HERETICAL MOVEMENTS: THE FIRST INCENTIVE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN THEOLOGY OF THE ICON ITSELF AND RUSSIAN POLEMICAL LITERATURE

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of the influence that the emergence of heretical movements had on the development of Russian theology of the icon. The theological idea of icon painting appeared in Russia only in the 16th century and its beginning was connected precisely with the spread of heretical movements - Strigolniki and “Judaizers”, who rejected icon veneration. The polemic with heretics, expressed in the epistles of St. Joseph of Volotsk, helped to develop new aspects of the theology of the icon, especially since regardless of some terminological and factographic errors, St. Joseph defended not only the veneration of icons in itself, but also began to justify the specific iconic plot, which was the Old Testament Holy Trinity.