The Cross of Kiy: Prospects for exploring

The Cross of Kiy, commissioned by Patriarch Nikon in 1656, is a symbol of the continuity of the Orthodox tradition of historical Palestine. The Cross has been studied for nearly 365 years. The multifaceted spiritual significance and the palette of the iconographic program of Patriarch Nikon cannot be revealed by methods of one scientific direction. The aim of this article is to generalize the theoretical experience accumulated in the historiography of the Cross of Kiy and to outline promising directions for exploring the monument as part of a comprehensive study. The article shows that the philological, historical church, source, art history, theological, artistic, and cultural studies of the Kiy Reliquary are closely intertwined with linguistic and hierotopic approaches to its exploration, and use the experience of graphic stylistic techniques and certain types of restoration works. The problems of the philological study of the shrine are connected with the features of its iconography, the establishment of theological and artistic value, the reconstruction of its history and veneration. The authors list the tasks, whose solution will allow a comprehensive study of this unique monument of Russian Orthodoxy: (1) to identify, as completely as possible, the sources that contain descriptions of the Cross and the shrines nested in it and to publish all narratives from the sources with a real commentary; (2) to compile a consolidated catalog of images of the Cross and the relics, which will allow considering the Kiy Reliquary in the system of Patriarch Nikon's hierotopic oeuvre and in the context of ancient Russian written sources; (3) to identify saints whose physical remains are embedded in the cross tree; this actualizes the problem of the place and significance of the Cross of Kiy in Christian culture and world Orthodoxy; (4) to investigate the sources of the holy sites of the Cross in the context of the personal veneration of the saints by Patriarch Nikon and the implementation of his program of the distribution of Eastern Christian relics in central and northern Russia as part of church reforms. The authors see the promising directions of the study of the Cross of Kiy in the consistent solution of the listed tasks, which will allow giving an objective assessment of Patriarch Nikon's intentions about Russia in the Orthodox world, revealing new facets of his reform, filling in the gaps in his biography. An integrated approach to the study of the unique reliquary corresponds to the synthesis of iconography, symbolism and semantics in Nikon's hierotopic and architectural works. The patriarch saw Russia as an organic and significant part of Ecumenical Orthodoxy and, with amazing spiritual depth, expressed his views in the Cross of Kiy, a great shrine of the Christian world.

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