THE TALE OF TSAR SIMEON BEKBULATOVICH IN THE LIFE OF ST. EPHRAIM OF TORZHOK

Abstract

The list of miracles of St. Ephraimof Torzhok in the Extensive redaction of his Life begins with “TheTale of Tsar Simeon,” unknown in the earlier Brief redaction of the Life. The heroes of the Tale are Tsar Simeon Bekbulatovich and Archimandrite of the Novotorzhsky Borisoglebsky Monastery Misail, the alleged author of the Brief redaction. The miracle belongs to the genre of visions, uncharacteristic for the body of texts about St. Ephraimof Torzhok. The article raises several questions: 1) how is the story about Simeon Bekbulatovich constructed; 2) what function does the recourse of the text to the genre of visions perform; 3) what are the possibilities of real commentary on the text. The Tale is an example of an oral story about the times of Ivan the Terrible, preserved in the monastery. The text of the miracle forms the legendary “Kazan” biography of the Kasimov Tsar, where his adoption of Christianity is the central event. The vision of Archimandrite Misail, in which Ephraim complains about the damage to his relics, is the first description of the saint not from the viewpoint of his ancient history, dating back to the time of Boris and Gleb, but from the viewpoint of his proximity to and accessibility for the inhabitants of Torzhok. The question of the wooden shrine and other gifts of Tsar Simeon cannot be resolved with sufficient clarity at the present time. In the appendix to the article, “The Tale of Tsar Simeon” is published according to the early (First) version of the Extensive redaction.