The Life of Efrem Perekomsky: Issues on the Archetype of the Monument and Its Literary Sources

One of the crucial problems of studying the Life of Efrem Perekomsky is the establishment of its original text. The article compares two manuscripts of the Life containing descriptions of miracles and their literary sources. As a result of the analysis, it turns out that in a more complete and preserved form, borrowings from the Life of Alexander of Svir are read in the manuscript OIDR 45, and in the manuscript RGIA published by M.A. Fedotova they are either shortened or distorted. The manuscript OIDR 45 also contains borrowings from the “Serbian” miracle of Nicholas of Myra and an earlier miracle of Efrem Perekomsky, even though they are not in the manuscript RGIA. The article concludes that contrary to the prevalent opinion, the original text of Life as a whole is better preserved in the manuscript OIDR 45. It also considers the question of the time of the creation of the Life. Inconsistencies in the chronological readings of sources are proposed to be explained using the following assumptions: The Life was written by an unknown author in the 1670s (before 1687) and completed by another unknown author in the 1710s (between 1711 and 1718); an indication of the authorship of Abbot Roman, a disciple of Efrem, was introduced into the text at the time of its creation under the influence of a literary sample (the Life of Alexander of Svir); the authorship of the Life was attributed to a disciple of Efrem Roman to give the composition greater antiquity and greater authority.