Soboleva L. S., Kalinina A. D.

The image of feasting with the devil in 17th century sermons as medicine against drunkenness  Р. 88-100.

UDC 82-522.09«16»

DOI: 10.37724/RSU.2023.79.2.009

Abstract. The handwritten collection of sermons of the end of the 17th century The Stater, written in the estate of the Stroganovs in the Town of Oryol (Orel-Gorodok) and introduced into scholarship in A. Kh. Vostokov description (1842), has not been properly published. Among the numerous topics originally presented by the anonymous author, were problems of drinking and alcoholic intoxication, which lead a person away from the human image as created by God. This article is devoted to the publication and study of the author’s rhetorical strategies in his instruction, On the blindness of Christians, and how they practice pagan customs at feasts, and how drunkenness brings great iniquity (Lesson 39). The problem of drunkenness in 17th century Russia was quite acute for many segments of the population. By that time, there had been some attempts to regulate alcohol trade (with prohibition of private sales), limiting the amount and time of sales, condemning the tavern atmosphere (prohibitions on drinking alcohol close to taverns and on running entertainment activities there). The text under study represents reflections of a clerical author on the phenomenon of the tavern as a seat of corruption of the people, leading to spiritual and bodily death. The negative pathos in the description of a drunkard, his behavior, and its consequences emphasize the author’s active opposition to taverns and also to drunkenness at home. Despite the need to remain within the framework of the sermon genre, the architectonic organization of the text makes it possible to express and translate the preacher’s thoughts. The central image of the feast, due to its rich symbolism, is present at three levels: the everyday level reveals drunkenness as a social problem, the metaphorical one exposes the ignorance and delusions of his parishioners, who value ‘neighborly love’ in their ritual of drinking, and the sacral level traces such unrighteous feasts to the influence of the devil and renunciation of God.

 

Keywords: Stater, God, devil, tavern, figurative system, feast, preaching, drunkenness, rhetorical strategies, 17th century.

 

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