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"This dissertation explores the image of war (Kriegsbild), in particular petitions for the intercession of saints on behalf of secular rulers, in the hymnography of Northeastern Rus' from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The primary sources include hymnographic works such as canons commemorating the repose of saints or the translatio of their relics, as well as occasional canons and war-related prayers - some of which are translations from Greek into Church Slavonic. The study argues that these liturgical texts constitute a foundational element in the development of political theology, understood here as “an arena for negotiating between the church and the autocratic ruler” (Kusber 2024), particularly within the Muscovite principality from the late 14th century onward. I propose that part of this process of constructing an “ideal image” of symphonia between ecclesiastical and secular authority is rooted in the politicization of saints around the figure of the Muscovite kniaz’." |
