“Diariush”, or “Day Notes” of Saint Dimitry of Rostov as an Early Attempt of Diary Literature in Russia

About the author:

Olga A. Krasheninnikova, PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya 25 a, 121069 Moscow, Russia

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1518-7923

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract:

“Diariush”, or “Daily Notes” of St. Dimitry of Rostov is a small but very important work of the saint, his diary, in which he recorded the main stages of his biography, the days of memory of his relatives and friends, his prophetic dreams and visions. The testimonies of “Diariush” were later used as the basis for the Synodal edition of the Life of St. Dimitry. The article deals with the main documentary and artistic sources of the diary — the martyrology (memorial) of St. Dimitry, his travel diary, autobiographical story, epistolary, etc. The author of the article makes a conclusion, that “Diariush” is the literary monument, which contains two temporary layers: a real, historical time and the circle of the annual Church memories of Minei-Chetii, i. e. time earthly and eternal. The sanctity of the author of the diary was expressed by his sense of belonging not only to the earthly, but also to the heavenly reality.