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Chapter 5FeodPech.1.5

Въпрашанье Изяслава князя, сына Ярославля, внука Володимиря, игумена Федосья печерьского манастыря

On the Meaning of Sunday

Theodosius clarifies that Sunday is the day of the Resurrection and warns against imposing Jewish-style dietary restrictions on it.

What put it in your mind, God-loving prince, to ask me—an unlearned and lowly man—about such a matter? For you asked whether it is fitting on the day of the Resurrection, which is Sunday, to slaughter an ox, or a ram, or a bird, or anything of that kind, and whether it is fitting to eat their meat on the day of the Resurrection, on Sunday! For Sunday is not called "Sunday" the way you say it; it is called the first day of the whole week.1 Because Christ our God rose from the dead on that day, it is also called the day of the Resurrection. Monday is called the second day, Tuesday the third, Wednesday the fourth, Thursday the fifth, Friday the sixth, and Saturday the seventh. In those days God completed all his works—heaven and earth and everything in them—and last of all he made the human being, king over everything; on the seventh day he finished all his works.✦✦2 Now when the Israelites came out of Egypt from Pharaoh's bondage and long ago crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, he led them into the wilderness and fed them there for forty years, and gave them the law on tablets of stone—written by God's finger and given to Moses—and commanded them to keep the Sabbath: not to do any work at all, nor kindle a fire, nor slaughter anything, but to prepare everything on Friday evening and eat it in the morning, and not to go from house to house—which the Israelites keep even to this day.✦✦ But since our Lord God came down to earth, all Jewish observance has fallen silent.3 We are not children of Abraham, but children of Christ our God, through holy baptism, in which he himself was baptized. For the Lord's baptism cleanses the sins that come from birth.4 And as for whoever told you not to slaughter on Sunday, and not to eat of what was slaughtered then, he did not speak from Holy Scripture, but from his own heart.5 For the holy apostle Paul said: "If anyone preaches to you a gospel beyond what we preached to you, let him be accursed."✦ You are not forbidden—nor is it a sin—to slaughter on Sunday. For if we take up such a custom—slaughtering on Saturday and eating on Sunday—then we are clearly following Jewish practice.6

Fasting and Spiritual Vows

Theodosius explains the apostolic tradition of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays while providing guidance on how to handle vows and feast-day dispensations.

For you have said, noble one: if someone vows not to eat meat on Wednesday and Friday, is that good? It is very good and beneficial. And I am not the one ordaining this; the divine holy apostles laid down the rule this way: that every Christian should fast on Wednesday and Friday—laypeople from meat, and monastics from dairy—on Wednesday because the Jews took counsel against Christ, and on Friday because the lawless ones crucified the Lord.7 But you, my prince: if for some reason—or because of some trouble—you have vowed not to eat meat on Wednesday and Friday—David the prophet and king says, “Make your vows and fulfill them”—it is not right for a Christian to bind himself about not eating or drinking, but only if he is bound by his spiritual father.8 Still, we have the tradition from the holy apostles and the holy, God-bearing fathers: on the feasts of the Lord, on all feasts of the holy Mother of God, and on the commemoration of the twelve holy apostles, celebrate spiritually, and use your surplus to feed the poor. Since you have asked me, unworthy as I am: if you are bound by a spiritual father not to eat meat on Wednesday and Friday, receive a release from that same person; or if you bound yourself by a vow, God will forgive you for my sake.9 When a feast of the Lord, or of the holy Mother of God, or of the twelve apostles falls on a Wednesday or Friday, then eat meat.

Editorial Notes on the Manuscript

Critical commentary regarding the historical evolution of fasting practices in Rus' as reflected in manuscript corrections.

History of the Russian Church.10 St. Petersburg11 , 1888. Vol.12 III, ed.13 3rd. pp.14 105–111). The words “15 . . or of the holy Mother of God, or of the twelve apostles. . .” — in the manuscript.16 They are crossed out, and in the lower margin, another hand has written: the Nativity of Christ and the Baptism of the Lord. So the copyist of this manuscript corrected Theodosius of the Caves, because by his time the practice just described of suspending the Wednesday and Friday fast had already ceased to be observed in Rus’.”)17

A Final Blessing

Theodosius concludes his instruction with a brief prayer for the prince.

. And may the God of peace be with you. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Что възмыслилъ еси, боголюбивый княже, въпрашати мене, некнижьна и худа о таковей вѣщи, – въпрашалъ бо еси: аще есть подобно въ день въскресный, еже есть недѣля, заклати ли волъ, ли овьнъ, или птицю, или что от тѣхъ и аще подобно мяса ихъ ясти въ день въскресения, въ недѣлю!

Ибо недѣля не наричется недѣля, якоже вы глаголете, нъ пьрвый день всея недѣлѣ наричется. Понеже Христосъ Богь нашь в тотъ день въскресе из мертвыхъ, и наричется въскресный день. А понеделникъ наричется вторый день, а вторникъ – третий, а среда – четвертый, а четвертокъ – пятый, а пятница – шестый, а субота – седмый. В тѣхъ днехъ свѣршилъ Богъ вся дѣла, небо, и землю, и все, яже в нихъ; последи же створи человека, цесаря надо всѣмъ; въ семый день сконьча вся дѣла.

Исъходящемъ же израильтомъ изъ Египта от работы фараона и прошедшомъ древле Чьрьмное море посуху, и въведе ̀я въ пустыню и прѣпита ̀я ту лѣтъ 40 и законъ имъ да на дъсцѣ камянѣ – Божиимь пьрстомъ написано и дано Моисѣю – и суботу имъ хранити повелѣ: отинудь не дѣлати, ни огня възгнѣщати, ни закалати, нъ вечеръ в пятокъ все приготовити и заутра ясти, ни прѣходити исъ храмины в храмину, егоже хранять и до днешняго дне израильтяне. А понеже Господь Богъ наш съниде на землю, – жидовьская вся умолкоша. И нѣсмы чада Авраамля, нъ чада Христа Бога нашего святаго ради крещения, въ неже самъ ся крестилъ. Господне бо крещение очищаеть еже от рожьства грѣхы.

А иже реклъ ти во недѣлю не рѣзати, ни того ясти, то не от Святаго Писания реклъ, нъ от своего сердца. Рече бо святый Павелъ апостолъ: «Иже кто благовѣстить вамъ паче насъ, еже мы благовѣстихомъ вамъ, проклятъ да будеть». И нѣсть ти възбранено, ни грѣхъ, еже рѣзати въ недѣлю. Аще бо таковый нравъ приимемъ, еже въ суботу рѣзати, а въ недѣлю ясти, то явѣ жидовьствуемь.

Реклъ бо еси, благородне, аще отречется въ среду и в пятницю не ясти мясъ, добро ли есть. Добро вельми и полезно. И не я сего завѣщаю, нъ божьствении святии апостоли да тако бо законъ положиша: да всякъ крестьянинъ постится въ среду и в пятокъ, бѣлци – от мясъ, а черньци – от сыра, въ среду же понеже съвѣтъ створиша жидове на Христоса, а в пятокъ распяша Господа безаконьници. Ты же, княже мой, аще которыя ради вины отреклъся еси или напасти ради въ среду и въ пятокъ мясъ не ясти, – глаголетъ Давидъ, пророкъ и царь: «Обѣщайтеся и въздадите», – недостоить человеку крестьяну себе связати, оже не ясти, ни пити, нъ оже связанъ будеть от отца духовнаго. Обаче прѣдание имамы от святыхъ апостолъ и от святыхъ богоносныхъ отець: въ Господьскыхъ праздницѣхъ и святой Богородици въ всѣ празникы и въ память святыхъ апостолъ 12 празновати духовно, а от изъбытька вашего питати убогыя. И понеже еси мене въпрашалъ недостойнаго, – аще связанъ еси отцемь духовныимъ въ среду и в пятокъ мясъ не ясти, от того же и раздрѣшение приими; или самъ ся еси зареклъ, Богъ мене ради простить тя. Егда ся приключить въ среду или въ пятокъ Господьскый празникъ, любо святѣй Богородици, ли 12 апостолъ, то ѣжь мясо. История русской церкви.

СПб. , 1888. Т. III, изд. 3-е. С. 105–111). Слова «.

. . любо святѣй Богородици, ли 12 апостолъ. . .» – в ркп. зачеркнуты и на поле внизу другим почерком написано Рожество Христово и Крещение Господне. Так переписчик данной рукописи поправил Феодосия Печерского вследствии того, что к его времени указанный порядок отмены поста среды и пятка уже перестал практиковаться на Руси.")

. И Богъ мира буди с вами. Аминь.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.28 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gen.1.28 — And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'
  2. ↩Gen.2.1-Gen.2.2 — Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host. Gen.2.2 — And God finished on the seventh day His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.
  3. ↩Exod.31.18;Deut.9.10 — And when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets written with the finger of God. Deut.9.10 — And the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the LORD spoke with you from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.
  4. ↩Exod.20.8-Exod.20.11 — Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exod.20.9 — Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Exod.20.10 — but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; on it you shall not do any work—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. Exod.20.11 — For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the day of the Sabbath and made it holy.
  5. ↩Gal.1.8-Gal.1.9 — But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel to you beyond what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed. Gal.1.9 — As we have said before, and now say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩ORV недѣля means both 'Sunday' and 'week'. Theodosius rejects the popular naming and insists the day is properly the first day of the week, not a 'nedelya' in the sense his interlocutors use.
  2. 2 ↩цесаря надо всѣмъ rendered 'king over everything' (imperial/sovereign sense of цесарь, not a modern political title).
  3. 3 ↩жидовьская вся is period Christian polemic for Jewish/Old-Covenant custom and law, not an ethnic slur in intent here; rendered as 'all Jewish observance' to keep the supersessionist force plain.
  4. 4 ↩еже от рожьства грѣхы points to birth-sin / original sin inherited from birth, not merely later personal sins.
  5. 5 ↩рѣзати here means slaughtering livestock for food (butchering), not mere cutting in general; the following sentence's prohibition on eating depends on that sense.
  6. 6 ↩жидовьствуемь is the polemical Christian verb 'to judaize'—to keep Jewish Sabbath-style observance. Rendered as 'following Jewish practice' for modern readability while preserving the charge that Saturday slaughter / Sunday eating would reinstate Jewish custom after Christ.
  7. 7 ↩сыра rendered as dairy (cheese/milk foods in the monastic fasting register); бѣлци as laypeople and черньци as monastics.
  8. 8 ↩The parenthesis cites the psalmic duty to keep vows while the main clause restricts self-imposed food-and-drink binding, allowing binding by a spiritual father.
  9. 9 ↩«Богъ мене ради простить тя» is the abbot’s intercessory formula: forgiveness sought through Theodosius’s intercession, not a claim of independent absolving power.
  10. 10 ↩Bibliographic/editorial fragment (continued in the next section as a St. Petersburg 1888 citation), not part of Theodosius’s address.
  11. 11 ↩СПб. is the standard Russian bibliographic abbreviation for Санкт-Петербург (St. Petersburg).
  12. 12 ↩Т. expands to Том (volume) in Russian bibliographic notation.
  13. 13 ↩изд. expands to издание (edition).
  14. 14 ↩С. expands to страница/страницы (page/pages) in Russian bibliographic notation.
  15. 15 ↩Sentence is truncated mid-phrase (Слова «.); it introduces quoted wording continued in the following section's editorial apparatus.
  16. 16 ↩ркп. is the standard editorial abbreviation for рукопись (manuscript).
  17. 17 ↩Source has misspelling «вследствии»; sense taken as standard «вследствие» (‘because / as a consequence of’).

Epistles of Theodosius of the Caves to Prince Iziaslav companion

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