CIVIL TYPEFACE IN PUBLICATIONS OF LITURGICAL TEXTS IN THE 18TH CENTURY: COLLECTIONS OF PRAYERS FOR SAILORS AND SOLDIERS

The article is devoted to collections of prayers for sailors and soldiers published in the first half of the 18th century. The interest in these books is due to the fact that during the life of Peter the Great they were printed in civil typeface. Peter is considered to have immediately abandoned the idea of printing prayers in civil typeface, as a result of which church and secular literature began to be contrasted at the typeface level. However, it turns out that in situations where participation in the service happened to be part of a person’s civil duties, liturgical texts could be printed in civil typeface. The collections of prayers for soldiers and sailors were typically called ‘Decrees’, and their texts contained elements that were more characteristic of military orders than of books intended for worship. The article analyzes the composition and sources of the military prayer book. It shows that the compilers of the latter borrowed material from the Service Book, Triodion, Hirmologion, Horologion and the Psalms. Moreover, the composition and structure of this collection may be recognized as original. The article also considers those legislative acts that determined the functioning of this collection. Relevant articles were found in the Sea Article and the Clauses on Hieromonks Serving in the Navy.

Thus, it is established that the tradition of printing texts intended for liturgical purposes in civil typeface existed already at the beginning of the 18th century.