The image of the Sacred Interpreter in Archimandrite Evtikhian (Lestev)’s manuscript “Interpretive Theology or Sacred Hermeneutics”

Archive of Scientific Articles

ISSUE:

Manuscript. 2025. Volume 18. Issue 3

COLLECTION:

Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies

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Abstract. The research aims to refine modern understanding of the formation path of the hermeneutical tradition in Russia by analyzing one of the first handwritten domestic hermeneutical works. The article examines the main content of the newly discovered manuscript “Interpretive Theology or Sacred Hermeneutics” by the spiritual-academic thinker of the first half of the 19th century, Archimandrite Evtikhian (Lestev). Particular attention is paid to the image of the interpreter of Holy Scripture created by the author. The multifaceted nature of the requirements set by the author of the manuscript for the Sacred, as he calls them, Interpreter is emphasized. This interpreter, in his opinion, should combine both innate natural qualities and numerous qualities acquired through their own labor. In addition, it is highlighted that the interpreter of Holy Scripture must also possess spiritual gifts, among which humility and hope in God are the most important. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the first-ever substantive analysis of the handwritten spiritual-academic work of the first half of the 19th century “Interpretive Theology or Sacred Hermeneutics” by Archimandrite Evtikhian (Lestev), which makes it possible to expand modern understanding of the origins of Russian hermeneutics. As a result of the research, it was found that the high requirements for the qualities of the Sacred Interpreter in the manuscript under study illustrate the serious attitude of the spiritual-academic author, Archimandrite Evtikhian, to the question of the most accurate interpretation of the meaning of Holy Scripture texts. He considers the correct interpretation of evangelical texts as a necessary condition for pointing readers to the true path of salvation and eliminating deviations and errors from it. The manuscript under study, belonging to the first half of the 19th century, clarifies, by its very existence, modern ideas about the history of the origin and formation of the hermeneutical tradition in Russia, which is usually associated with the name of the author of the second half of the 19th century – P. I. Savvaitov.