THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONCEPTS “MOSCOW, THIRD ROME” AND “MOSCOW, NEW ISRAEL” AND THEIR ROLE IN THE EPILOGUE TO COLLECTION OF 1647
In the ancient Russian writings of the Moscow State era, the formulas “Moscow, third Rome” and “Moscow, new Israel” or “new Jerusalem” are noticeably widespread. By the early 17th century they developed into full-fledged concepts that serve as means of self-identification. The idea of “Moscow, new Jerusalem” did not receive a clear theoretical form, although it was more widespread in writings. This leads to the fact that it is often understood by researchers only as a verbal formula. In the article, it is considered as an original alternative concept that allows to adjust the specific content of the theory “Moscow, third Rome”. The genesis of these two concepts, their theoretical and ideological content, as well as their fate in the literature and historical and political discourse of the 17th century are traced. The question of the relationship between the political and church ambitions of Muscovy, expressed in these theories, is investigated. This perspective allows us to consider the choice of the scribes of the formula «new Jerusalem» in the epilogue to the Collection of 1647 as a kind of marker indicating the sociopolitical tonality of the writing. The author of the article proceeds from the conviction that extraliterary factors are of no less importance than literary factors in studies of Old Russian literature.