ON THE QUESTON OF EVOLUTION OF THE OLDEST AREA OF THE NECROPOLIS OF THE TRINITY-ST.DERGIEV MONASTERY IN THE EARLY 15TH — FIST THIRD OF THE 17TH CENTURY

Alexander G. Avdeev

St.-Tikhons Orthodox University, Moscow, Russia

Email: avdey57@mail.ru

ORCID: 0000-0001-7253-9126

Issue: № 3 (31), 2025

Pages: 171

Annotation

The paper, written within the framework of the scientific project “Corpus Inscriptionum Rossicarum”, is devoted to the study of the oldest site of the ground necropolis of the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery. It was located at the southern wall of the Trinity Cathedral and was divided into several burial areas. The core of the area of sanctity was the burial of the founder of the monastery, St. Sergius of Radonezh, which took place at the inner southern wall of the wooden Trinity Church. The importance of this site increased after the construction of the stone cathedral, the burial and subsequent canonization of the disciple and successor of St. Sergius, St. Nikon of Radonezh and St. Serapion Archbishop of Novgorod. From the end of the 60s of the 16th century on the ground necropolis south of the Serapion pavillion the area of church hierarchs and from the end of the century — the area of the authorities of the Trinity Sergius Monastery are actively filled in. The burials in the zone of the nobility south of Nikonov's side chapel fit into the chronological interval from 1551 to 1615; it is not excluded that it could have existed in the late 15th century.

Keywords

Trinity-St.-Sergius Monastery, necropolis, burial, area of sanctity, area of nobility, area of church hierarchy, Corpus Inscriptionum Rossicarum, elite of Moscow Russia, hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church