Spiritual Enlightenment and Piety in Late 17th Century Preaching

The crucial 17^th century raises the question of the importance of systemic education — churches as a concentration of knowledge become centers of education. The sermon becomes a channel for broadcasting reflections. «Propoved’ v nedeluy 23 po soshestvii Svyatago Duha» [Sermon on Week 23 after the Descent of the Holy Spirit] from the anonymous handwritten collection of sermons «Statir» of the late 17^th century is published according to all the rules for the transmission of the Church Slavonic text and identifying the sources of the intertext. By spiritual enlightenment the preacher understands attention to the sermons delivered, the study of patristic writings. Along the way, related topics are comprehended — book publishing, respect for people of intellectual labor (writers, preachers). The author deduces the idea of the need for spiritual enlightenment by comparing the Gadarians from the parable of the possessed Gadarin (Luke 8) and modern people who also reject the Word of God, which is embodied in sermons and interpretations, but they do it consciously, unlike the people from the parable. Comparing the flock with the early Christians, the author notes the decline in the ability to think, and in the second part of the sermon he shows the social and spiritual state of people who chose sin instead of diligence in faith. The sin of drunkenness, chosen for illustration, is considered by the author to be one of the most dangerous, because it is he who feels the source of other sins, and is also the most visible in public life. The main conclusion of the author's reflections is that spiritual enlightenment and the ability to reflect are necessary for priests and laity because unrighteous behavior in earthly life and the impossibility of future salvation are due to sins, the harm of which can only be understood if one follows authoritative sources of knowledge. In addition to the author's reflections, the literary talent of the author becomes the subject of research. The complex semantic structure of the sermon, the art of eloquence, the rhetorical strategy of exposing drunkenness associated with the creative processing of patristic and biblical quotations are noted.

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