within society, being both object and subject of this on-going process of this “created” reality,
transforming culture and creating once and again its own conditions for its existence. The bases of
this mechanism are the processes of typification, objectivation and signification. Thus, processes
are dependent on the agency of its components and on the causal or random continuous emergences
of the system. The results of the continuous interactions of such a set of variables may be diverse in
terms of time and space. The different manifestation also may be diverse through time and the
possibility of similar, but not equal, results in other cultural environments is also possible. These
emergences are ruled only by probabilities.
A prototypical
jurodivyj may interact with major systems in certain dimensions such as the
biological, psychological, historical, and social. This means that the emotions, capacities or
interaction and manners of the prototypical
jurodivyj to communicate with the environment and
how this environment is represented and evaluated are processes subject to other emergences of the
system, such as different mental schemes and perceptions about mental diseases and ascetic
possibilities, historical and religious antecedents available in the current imaginary, etc. Regarding
the social dimension of the prototypical
jurodivyj,
its capacities of agency may
produce a new set of
intentional interrelations interacting with other members of the society in the continuous
reconstruction of an abstract environment described above. These interrelations may be the result or
the basis of a role that is recognized by society, and self-perceived
and performed by the jurodivyj.
This continuous recreation of the system, based on the interrelation of its components,
generates a continuum of manifestations. These manifestations are diverse in nature and number.
Focusing on the heterochronic aspect of the system, it is possible to differentiate two potential
processes, an ontological process and a second process based on “construction and reconstruction of
the past.”
The understanding of
jurodstvo as a continuous reconstruction implies the possibility of very
different results in terms of the number of
jurodivye and quality of the
jurodstvo. As was previously
indicated, autopoietic systems are extremely sensitive. Explaining in mathematical terms the
variability in the results is a question of probability. Having in mind the diversity of the dimensions
embodied in the concept of
jurodstvo, its spread through time in different temporal dimensions, and
the diversity of processes involved in its recreation, it is logical to find that the results show a great
variability in terms of concentration and characterization. Thus, it is not surprising to find and
contrast the only three examples of
jurodstvo in the first three centuries of Russian history against
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the more than twenty records in the next three centuries. From the 18
th
century to the end of the 20
th
century, only one
jurodivyj was canonized, and from the 19
th
century the phenomenon seems to be
more productive in non-religious aspects. In the first decade of the 21
st
century
jurodstvo reached a
new apex with new manifestations.
IV. The sources and their quantitative and qualitative analyses
Keeping the proposed model in mind, a study of
jurodstvo is forced to provide an
understanding based on the records available. These records are just partial evidence of the diverse
emergences of the phenomenon. Fragmentary access to the information makes it almost impossible
to describe the totality of this on-going process. But, it is still possible to rethink the available data
in terms of a systemic understanding of the complexity of the phenomenon.
The manifestations of
jurodstvo through Russian history have been traced and available
information from different sources has been collated, creating a solid database. Confrontation of
qualitative and quantitative analyses of the studied manifestation conforms the different chapters of
the present doctoral project.
In order to be able to organize and systematize the available information a categorization of
the
jurodstvo's main qualities has been established. In doing so, we were able to collate basic
information about every manifestation. The evolution of the diverse
topoi and the disarray in motifs
describing the
jurodivye's interactions within society are expressed in statistical resumes. Statistical
information allows comparative analysis and the confrontation of our qualitative impressions.
The manifestations studied are introduced below. Each group constitutes one chapter of the
present dissertation.
1. Traditional Menologies:
1.1. Earliest hagiographies. Byzantine heritage or
diffusion process
MT 1
Isaac the Recluse
MT 2
Avraamii of Smolensk
MT 3
Procopius of Ustiug
1.2. First apex of
jurodstvo.
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MT 4
Fiodor of
Novgorod and Nikola Kochanov
MT 5
Maxim
of Moscow
MT 6
Michael of Klopsko Monastery
MT 7
Isidor Firm-Word of Rostov
MT 8
Galaction
of Therapont Monastery
MT 9
Lawrence of Kaluga
MT 10
Jacob of Borovichi
MT 11
Basil the Blessed of Moscow
MT 12
Arseny of Novgorod
MT 13
Nikola Salós of Pskov
MT 14
Ioann "Vlasatyi" (The Hairy One) of Rostov
MT 15
Simon of Iurevets
MT 16
Ioann "Bol'shoi Kolpak" (Big-Cap) of Moscow
MT 17
Procopy of Viatka
MT 18
Maxim of Tot'ma
MT 19
Andrew of Tot'ma
2. I. G. Pryžov's ethnograhic works
PR 1
Iván Jakovlevič
PR 2
Semen Mitrič
PR 3
Daniluška Kolomenskij
PR 4
Nikolaša Duračok
PR 5
False
jurodivye
3.
Xenia of Saint Petersburg
X 1
Xenia of Saint Petersburg
4.
Jurodstvo in Damaskin's menology
DA 1
Blažennaja Pelageja Ivanovna Serebrenikova
DA 2
Blažennaja Praskov'ja Ivanovna Sarovskaja
DA 3
Blažennaja Marija Ivanovna Diveevskaja
DA 4
Jurodivyj Onisim
DA 5
Blažennyj Maksim
DA 6
Blažennaja Feoktista
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