Lo spazio della santità russa: un approccio storiografico
We consider the possibility of applying the concept of “sanctuary”, which
is missing in Russian, to Russian hagiographic studies. The space of Russian
holiness is unstable; its features are largely due to the fact that Christianity
reached Russia relatively late and developed in isolation from the sacred centres,
and also, in particularly, to the catastrophic nature of Russian history.
First sanctuaries of Kievan Rus’ were destroyed during the Mongol invasion.
Later on, the physical world of sanctity and of relics was destroyed over
and over again in the course of history. The legends about the main exponents
of holiness – miraculous icons – include, crucially, the motifs of movement
and escape.