Thieves and the “fence” of Gregory the Wonderworker: land “property” in the structure of the Russian monastic commune and the peculiarities of the economic activity of the Kiev Caves Monastery in the last third of the 11th century

In the Kiev Caves Patericon, a small plot of land is reported, which was cultivated by St. Gregory the Wonderworker. This is the first known mention of the monastery garden in medieval Rus. St. Gregory's clashes with thieves who encroached on his harvest reveal details regarding the economic activities of the Kiev Caves Monastery as a whole. The monk himself took care of the plot, he also resolved issues related to encroachments on him from the outside, therefore this is “his” vegetable garden. But the site was not completely isolated from the structure of the monastery economy: more than one St. Gregory probably worked there, the harvest went to the common table, and the thieves caught in the “fance” worked for the entire monastery. The “small fence” was started by the monk himself and began to be perceived as his personal plot. This was a violation of the Studite Typicon, which was introduced by Theodosius of the Caves and whose effect began to weaken after his death. The possession of a separate plot was a kind of privilege associated with the high position of a monk in the monastic hierarchy. Before St. Gregory, the cultivation of fruit trees was not typical for the monastic economy. The garden was also distinguished by the fact that it probably grew a domestic apple tree (Malus domestica Borkh), a rare plant for Russia at that time (unlike wild species), imported from Greece, whose fruits were especially attractive both externally and from a gastronomic point of view.