Holy Fools in Byzantium and BeyondOUP Oxford, 2006 M04 6 - 492 pages There are saints in Orthodox Christian culture who overturn the conventional concept of sainthood. Their conduct may be unruly and salacious, they may blaspheme and even kill - yet, mysteriously, those around them treat them with even more reverence. Such saints are called 'holy fools'. In this pioneering study Sergey A. Ivanov examines the phenomenon of holy foolery from a cultural standpoint. He identifies its prerequisites and its development in religious thought, and traces the emergence of the first hagiographic texts describing these paradoxical saints. He describes the beginnings of holy foolery in Egyptian monasteries of the fifth century, followed by its high point in the cities of Byzantium, with an eventual decline in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. He also compares the important Russian tradition of holy fools, which in some form has survived to this day. |
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Page 18
... hand his eccentric behaviour is sacralized, unlike that of the philosopher. On the other hand, since Christianity also allows man free will, the holy fool's contrariness is just that—contrariness—and not a sacral performance like that ...
... hand his eccentric behaviour is sacralized, unlike that of the philosopher. On the other hand, since Christianity also allows man free will, the holy fool's contrariness is just that—contrariness—and not a sacral performance like that ...
Page 34
... hand and said ''Speak normally and hear!'' He screamed instantly', Vita s. Gregorii Agrigentini, PG 116, col. 232. It is noteworthy that in the metaphrastic version of this vita the same character is referred to as paraphoros ('mad ...
... hand and said ''Speak normally and hear!'' He screamed instantly', Vita s. Gregorii Agrigentini, PG 116, col. 232. It is noteworthy that in the metaphrastic version of this vita the same character is referred to as paraphoros ('mad ...
Page 56
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Contents
1 | |
11 | |
2 Insane Saints | 49 |
3 Lechers and Beggars | 66 |
4 Holy Scandal | 104 |
5 The Second Edition of Holy Foolery | 139 |
6 The New Theologians | 174 |
7 Balancing at the Edge | 195 |
10 The Iurodivyi and the Tsar | 285 |
11 Iurodstvo in an Age of Transition | 311 |
12 Iurodstvo Meets Modernity | 345 |
13 The Eastern Periphery | 359 |
14 The Western Periphery | 374 |
Conclusion | 399 |
Bibliography | 415 |
Index | 457 |
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Common terms and phrases
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