Ban as a Political Instrument in the Russian Church of the Middle 11th Century New Data about Luka Zhidyata

Abstract

The article deals with the biography of Luka Zhidyata, the Bishop of Novgorod. The mention of the consecration of St. Sophia of Novgorod by him probably dates back to the “Primary Chronicle”. Information of the chronicles about his three-year suspension and imprisonment in Kiev is compared with the norms of Byzantine canon law. The only rule by which Luka could be subjected to such punishment is a ban for clerics to play dice or communicate with the players. Such an accusation clarifies the role of his servant Dudika in in Luka’s process. The reason for the punishment of Luka by Metropolitan Ephraim was not revenge after Yaroslav's death for his participating in the election of Hilarion and the appointment of new Russian bishops in 1051, but rather the precarious political situation of Ephraim himself after 1054 and Luka's possible attempt to obtain the status of archbishopric for Novgorod.