SOCIAL INTERACTIONS OF BRETHREN NEAR THE ST. REV. THEODOSIUS’ TOMB IN DORMITION CATHEDRAL OF KYIV PECHERSK LAVRA (late 18th – early 20th century)

Abstract

The sacred objects keepers were an important link of the social interactions in the sacred places. The superior, monks and novices were the keepers of the sacred objects in the monasteries. In late 18th – early 20th century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra with its numerous miraculous icons and holy relics was a prominent centre of the Kyivan symbolic focus in the Orthodox symbolic core. This monastery is very important for the reconstruction of various communicative practices connected with the Orthodox sacred objects and of the Orthodox monastic devoutness.The article analyses norms of access to the tomb and elicits the participants of its communicative space design and preservation in order to find out the key features of the social interactions of brethren near the St. Rev. Theodosius’ tomb in Dormition Cathedral. The work is based on the inner conventual documents and the works of the visitors of Lavra. The access to the tomb was for several hours after every divine service. The only time the Spiritual Council of Lavra decided to lock the cathedral was late at night in 1893.The prayers could not visit the St. Rev. Theodosius’ tomb in 1900 (during the complex repair of the Cathedral). During their visits the emperor and his family first kissed St. Volodymyr’s head and then stopped before the shrine with the Cave Saints’ holy relic particles. The common prayers worshipped the Ark with the relics of St. Michael, St. Stephane’s finger, the body of Pavel from Tobolsk, the Cave Saints’ holy relic particles and St. Volodymyr’s head. Sometimes this succession varied. The tomb was suitably decorated and signed. The monks of Lavra and their relatives took part in the space improvement around this sacred object. They bestowed some elements of the precious frame. The Spiritual Council cooperated with the artisans from Kyiv and other localities. Responsibility for these operations was borne by the ecclesiarch himself.World War I did not stop these processes. The All Saints’ Shrine was patterned after the St. Rev. Theodosius’ tomb. The donations for the tomb were accepted in Lavra by post as well as from donators’ hands. The peak of contribution was at the height of the pilgrimage season. Some benefactors brought their donations into accord with the Spiritual Council. Some of them would send only the squares of cloth and decorative lining. The Spiritual Council selected the guardians for the tomb and for the other shrines in the Cathedral.It is possible to make a conclusion that the tomb was an object of an especial devoutness of Lavra inhabitants. It also blends in with the other sacred objects in the Cathedral. The comparison with these objects needs further scientific research.