The Treatise on Names from the Nomocanon (Kormchaia) of the Kirillo-Belozersk Redaction

Abstract

This article for the first time publishes the Treatise on Names from the little known redaction of the nomocanon (Kormchaia). In the Treatise the unknown author protests against the widespread use of non-Christian names in his time, such as Tomilo, Shumilo, etc., and he says that it is unacceptable for a Christian to have any name other than the one he received at baptism. He allows adding to the name only some indications of a person’s trade, his fatherland or place of origin. In this article the author analyzes the manuscript tradition of the Kirillo-Belozersk redaction that occurred no later than the first quarter of the 17th century. The redaction is the shortened text of the Canon norms of the Daniil’s redaction. Thus its composition is expanded by sections addressing real-life problems, such as: icons painted by “infidels,” unrighteous wealth, and impious names. The paper also examines the issue of the attribution of the titles of this version, which historians formerly had ascribed to Maximus the Greek.