“SKITSKOE POKAYANIE” (“THE SKETE REPENTANCE”) IN MONASTIC MANUSCRIPTS OF THE 15TH CENTURY

Abstract

The understudied text known as “The Skete Repentance” is a prayer related to the monastic penitential discipline. The author of this article identified two new copies of it in manuscript collections of Russian monasteries. Both copies date back to the end of the 15th century. One of them is located in Buslaev’s Psalter, a unique manuscript distinguished by outstanding quality of its calligraphy and ornament. A content analysis of the manuscript and of the text of “The Skete Repentance” allows us to shed light on the circumstances around the creation of the manuscript and on the evolution of the text of the repentance prayer.