During
the three decades between Nikon's elevation to the patriarchate (July
1652) and the execution by fire of the prisoners of Pustozersk,
including Avvakum (April 1682), the Archpriest's influence and fame
grew steadily among those committed to the old rituals. He was
thirty-one in 1652, simply one among several outstanding clerics from
the younger generation who had impressed Neronov and Vonifat'ev by
their piety, force of personality, and devotion to spiritual renewal.
Thirty years later he was considered a saint by many; he had become the
authoritative doctrinal arbiter among the dissenters and an inspiring
example of unflinching defiance no matter the risk or cost.
In
reading Avvakum's Life we are struck by the astonishing record of his
tumultuous existence prior to his final imprisonment. Yet many of his
contemporaries could have matching him tale for dramatic tale, had they
his narrative gifts. Avvakum's sufferings had little to do with his
special destiny. When he returned from his Siberian exile in 1664, the
older leaders of the Lovers of God were scattered, discouraged, or
dead. Conservatives were understandably attracted by this charismatic
and already well-known spokesman for their convictions, especially as
his visibility increased in proportion to his growing antipathy for the
reformers and their conciliatory blandishments. When Avvakum did not
bend under his second exile nor break under the excommunication and
anathema heaped upon his by the Ecumenical Council of 1666-67, he was
thrust into a position of lasting preeminence. His entire life seems to
have been a preparation for this culminating confrontation with the
devil's deputies and for his subsequent imprisonment in the arctic
village of Pustozersk; it was there in bestial incarceration that he
produced the writings which consolidated his place among the
schismatics, in the annals of Russian history, and in the cultural
consciousness of every literate Russian.
This volume includes a
preface, introduction, remarks, annotation, notes, and references by
Kenneth N. Brostrom. The study of Life by V. V. Vinogradov is also
included. Avvakum'sThe Life of the Archpriest Avvakum is translated by
Kenneth N. Brostrom.
