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HARVARD UKRAINIAN STUDIES - See also - Harvard University

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274 GERHARD PODSKALSKYthe cause of the schism of 1054), 14 which indirectly accuses the Westernchurch of Arian leanings; however, the details of Byzantine church historyembedded in the text lead us to suspect that a Greek cleric was its author.B. Double Faith (Dvoeverie)For the church of the Rus', the problem of a double faith was far closer toeveryday concerns than were the speculative discussions about Christologyand the Holy Trinity. Along with the major vices of usury, fornication,drunkenness, and violence—and often combined with them—the extremelylong-lived evil of dvoeverie was among the most frequently attacked sins ofnewly converted Christians. 15 To be sure, a famous preacher like the abbotSerapion, later Bishop of Vladimir, could on occasion demonstrate to Christiansad oculos how exemplary the pagans' observation of natural morallaw was, 16 but the continuance of pagan cultic or superstitious practices(e.g., sorcery) was roundly condemned by the church. As yet we have onlyfragmentary ideas about the old Slavic pagans—as we have about the notyet-Christianizedtribes of Central Europe—gleaned from Christian writingsagainst them or contemporary Arabic sources, 17 but the common practice ofdvoeverie has been clarified by artisan-made amulets, among other things. 18In the original Kievan literature, dvoeverie can have two meanings: the conceptusually refers to the simultaneous practice or merging of Christian andpagan cultic forms; but in several passages it <strong>also</strong> means an indecisivevacillation between the Latin and the Greek-Byzantine rite (in cities where14Podskalsky, Christentum, pp. 260f. (on the edition of the above cited text, see p. 259). Onthe problem of filioque, see my article, "Filioque," in Lexikon des Mittelalters, 4, no. 3 (Munich,1987), cols. 449f.15How deeply rooted non-Christian beliefs and reliance on the various forms of prophecyamong the common folk really were, and would remain right into our own times, is shown inthe Ukraine by the almost exclusively pagan customs surrounding the Feast of St. Andrew theApostle: see B. G. Mykytiuk, Die ukrainischen Andreasbrduche und verwandtes Brauchtum(Wiesbaden, 1979); see <strong>also</strong> F. Haase, Volksglaube und Brauchtum der Ostslaven (Breslau,1939).16<strong>See</strong> Podskalsky, Christentum, p. 106 (slovo 5; on the edition of the text cited above, seeibid., p. 105).17<strong>See</strong> M. Esperonnier, "L'evolution cultuelle des Slaves du VII e au XII e s. suivant les textesarabes medievaux. Croyances et rites," Cahiers de civilisation medievale (X e -XII e s.) 27(1984): 319-27. But even though the Christian church issued repeated warnings about "forbiddenbooks" (otrechenniia knigi—writings on sorcery, the use of medicinal herbs, astrology,auguries, etc.), mention of titles or censured passages was frequently omitted (except for theApocrypha).18Concerning the "zmeevki," i.e., medallions worn around the neck and decorated withrepresentations of Mary or the saints on one side and, on the reverse, with the head or body ofthe Medusa in a circle of serpents (hence the name "zmeevki"), see J. Blankoff, "Survivancesdu paganisme en vieille Russie," Problemes d'Histoire du christianisme (Brussels), 8(1979): 29-44 (passim).

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