Sergieva lavra—History.
3. Orthodox Eastern monasteries—Russia (Federation)—Sergiev Posad—History.
4. Sergiev Posad (Russia)—Church history. I. Title.
BX597.S45M55 2010
271’.8147—dc22
2010015389
TO JOAN JACOBUS MILLER

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1—The Historical Sergius 12
2—Sergius the Saint 42
3—Sergius, a Russian Icon 76
4—Trinity’s Patrons 105
5—Trinity’s Monks 138
6—Trinity’s Female Venerators 169
7—Interment at Trinity 203
Conclusion 218
Appendix—Tables 245
1—Donations to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery by Type, 1392–1605
2—Acquisitions of Property by the Trinity-Sergius Monastery
(Donation, Purchase, Exchange, or Judicial Act) According to
Location, 1392–1605
3—Evidence of Secular Literacy in Private Charters of the
Trinity-Sergius Monastery, 1392–1605
Notes 251
Bibliography 303
Index 331

Acknowledgments
I take great pleasure in thanking the people and institutions that assisted me
in writing this book. First and foremost, I thank Gregory and Marilyn Shesko,
who gave me photocopies and transcriptions of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery’s
copybooks, land documents of the State’s Kollegiia ekonomiki, and a photocopy
of Trinity’s sinodik. Without their generosity, I could not have written this book.
Although it is too late to thank him, I wish to recognize the assistance given me
by the late Richard Hellie. Richard gave the penultimate version of the book
a careful reading and his comments and criticisms were invaluable. From the
time we were doctoral candidates as members of the cohort of 1963–64 of the
US-USSR cultural exchange and throughout my career, Richard has been a
source of enthusiastic advice and encouragement. I owe him a great deal. I also
am grateful to Barbara Rosenwein, who read and commented on my initial
investigation of Trinity’s property; to my publisher’s three anonymous readers;
to editors Amy Farranto, Susan Bean, and Tracy Schoenle; and the production
manager Julia Fauci at Northern Illinois University Press. Their patience and
wisdom made this a better book. William Brumfield very kindly contributed
three photographs, one of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (which graces the
book cover) and two of its churches, for the book. I am most grateful. I also
thank Aleksei Sirenov and Maria Korogodina, who procured for me a copy
of an illumination from the Illuminated Codex, and Marianna Tax Choldin,
who provided me a copy of the cover of the program marking the celebration
of the 600th anniversary of Sergius’s death, and Ann Kleimola who supplied
the source describing the event. Finally, I thank Jeff Liem for his expertise in
preparing and printing illustrations, and Cory Johnson, XNR productions, for
producing two excellent maps and a genealogical chart for the book.
Needless to say, I owe a great deal to many institutions. Institutions are
made up of people, and I would be remiss if, where possible, I did not express
my thanks to those special individuals by name; to Norman Ingham and
Valentina Pichugina, who hosted workshops at the University of Chicago,
and to Gail Lenhoff, whose conferences and workshops at The University
of California at Los Angeles afforded me opportunities to test my ideas; to
the organizers Tat’iana Manushina, Svetlana Nikolaeva, and Archimandrite