Foolishness for Christ

The Jurodiwy ( юродивый ) is the Russian version of the fools in Christ. The role can be traced in the Russian cultural and intellectual history to the Middle Ages.

The Jurodiwy has traditionally been an eccentric character who stands outside of conventional society. The craziness of Jurodiwy is ambiguous and can be both real and simulated. It is believed that he ( or she) is divinely inspired and therefore can express truths that no one else could speak. Usually these truths in the form of parables or indirect allusions are revealed. He had a special status in relation to the Tsar, as he was not of earthly control or jurisdiction.

The Russian Orthodox Church has 36 Jurodiwyje to their saints. The most famous of them is the Holy Basil, the eponym of the St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Under Western St. Francis of Assisi would be a typical example of a jurodiwy.

More Jurodiwy

• Procopius of Ustjug
• Xenia of St. Petersburg

Jurodiwy in art and literature

After the 17th century, the Jurodiwy existed mostly only in art and not in real life. Well-known examples are the fool in Pushkin's Boris Godunov and Prince Myshkin in Dostoevsky's Idiot. The composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the pianist Maria Yudina were cited as examples of the 20th century for this type.

Among the films in which a type of Jurodiwy occurs, include the Western Miles of Fire, as well as the film At Home Among Strangers, in which the figure of the Kayom can be regarded as Jurodiwy.

• History of Christianity in Russia
• Literary Figure