The Theme of Repentance in Kievo-Pecherskiy Patericon

The article deals with the theme of repentance as an organizing principle of Kiyevo-Pecherskiy Patericon (the first Russian monument of patericography, written in the 13^th centu­ry). This theme has its origins in the Bible; therefore, on the one hand, it makes the authors shape their work like a Gospel sermon, when they use a parable as an instrument of didactic influence on the recipient. On the other hand, the repentance theme makes an impact on the plot arrangement of every story and the Patericon ensemble on the whole. They are underlain by the plot frame typical for lives of “sinful saints”. Referring the reader to the con­text of Gospel parables and broader still to the Bible, the creators of the Patericon are the first to shape the “Russian version” of salvation for a sinful soul.

Keywords: Kiyevo-Pecherskiy Patericon, the Bible, repentance theme, Gospel sermon, parable, hagiography, plot scheme.

The Theme of Repentance in Kievo-Pecherskiy Patericon