The veneration of the relics of St. Daniel of Pereslavl-Zalessky in the second half of the 17th century and its visual design

Abstract

The article considers the veneration of relics which has been widespread in Old Russia since the first centuries of its Christianization, as a mechanism that facilitates the transformation of hierotopy and the development of the figurative environment of the church interior. The author’s observations and conclusions are based on the study of written sources and artefacts associated with the veneration of the remains of St. Daniel of Pereslavl in the Trinity and St. Daniel Monastery of Pereslavl-Zalessky in the second half of the 17th century. The study shows how the development of the veneration of the abbot-founder of the monastery became the third element that determined, along with the cults of the Trinity and St. John the Baptist, which retained their significance, the sacred and figurative structure of the interior space of the main monastery church, Trinity Cathedral. It is evidenced by the compositions of the fresco ensemble of the main volume of this church building and the new iconostases of the central part and the northern aisle, which was built thanks to the funds received by the monastery from pilgrimages to the relics of St. Daniel. The image of the saint himself occupied a prominent place in the visual environment of the church: it was repeatedly reproduced by various artistic means (in murals, icon painting, book miniatures), highlighted by location and other techniques, which are also analyzed in the article. A special role was given to the tomb complex of the saint, located in the northern aisle of the cathedral, which as can be judged from the inventories of the church property was arranged in a manner typical of that time and, in addition to the relics, included perhaps the oldest monastery icon of St. Daniel and a set of tomb covers.