---
id: chetyi-minei
recordStatus: draft
liveStatus: new
type: concept
title: Chetyi-Minei
titleEn: Chetyi-Minei
titleRu: Четьи-Минеи
description: "The Orthodox collection of saints' lives arranged for reading through the year; with the Prologue, Tolstoy's favourite reading in the years of A Confession (1879–82)."
relatedArticles:
  - leo-tolstoy
  - buddha
  - john-chrysostom
  - pavel-birukoff
relatedWorks:
  -
    id: confession
    relationshipType: source
themes:
  - saints' lives and the Prologue
identifiers:
  wikidata: ""
fieldSources: {}
---

The *Chetyi-Minei* (<span lang="ru">Четьи-Минеи</span>) is "a collection of the lives of the saints of the Orthodox Church".[^1] The lives are arranged by the days of the year, for reading. Maude translates the name "the Lives of Holy men"; Wiener, "the menaions".

## In A Confession

In chapter XIV, after he drew near to the people and their faith, Tolstoy writes: "So also was it when I read the Lives of Holy men, which became my favourite books. Putting aside the miracles and regarding them as fables illustrating thoughts, this reading revealed to me life's meaning" (XIV.7).[^2] The Russian names two books, the *Chetyi-Minei* and the *Prologues*.

The PSS commentary gives the editions:

- **The *Chetyi-Minei*.** He read the *Book of the Lives of the Saints* printed at the Synodal Press in Moscow, fifth printing, 1864, in 12 volumes; his copy, with many of his marks, is in the library at Yasnaya Polyana. He also read the *Great Menaion Reader* collected by Metropolitan Makary, and V. Klyuchevsky's study *Old Russian Saints' Lives as a Historical Source* (Moscow 1871), whose Yasnaya Polyana copy is also heavily marked.[^1]
- **The *Prologue*.** A widely read book of saints' lives and sermons in old Russia; the oldest copy is of the 12th century and the first printed edition of 1642–44. He read the 1875–76 edition; his marked copy is at Yasnaya Polyana, and its bookmarks suggest he last read it in June 1880. The commentary places the readings named in XIV.7 in the *Prologue*: the life of Macarius the Great (19 January), the life of Prince Joasaph, a Christian retelling of the legend of the [[Buddha]] (18 November), the parable of the traveller in the well (19 November), the monk who found gold (13 September), Peter the publican (22 September), and the words of [[John Chrysostom]], scattered through the whole book.[^3]

## Afterwards

In 1884–85, Birukoff writes, Tolstoy worked up popular legends for the Posrednik publishing house, "with selections from the *Chetyi-Minei* and the *Prologues*".[^4] One result is *Sufferings of the Saints* (1885), two lives of martyrs adapted from the *Chetyi-Minei* of Dmitry of Rostov ([stories-for-the-people dive](../themes/stories-for-the-people/index.md)).[^5]

## Open questions

- The PSS names the 1864 Moscow edition as the one Tolstoy read; the dive summary of *Sufferings of the Saints* names Dmitry of Rostov's compilation. Whether the 1864 printing is Dmitry's text is not checked here.
- Which lives Tolstoy marked in his copies is not shown by these sources.

## Dive provenance

- [1879-1882-a-confession](../works/non-fiction/personal-papers/1879-1882-a-confession/index.md) — the text of A Confession (PSS 23:1–59) and its commentary (PSS 23:515–537); Johan's reader notes of 10 October 2026 asked "what book is this?"
- Birukoff, *Biography*, vol. III, ch. 1 (the doukhobors theme folder), and the stories-for-the-people dive.

[^1]: <span lang="ru">«Четьи-Минеи — сборник житий святых православной церкви. Толстой читал жития святых в издании: „Книга житий святых. Напечатался в царствующем великом граде Москве, в синодальной типографии, пятым тиснением, в лето от рождества по плоти бога слова 1864“, 12 томов. Это издание, с многочисленными пометками Толстого, хранится в яснополянской библиотеке»</span> (PSS 23:534, commentary, note 36). English: ours.

[^2]: <span lang="ru">«То же было со мной при чтении Четьи-Минеи и Прологов; это стало любимым моим чтением. Исключая чудеса, смотря на них как на фабулу, выражающую мысль, чтение это открывало мне смысл жизни»</span> (PSS 23:52, ch. XIV). English: Maude.

[^3]: <span lang="ru">«„Прологом“ в древней Руси называлась весьма распространенная книга, содержащая жития святых и поучения»</span>; <span lang="ru">«Толстой читал „Пролог“ в издании 1875—1876 гг.»</span>; <span lang="ru">«Судя по закладкам, Толстой в последний раз читал „Пролог“ в июне 1880 г.»</span> (PSS 23:534–535, commentary, note 37). English: ours.

[^4]: <span lang="ru">«Л. Н-ч, со своей стороны, занялся разработкой слышанных им или записанных народных легенд, выборкой из четьи-миней и прологов»</span> (Birukoff, *Biography*, vol. III, ch. 1; text from tolstoy-lit.ru). English: the project's translation.

[^5]: PSS 25:860–861, apparatus to *Страдания святых*, as summarised in the stories-for-the-people dive's commentary extract; not checked against the apparatus.