Abstract:
The Novgorod archbishop Iona was one of the most important Russian church
personalities of the 15th century; he was canonized after his death. Information
about his life is contained in different literary monuments of the 15th–16th centuries.
One of them was the brief “Tale about the Prophecy of Iona’s Arch bi shopric.”
Researchers believe that this monument became the source of the “Life of
Iona.” This article focuses on the history of the text of the “Tale.” First, the article
con siders the history of research about the “Tale.” Second, the author gives an
over view and description of copies of the work, and examines new copies of the
“Tale.” Third, the researcher analyzes the editions of the “Tale,” revealing their
new features. In conclusion, the investigator considers the question of the in fluence
of the “Tale” on the text of the “Life of Iona.” The author tries to establish the
copy of the “Tale” that was used in the “Life.”
