Kotlyarova T. Iconoclastic ideas in the spiritual life of Kievan Rus and Moscow state: religious aspect

The thesis is devoted to the investigation of the conception of iconoclasm in a spiritual life of Kievan Rus and Moscow State. Therefore new origins, peculiarities of the development and the extension of iconoclastic ideas over Rus are discovered. Among the main reasons promoting the formation of the iconoclastic concept we distinguish the influences of the doctrines containing iconoclastic ideas, in particular heretical, the expansion of custom beliefs and fanatical misuse referring icons, the increasing of self libertine, the misunderstanding of theological teaching on icons, etc. A religious analysis of iconoclastic actions is performed in the paper. It is stated that the iconoclasts' deeds in Kievan Rus syncretise with local beliefs and carry out more common and practical character, that is, burning, hacking, pinching, breaking, turning over the icons, etc. Later on the practical iconoclasm becomes even more fanatical in size and manifests itself in anti-church protests of heretics in Moscow State(14th-16th cent). The main attention is paid to the evolutional character of the concept of iconoclasm in Rus from the period of Baptism to the appearance of the first heretical movements of strigolniks and "judaizers". It is investigated that the arguments of Rus iconoclasts on the criticism of icon worship are similar to the past and contemporary iconoclastic movements, for example, the reference to the prohibition of idolatry in the Old Testament, the usage of doubtful moments from the New Testament with the iconoclastic interpretation, the identification of the notions of "reverence" and "worship", the objections relating to the dogma on two essences of God Man Christ, the critical attitude to the phenomenon of the miraculous icon, the disapproval of the honouring of the cross, holy relics, the monkhood, etc.