«ОТ ТОГО БОЖИИ ГНЕВ НА НАС И МНОГИЕ КАЗНИ И ПОСЛЕДНИЙ СУД» (К ПРОБЛЕМЕ ОСМЫСЛЕНИЯ КРИЗИСНЫХ СИТУАЦИЙ В ПРАВОСЛАВНОЙ КНИЖНОСТИ)

The article deals with the theme of God’s punishments in the Old Russian written culture, which combines archaic and Christian perceptions. Shown are topoi as common places that pass from one text to another. The texts assert that “God’s wrath” comes for non-observance of the commandments, while the punishment befalls not individuals, but the whole Earth. The Earth is punished by God also for the rulers’ sins. The theme of the episcopate’s guilt for not keeping the commandments, which was included in the Commandment to the Bishops in the Kormčaja of the Russian handwritten version and its printed version, came from the Byzantine literary tradition. In the teachings of the episcopate about calamities, there was a constant call to repentance, while in practice there was often a search for the guilty. In the 16th century, the authorities began to apply strict quarantine measures, which were not reflected as a part of cultural tradition and actually contradicted conventional perceptions. The teachings by Patriarch Joseph and Patriarch Nikon about the pestilence demonstrate different ways of approaching this subject.