Once Again about the Apocryphal Prayer “7 Angels and 7 Archangels Walked...” in the Vernacular Slavonic Written Tradition

Abstract

The article examines an unpublished apocryphal prayer against “nezhit” and traces the tradition of its origin in South Slavic medieval literature. The prayer begins “7 angels and 7 archangels walked, 7 candles carried, 7 knives sharpened …”. The “nezhit” disease is, generally speaking, a severe headache, which, according to Christian beliefs, develops into an obscure disease associated with the possession of demonic powers. In the apocryphal prayer, there is a repeated semantic dominance of the number 7, aimed at sacralization and an additional guarantee of success in the battle with diseases, since the number 7 is sacred both in pagan beliefs and in Christianity.