“Or in subdeacons for other things, try hard”: canonical status of subdeacon in Rus’ in the 11th-13th centuries

The image and service of subdeacons in Ancient Rus’ extremely rarely become the subject of research by historians. At the same time, the messages of church-legal sources (Answers of Metropolitan George, Canonical Answers of Metropolitan John, Questions of Kirik) allow us to make a number of general comments about the place of subdeacons in the system of church-hierarchical relations and their private life. Apparently, subdeacons were part of the diaconate, their place in ancient Russian society was honorable and in its own way significant. At the same time, the position of subdeacons in Rus’ had its own specifics, which, for example, was reflected in the duality that was present in the question of marriage. The said duality could be explained, among other things, by problems with recruiting clergy, as well as the quality of candidates.