КОРАБЛЬ ЦЕРКВИ: ОТ ВИЗУАЛИЗАЦИИ БОГОСЛОВИЯ К ПАМФЛЕТУ

The article is devoted to the pictorial scene «Ship of Faith», which appeared in Russia at the cusp between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. The image depicts a ship steered by Christ being attacked by the enemies of the Church – unrighteous rulers and heretics. The article examines the European prototypes of this scene, which date back to the Reformation period, and puts forward a hypothesis about the connection between this story and two works by St Symeon of Thessalonica – «Sacred Rituals and Sacraments of the Church» and «Dialogue in Christ against all Heresies». Russian translations of these works made a huge influence on Russian theology. A late manuscript of Symeon’s works contains a miniature of this image, while its printed edition features an engraved version of the same miniature. The end of the 20th century was marked by a renewed interest in the scene in question due to the discussions about the development paths of the Church. The image of the church ship and heretics could now be used as a caricature of opponents.