Oeuvres of Cyril of Turov in the Texts of Old Russian Scribes of the 16th-17th Centuries

Among the texts found in the Russian literature, the author of which is named as “Cyril” or “Cyril of Turov”, a significant part of the works does not belong to the Old Russian writer of the 12^th century, but is attributed to him. Some manuscripts of the 16^th–17^th centuries (Canons and Augmented Psalters) include two texts not without some grounds attributed to bishop Cyril. They were created by scribes who knew his work well, and were published by M.I. Sukhomlinov in 1858 according to a manuscript copy of the 17^th century. The title of the first oeuvre varies: “Cyril bishop of Turov’s Kindest Verses to Confession and Demise / Blame for Those Who Want to Mourn Unceasingly the Unbecoming Deeds”. It uses some words and expressions from the writer’s weekly prayers and the structure of praise to the holy fathers from “The Sermon of Remembrance to the Fathers of the Council of Nicaea” in petitions addressed to the holy fathers, hierarchs, apostles, and martyrs. The text varies greatly in the copies, which is due to its history in the Russian writing. The second oeuvre is called “The Prayer of St. Cyril uttered on all days”. Its author worked differently: he included in the text rather large fragments from Cyril’s prayer after Saturday Matins, making minor changes in them. This text, as far as one can judge from the studied copies, is quite stable.

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