The authenticity of the hymnography of abbot Marcellus Bezborody using the example of the service to the venerable Barlaam and Josaphus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2026_1_133-160Keywords:
hymnographic works of Abbot Marcellus Bezborody, service to the Venerable Varlaam and Josaphus, Athanasius version of the story of Varlaam and Josaphus.Abstract
The relevance of this study stems from the lack of a clear scholarly consensus on the identity of Abbot Marcellus Bezborody and the existence of controversial issues concerning the attribution of some liturgical texts, presumably written by Marcellus. It is known for certain that he composed services to the Venerable Barlaam and Josaphus of India, to the Venerable Nikita the Stylite of Pereslavl, and to Saint Nikita of Novgorod. Services to the Venerable Savva of Storozhevsky and Macarius of Kalyazin are also controversially attributed.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the hymnographer’s working principles and his autonomy as an author by comparing the story of Barlaam and Josaphus with the liturgical text.
The article presents basic biographical information about Abbot Marcel-lus. The service to the Venerable Barlaam and Josaphus is one of the most striking in the hymnography of Abbot Marcellus Bezborody. It reflects the extraordinary talent and originality of this 16th-century Russian hymnog-rapher. For comparison, we use Athanasius’s version of the Tale of Varlaam and Josaphus, which Abbot Marcellus Bezborody relied on when writing the service. This comparison demonstrates that it was Athanasius’s version of the Tale that was available to the hymnographer. Comparison of the text of the service with the Tale reveals the hymnographer’s idiostyle and demonstrates the originality of his work.
The work of Marcellus Bezborody is highly unusual and original. His creative flourishing occurred during a period when imitative texts and texts borrowed from other authors were characteristic of Russian hymnography. Almost all liturgical services for the saints glorified at the Macarius Councils were composed in this manner. In this regard, Abbot Marcellus’s personality is exceptional in 16th-century Russian hymnography. Marcellus Bezborody’s talent was expressed both in the language of his writing and in various creative insertions into the text of the service, previously unheard of in hymnography and hagiography. These include, first and foremost, his introduction of an unusual acrostic into the canon of the service, a phrase dedicated to the service’s main characters, and the codification of the hymnographer’s name.
For citation: Vladimir (Khachapuridze К. А.), hierodeacon The authenticity of the hymnography of abbot Marcellus Bezborody using the example of the service to the venerable Barlaam and Josaphus. // Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary. 2026, no. 1 (34), pp. 133-160. (In Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2026_1_133-160 EDN: HNUKZX
Received 03 November 2025.
Accepted for press 13 February 2026.
Funding: This research did not receive any external funding.
Conflict of interest: The author declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.
The content is available under a license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
ISSN 2687-072Х
JATS XML
Downloads
References
1. Великия Минеи Четии, собранные Всероссийским митрополитом Макарием. Вып. 9, ч. 1. Ноябрь, дни 16-22. / Императорская археографическая комиссия. Москва : Синодальная типография, 1914. С. 2704-2891. URL: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/books/original/25364/nov-9-1-3.pdf (дата обращения: 25.10.2022).
2. Минея. Ноябрь. В 2 ч. Ч. 2. Москва : Издательский Совет Русской Православной Церкви, 2002. 576 с.
3. Полное собрание русских летописей. Т. 13, первая половина. VIII. Летописный сборник, именуемый Патриаршею или Никоновскою летописью. Санкт-Петербург : Типография И. Н. Скороходова, 1904. V, 302, [1] с.
4. Полное собрание русских летописей. Т. 30. Владимирский летописец. Новгородская вторая (архивская) летопись / Академия наук СССР ; отв. ред. М. Н. Тихомиров. Москва : Наука, 1965. 240 с.
Список литературы
1. Владимир (Хачапуридзе), иерод. Службы преподобным Савве Сторожевскому и Макарию Калязинскому: проблема атрибуции // Богословский вестник. 2025. № 1 (56). С. 249-260. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31802/GB.2025.56.1.012
2. Ковалев К. П. Савва Сторожевский. Москва : Молодая гвардия, 2007. 416 с. (Жизнь замечательных людей). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/quhcbn
3. Лебедева И. Н. Повесть о Варлааме и Иоасафе // Словарь книжников и книжности Древней Руси : в 3 вып. Ленинград : Наука, 1987. Вып. 1. С. 349-352.
4. Косицкая А. Е., Старикова И. В. Маркелл // Православная энциклопедия : в 75 т. Москва : Церковно-научный центр «Православная энциклопедия», 2016. Т. 43. С. 735-740.
5. Смирнова А. Е. Творчество гимнографа XVI века Маркелла Безбородого : дис. ...канд. филол. наук : 10.01.01 Санкт-Петербург : Российская академия наук, 2005. 301 с. EDN: https://elibrary.ru/nnonct
6. Спасский Ф. Г. Русское литургическое творчество. Москва : Издательский совет Русской православной Церкви, 2008. 544 с.
7. Хачапуридзе К. А. Распевщик и гимнограф XVI в. игумен Маркелл Безбородый // Слово и образ : вопросы изучения христианского литературного наследия. 2023. № 1 (8). С. 19-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31802/WI.2022.8.1.002
Sources
1. Velikaya Minei Chetii, sobrannye Vserossiiskim mitropolitom Makariem [The Great Menaion Reader collected by Metropolitan Macarius of All Russia]. Moscow, Synodal Printing House Publ., 1914, vol. 9, part 1, pp. 27042891. (In Russian). Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/books/original/25364/nov-9-1-3.pdf (accessed: 25.10.2022).
2. Mineya. Noyabr’ [The Menaion. November]. Moscow, Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Publ., 2002, 576 p. (In Russian).
3. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei [The complete collection of Russian chronicles]. St. Petersburg, I. N. Skorokhodov Printing House Publ., 1904, vol. 13, first half, VIII, The chronicle collection called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle. V, 302, [1] p. (In Russian).
4. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei [The complete collection of Russian chronicles]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1965, vol. 30, Vladimir Chronicler. Novgorod Second (Archive), 240 p. (In Russian).
References
1. Vladimir (Khachapuridze), Hierodeacon Sluzhby prepodobnym Savve Storozhevskomu i Makariyu Kalyazinskomu: problema atributsii [Services to the Venerable Savva Storozhevsky and Macarius of Kalyazin: the problem of attribution]. Bogoslovskii vestnik [Theological Bulletin]. 2025, no. 1 (56), pp. 249-260. (In Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.31802/GB.2025.56.1.012
2. Kovalev K. P. Savva Storozhevskii [Savva Storozhevsky]. Moscow, Molodaya Gvardiya Publ., 2007, 416 p. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/quhcbn
3. Lebedeva I. N. Povest’ o Varlaame i Ioasafe [The tale of Varlaam and Josaphus]. Slovar’ knizhnikov i knizhnosti Drevnei Rusi [Dictionary of scribes and bookishness of Ancient Rus]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1987, issue 1, pp. 349-352. (In Russian).
4. Kositskaya A. E., Starikova I. V. Markell [Marcellus]. Pravoslavnaya entsiklopediya [Orthodox Encyclopedia]. Moscow, Church Scientific Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia” Publ., 2016, vol. 43, pp. 735-740. (In Russian).
5. Smirnova A. E. Tvorchestvo gimnografa XVI veka Markella Bezborod-nogo. Diss. kand. filol. nauk [The creative work of the 16th-century hymnog-rapher Marcellus Bezborody. Cand. philol. sci. diss.]. St. Petersburg, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005, 301 p. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/nnonct
6. Spassky F. G. Russkoe liturgicheskoe tvorchestvo [Russian liturgical creativity]. Moscow, Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Publ., 2008, 544 p. (In Russian).
7. Khachapuridze K. A. Raspevshchik i gimnograf XVI v. igumen Markell Bezborodnyi [Chanter and hymnographer of the 16th century, Hegumen Marcellus Bezborody]. Slovo i obraz: voprosy izucheniya khristianskogo literaturnogo naslediya [Word and Image: Issues of Studying Christian Literary Heritage]. 2023, no. 1 (8), pp. 19-29. (In Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.31802/WI.2022.8.1.002
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
