The significance of Novgorod in the history of Russian art

Speech at the opening of the Novgorod Church and Archaeological Society on January 3, 1913 Mr. Veliky Novgorod, which lay on the great waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” very early, almost at the dawn of his state political life, became familiar with the culture of the brilliant capital of St. Constantine - Byzantium. With the adoption of Christianity, thanks to constant communication on trade affairs between Novgorod and Constantinople, this living and diverse cultural influence of Byzantium intensified and captured all aspects of the life of ancient Novgorod. The majestic and pompous liturgical ritual, developed in the marvelous creation of Emperor Justinian - St. Sophia, came to the heart of rich Novgorod and, thanks to the generous donations of its inhabitants for the creation of churches and their decoration, it found free and easy access to the Novgorod Cathedral Church of Sophia the Wisdom of God, built in 1045 by the Novgorod prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, grandson of St. Prince Vladimir, as well as to other ancient churches of Novgorod and even Pskov, as its suburb. Numerous artistic works of religious life could conveniently and easily flock here from Byzantium and find a place and application, first in church liturgical practice, and then, upon falling out of use, with the replacement of the ancient Novgorod Sophia Rule, majestic in its complex solemn ceremonies, with the modern monotonous monastic Typikon of the monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified, little by little became only the natural property of the sacristies and vessel preservers. Therefore, it is not at all surprising for us that the sacristy of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral still preserves in its depths such curious objects of ancient religious life that are not often found in other places, and some of them are positive unique things and, thanks to their exclusivity, serve as a “banner of controversy” and a “stone of temptation” for many archaeological specialists and connoisseurs of Christian art. In order not to be unfounded, let us point out the facts. At the last XV archaeological congress in Novgorod, two ancient silver “Zion” or “Jerusalem” were the subject of an extensive report by the famous archaeologist prof. N.V. Pokrovsky. But the questions raised by him regarding these liturgical accessories of the local cathedral sacristy were not all resolved in a positive and more or less satisfactory sense for many specialists. The question of the place of origin of these “zions” remained unresolved, the very complex Greek inscription on one of them was not read, the liturgical purpose of these very bulky and richly designed vessels was not completely clear, etc. Two silver “kratira” of the same sacristy, the liturgical use of which in the ancient practice of the Novgorod Church in the rite of the Epiphany Blessing of Water, although explained, in our opinion, with all obviousness, are met, however, by many archaeologists and scientists, one of whom is among us now at this celebration (Mr. Myasoedov) and devotes a special monograph to this issue, - serious and plausible objections. The inscription existing along the edges of these “kratir” with the words of the well-known liturgical formula: “Drink from it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament,” despite the above direct indications in the Novgorod Rule on their use during the communion of St. Epiphany water, the identification of the rite of communion with Epiphany water with the rite of communion with the Body and Blood of Christ in the concepts of the ancient Russian pious man and in liturgical practice, the strangeness and, so to speak, unnaturalness of the multifaceted shape of these vessels, the unknown in ancient church practice and the unlikely transformation of vessels with a higher liturgical purpose (for the sacrament of the Eucharist) into a lower one (for the rite of the Epiphany Blessing of Water), the mentioned inscription still gives some basis for an assumption of another kind, namely, that the “kratira” are eucharistic liturgical vessels of an ancient form. The two “Novgorod miter hats” available in the sacristy, one of which is even considered to be the miter in which the Novgorod Saint Nikita, who died in 1116, was buried, could solve with all convincing clarity the question of the time of the appearance in liturgical practice of this head adornment, which now constitutes an integral part of the episcopal rank, but, unfortunately, here too there are important reasons for doubt. Head decorations for bishops in the East in Greek churches appear only in the 15th century, and not all bishops there decorate themselves with miters or crowns even in the 16th century. This is the first thing. Secondly, and taken from the head of St. Archbishop Nikita's miter cap can hardly be attributed to the time of the death of this saint, since in the tomb, during the glorification of this saint in the 16th century, it was found simultaneously with the bishop's staff, which lay in the same coffin, with a handle made of walrus bone, with images of Russian saints of the 15th century: Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, and Serius of Radonezh etc. Hence the natural assumption is that these liturgical objects are the fruit of the zeal and veneration of this Saint by the Novgorod rulers: either Euthymius Bradaty (1428), or the archbishop, later Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow. It is not surprising, therefore, that archaeologists consider these “hats” to be both saintly and even grand ducal ones... In terms of shape and material, the oldest of them was made no earlier than the 16th century. So many unsolved and controversial things are hidden in the Novgorod Sofia, the ancient Novgorod monasteries and churches, and these mysteries relate not only to the monuments of ancient Russian and Byzantine art, but also to Western Romanesque and even, perhaps, Varangian art. One of the entrances (western) of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral has bronze double-leaf gates, called Sittunsky or Swedish, but when these gates were made and how they got to their present place in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral is shrouded in the darkness of the unknown. Next to these gates, the Korsun gates are no less curious in one of the side aisles of the cathedral. The beautiful poetic legend about the journey of St. helps very little in the scientific solution of archaeological issues. Ave. Anthony the Roman from Rome to Novgorod on a stone with a barrel filled with treasures. In particular, it is difficult to connect with it the appearance in his monastery of 6 icons decorated with azure, yellow, brick and blue enamel (Limoges enamel), with the Latin inscriptions on them: “Wos redux” and “Iesus hominum salvator, Christus patronus sanctissimus”. And the notorious reliquary made of copper, gilded, which served as the subject of lively debate among the participants of the XV Archaeological Congress and was elevated by N.V. Pokrovsky to an object of high importance and placed by him in the Sofia sacristy, according to antiquity, in first place, and by Vladyka Archbishop Arseny of Novgorod, left in its former last place until that happy time, until scientists speak out about Despite its positive conclusions, perhaps in the end it will also be classified as monuments of art, if not Varangian, then at least Western... If we turn to the monuments of Novgorod icon painting, then they also conceal a lot of unknown and curious things for the history of Christian icon painting, starting with the mosaic image of the Lord Pantocrator in the dome of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, and ending with the newly discovered frescoes of the churches of the Intercession Cemetery and Transfiguration Cathedral. The richest collections of manuscripts and early printed books of the Sofia Library, the Chaldean cave or the Novgorod Sofia pulpit, many items of ancient Novgorod liturgical utensils have long become the property of the capital's museums and libraries. Monuments of Novgorod iconography, as is known, have enriched not only the capital’s, but also provincial museums and private collections. And to this day, Novgorod and Pskov and their monasteries and churches continue to attract the attention and interest of not only archaeological specialists and lovers of their native antiquities, but also merchant collectors, who often buy icons of ancient Novgorod icon painters here for next to nothing and then sell them for big money to schismatics and lovers of antiquity, collectors, etc. Everything we have said leads to the undoubted conviction of the urgent need to create a society that would take upon itself the task of bringing to light all the existing wealth of monuments of Novgorod art, at the first opportunity would collect them from the backwaters under the roof of the splendid “Arsenyevsky” house, under the watchful eye of the ruler and under the control of learned specialists, and would open a happy opportunity to study and enjoy them to everyone who holds dear their native art. Therefore, one cannot help but give praise and gratitude to the enlightened Vladyka of Novgorod Arseny, who, among his complex works of a high-state nature and various diocesan administrative affairs, found time to devote his leisure time to the preservation and study of artistic monuments of his native antiquity. May the Lord grant strength to the Vladyka to steadily follow the correct path he has outlined, without being embarrassed either by idle rumors that provincial museums are obstacles to the enrichment of the museums of the capital, or by the lack of local scientific forces. Let not your heart be troubled, kind Lord, for the Lord God, who created in this visible world, in the words of the Genesis writer, “all the good” and planted in your soul the holy spark of love for your native art, will not leave you alone, but will send you worthy, fruitful co-workers who are zealous for planting in our fatherland the true knowledge of our native art. You might be interested in: