The Use of Paper Icons in the Nilo-Stolobenskaia Hermitage in the Early Eighteenth-Century

Income books from the Nilo-Stolobenskaia Hermitage provide glimpses into how eighteenth-century monasteries endeavored to improve the spiritual experiences of their pilgrims through the distribution of paper icons. Beginning in 1721, the Nilov monks handed out paper icons throughout the year, but especially during the winter months when pilgrims most often visited the monastery. The miniscule income derived from the exchange of paper icons shows that their distribution did not provide the monastery with extra income but served the spiritual needs of its pilgrims. The surviving paper icons of Saint Nil Stolobenskii indicate that the Nilov monks understood the concern of the Russian Orthodox Church that printed icons follow proper iconographic standards. The display of the figure of Saint Nil and the buildings of his monastery and the hymns to the saint celebrating Nil’s power as a miracle worker on these icons helped pilgrims maintain their spiritual attachment to the saint and his monastery.