Editing Foolishness for Christ (section)

== <span id="Holy fool"></span>Eastern Christianity ==
[[File:Василий-Блаженный.jpg|thumb|right|upright | [[Basil Fool for Christ]] (1468–1552), a holy fool to whom [[Saint Basil's Cathedral]] in [[Moscow]] is dedicated]]
[[File:Misha-samuil-1.png|thumb|upright|{{ill|Misha Samuil|ru|Миша-Самуил}} (1848–1907), a holy fool from [[Pereslavl]]]]
The Holy Fool or ''yuródivyy'' (юродивый) is the [[Russia]]n version of foolishness for Christ, a peculiar form of [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[asceticism]]. The yurodivy is a Holy Fool, one who acts intentionally foolish in the eyes of men. The term implies behaviour "which is caused neither by mistake nor by feeble-mindedness, but is deliberate, irritating, even provocative."<ref name="Ivanov, S. A. 2006">[[Sergey Ivanov (Russian historian)|Ivanov, S. A.]] (2006) "Holy Fools in Byzantium and Beyond." Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>

In his book ''Holy Fools in Byzantium and Beyond'', [[Sergey Ivanov (Russian historian)|Ivanov]] described "holy fool" as a term for a person who "feigns insanity, pretends to be foolish, or who provokes shock or outrage by his deliberate unruliness."<ref name="Ivanov, S. A. 2006"/> He explained that such conduct qualifies as holy foolery only if the audience believes that the individual is sane, moral, and pious. The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that holy fools voluntarily take up the guise of insanity in order to conceal their perfection from the world, and thus avoid praise.<ref name="Ivanov, S. A. 2006"/>

Some characteristics that were commonly seen in holy fools were going around half-naked, being [[homeless]], speaking in [[riddles]], being believed to be [[clairvoyant]] and a [[prophet]], and occasionally being disruptive and challenging to the point of seeming [[immoral]] (though always to make a point).

Ivanov argued that, unlike in the past, modern yurodivy are generally aware that they look pathetic in others’ eyes. They strive to preempt this contempt through exaggerated self-humiliation, and following such displays they let it be known both that their behaviors were staged and that their purpose was to disguise their superiority over their audience.<ref name="Ivanov, S. A. 2006"/>

Fools for Christ are often given the title of [[Beatification|Blessed]] ([[wikt:блаженный|блаженный]]), which does not necessarily mean that the individual is less than a saint, but rather points to the blessings from God that they are believed to have acquired.
[[Image:NesterovMV NaRusi206x483GTG.jpg|thumb|left|''The Soul of the People''. Notice the old man in the background, with his arms stretched to heaven, painting by [[Mikhail Nesterov]]]]

The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] records [[Saint Isidora|Isidora Barankis]] of Egypt (d. 369) among the first Holy Fools. However, the term was not popularized until the coming of [[Simeon the Holy Fool|Symeon of Emesa]], who is considered to be a [[patron saint]] of holy fools.<ref name="Parry 1999, p. 233"/><ref name="kopc">''Holy Foolishness, by the Rev. Frank Logue, King of Peace Episcopal Church, Kingsland, Georgia, February 2002''</ref> In Greek, the term for Holy Fool is ''salos''.

The practice was recognised in the [[hagiography]] of fifth-century Byzantium, and it was extensively adopted in [[Muscovite Russia]], probably in the 14th century. The [[Insanity|madness]] of the Holy Fool was ambiguous, and could be real or simulated.  They were believed to have been divinely inspired, and were therefore able to say truths which others could not, normally in the form of indirect allusions or [[parable]]s. They had a particular status in regard to the [[Tsar]]s, as a figure not subject to earthly control or judgement.

The first reported fool-for-Christ in Russia was [[Procopius of Ustyug|St. Procopius]] (Prokopiy), who came from the lands of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] to [[Novgorod]], then moved to [[Ustyug]], pretending to be a fool and leading an ascetic way of life (slept naked on church-porches, prayed throughout the whole night, received food only from poor people). He was abused and beaten, but finally won respect and became venerated after his death.<ref name="prm">{{cite web|url=http://www.pravmir.com/article_205.html |title=Foolishness-for-Christ, Article on Pravmir Portal |publisher=Pravmir.com |access-date=2012-01-04}}</ref>

The [[Russian Orthodox Church]] numbers 36 ''yurodivye'' among its [[saint]]s, starting from [[Procopius of Ustyug]], and most prominently [[Basil Fool for Christ]], who gives his name to [[Saint Basil's Cathedral]] in [[Moscow]]. One of the best-known modern examples in the Russian Church is perhaps [[Xenia of Saint Petersburg|St Xenia of Saint Petersburg]].