In the article we examine the circulation and use of Simeon Polotsky’s sermon collection Spiritual Feast (Obed dushevny, Moscow, 1681), based on the study of copies held in major central Moscow collections. A total of 20 copies were analyzed from the holdings of the Russian State Library, the Manuscripts and Early Printed Books Department of the State Historical Museum, the Library of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, and the Scientific Library of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Through the analysis of ownership inscriptions, the study explores various aspects of the book’s presence in Russian culture from the time of its publication to the present day. In addition, the study considers various physical traces of usage – such as pen trials, wax stains, smudges, the degree of wear on the pages, and the presence or absence of engravings in the examined copies – in order to assess the interest in the book both as a physical artifact and as a spiritually beneficial text. In conclusion, the article presents findings on the book’s owners, the geographical distribution of the copies, and its cost. It also pays particular attention to readers’ preferences regarding Simeon Polotsky’s work, analyzing notes indicating the book’s use for private devotional reading and other marginal annotations.
A. M. Zakharova (Wed,) studied this question.