The Miracle-Worker Blessed Simon of Yuryevets: Tradition of Veneration and Iconography

Abstract

Abstract In early modern Russia, church officials who validated cults sought to curb the authority of parishes which owned profitable, miracle-working icons. Nadezhda Pivovarova examines the investigations into the icon of Simon of Yuryevets, a holy fool whose image was banned in the early eighteenth century. This act of censorship reversed almost a century of devotion at the saint’s shrine. Nevertheless, Simon’s icon continued to be venerated by local parishioners until his cult was finally revived by scholars in the late nineteenth century, winning him immense fame. Through a meticulous reading of archival documents, Pivovarova elucidates the steps taken by the Holy Synod to authenticate Simon’s cult. Pivovarova’s study provides valuable insight into the church’s thinking when rejecting a popular icon. Moreover, her essay excavates the events that led to a reimagining of the vita icon—one of Byzantium’s most enduring artistic forms—which still ranks among the most widespread icon types in Orthodoxy.