The Origins of the Russian Bishops and the Problems of the Russian Book Culture of the 16th Century

The article is devoted to the influence of the Russian bishops' career and their spiritual background on the development of the book culture (mainly its elitist segment) in Russia in the 16th century. It was established that about 100 bishops took the monastic vow in the monasteries not far from where they lived. But becoming abbots and bishops they continued their careers in another regions. The article shows that not rarely they were accompanied by the monks who took the participation in the books' production, initiated by their patrons. The removal of bishops and abbots with the persons who were close to them was connected with the relocation of monasteries' books. The author pays much attention to supporting the connections of bishops with their alma mater or the monasteries where they lived for a long time. As a rule they made donations to these monasteries including books which were copied in the regions where they continued their careers. The research is based on the Russian central and local chronicles, the records of income and expenses, the books of donations, the acts, the sinodics and the colophons.