MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION “STATIR”. ORATION 35. TEACHING FOR THE DAY OF THE THREE HOLY HIERARCHS: BASIL OF CAESAREA, GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS AND JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. PRAISE OF THEIR CARE FOR THE FLOCK. AND ABOUT THE FALSE SHEPHERDS, AND ON HERETICS, AND ON THE CURRENT SCHISMATICS
The presented text is the first publication of the sermon “Word 35” from the broad manuscript collection “Statir” (of late 17th century), a little-explored monument of the ancient Russian writing, comparable in artistic expression to the works of another prominent authors of that epoch. The name of the manuscript’s author remains unknown to this day, but his figure piques interest as the master of the word and as a person of a certain world view. The texts of this collection provide an opportunity to see social processes of the transitional era through the eyes of its contemporary and see the principles of world order from the point of view of a clergyman, immersed in the Christian tradition. The sermon “Word 35”, written on the feast of the three saints - Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom - reveals significant for the author topics of the teaching word, the priest role as a bearer of divine word, the unworthy shepherding and the spread of heresy. “Word 35” is vast and includes a metaphysical plane, most clearly manifested in the praise of holy theologians, along with a social and domestic planes. All the three layers are imbued with the image of perfect interaction between pastor and his flock, which serves as the basis for the salvation of human soul and for the prosperity of church and society, and are characterized by their appeal to the categories of eternity.