The iconography of St. John of Damascus in the neumatic heirmologia from the 16th to 18th centuries of the First Polish Republic

Abstract

In this article, the author attempts to discuss selected aspects of the iconography of St. John of Damascus as found in East Slavic musical manuscripts of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (16th–18th centuries), known as heirmologia. The author draws attention to the figure of St. John of Damascus, who is considered one of the most prominent theologians in the Eastern Church, as well as the greatest hymnographer. For this reason, in the liturgical tradition of the Eastern Church, the figure of St. John of Damascus also has a deep symbolic meaning, becoming an integral part of liturgical musical books, such as the octoechos and the heirmologion. The author discusses the evolution of the forms of representing the figure of St. John of Damascus, from the figure of an ascetic monk leaning over a discovered copied book to the representation of a prince/nobleman dressed in a baroque wig and princely robes, who sits on an ornate throne with his hand placed on an open, unwritten book. In the author’s opinion, the evolution of the forms of presenting the figure of St. John of Damascus in the Ruthenian heirmologia testifies to the constant intertwining of the Eastern and Western traditions in the literature of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.