CHRISTIAN ASCETICS OF LATE ANTIQUITY AS A PHILOSOPHY AND ITS ECHO IN THE CULTURE OF OLD RUS’ (11TH – 13TH CENTURIES)

The article attempts to show, first, that within the context of Patristic heritage the Christian asceticism of Late Antiquity can be seen as a Christian philosophy (different from one of the classical Greek) and, second, that this philosophy has found a ground in the Old Rus’. The evidence is gathered from relevant fragments of works by the Fathers of the Eastern Church, mainly by Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. The choice of these Fathers is motivated by two facts: their works had been better known than other sources in the Old Church Slavonic translations; their writings attest to the concept of ascetics as a philosophy of a kind distinct from its Classical ancient form. The Patristic ideal of a philosopher is compared with the life and works of Theodosius of the Caves, the quintessential Saint of the Old Rus’ and Eastern Slavonic ideal of a virtuous person. Consulting the primary sources in Old Church Slavonic, the author suggests that Theodosius of the Caves does in fact confirm to the definition of a philosopher as offered by Gregory the Theologian.