What do we know about Epiphany the Wise? The works of Epiphanius the Wise. Lives of St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Stefan of Perm. Epiphanius the Wise and his creations

THE WISE Epiphanius [birth year unknown] - writer-hagiographer, monk.

Biographical information about Epiphanius the Wise is scarce and not accurate enough. A Rostovite by birth, he spent about 31 years in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, first as a deacon, and then as a hieromonk and confessor of the brotherhood.

For many years, Epiphanius the Wise was a member of the monastery under the leadership of its founder, Sergius of Radonezh, and met with Stefan, the Bishop of Perm, who visited the monastery. The Trinity-Sergius Monastery with its high book culture was the main theological school of Epiphanius the Wise.

Apparently, Epiphanius the Wise visited Mount Athos.

One of the most educated people of his time, Epiphanius the Wise knew Greek and was well-read in biblical, church teaching, hagiography, historical Byzantine and Old Russian literature. Epiphanius was nicknamed “the Wise” by his contemporaries for his outstanding mental and literary talent.

Soon after the death of Stephen (1396), the first bishop of Perm, Epiphanius the Wise wrote his “Life”. The description of the life of Stephen of Perm did not contain detailed biographical information about him and unfolded in the traditional spirit of church-edifying biographies of “saints” (pious childhood, early love of books, selfless spiritual deeds, blessed death). But in literary terms, this extensive work of Epiphanius the Wise was distinguished by its novelty and significance. Epiphanius the Wise glorified Stephen of Perm as an educator of the Komi (Zyryans), who converted them from paganism to Christianity, as the creator of the Perm alphabet, and a translator of books of “holy scripture” into the Perm language. The moral victory of Stefan over the Perm sorcerer Pam, the crushing of idols by Stefan, and the destruction of the “sacred” birch tree are especially expressively described. Epiphanius the Wise equated the actions of Stephen with the largest events in the history of ancient Christianity. The description of the death of Stephen of Perm is followed by solemn and touching “lamentations” for him by all the “Perm people”, the Perm church and the author himself, composed by Epiphanes the Wise. In his work on the life of Stephen of Perm, Epiphanius the Wise creatively used Hilarion’s “Sermon on Law and Grace.”

The second work of Epiphanius the Wise - "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh" written in 1417-1418, differs from the first “Life” in greater biographical detail, consistency of presentation and lyricism. While maintaining the rhetorical intensity of the style, Sergius’s “Life” does not shy away from “vernacular” in places. This “Life” includes an episode about how Prince Dmitry Donskoy prepared for the battle with the Tatar army of Khan Mamai and received the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh for this battle. In both “lives” the author’s excited thoughts about the fate of his heroes and the people around them abound. The inner life of people is revealed by Epiphanius the Wise with the help of contrasting and expressive characteristics of individual psychological states (feelings of “good” or “evil”), which rarely replace each other. The style of “hagiography” is distinguished by pomp and symbolic-metaphorical richness. The abundance of complex epithets, comparisons, synonyms and allegories creates an extreme ornateness of verbal imagery, which Epiphanius the Wise himself aptly called a “weaving of words” or a verbal “web”.

The “Lives” created by Epiphanius the Wise are among the best monuments of ancient Russian hagiographic literature, and Epiphanius the Wise himself is rightfully considered the greatest master of the hagiographic-panegyric style, new for his time, which developed the high traditions of the literature of Kievan Rus and deepened the achievements of South Slavic literature (XIV - beginning of the 15th century).

The style of Epiphanius the Wise became a model for many works of Russian literature of the 14th-16th centuries, glorifying the power of Russian statehood and the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. It is possible that Epiphanius the Wise also wrote an introduction to the Tver chronicle, a letter to Abbot Kirill of Tver, “A Sermon on the Life and Repose of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia”.

Died around - .

Russian writers. Biobibliographical dictionary.

Epiphanius the Wise(2nd half of the 14th century - 1st quarter of the 15th century) - monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, author of lives and works of other genres. Information about E.P. is extracted only from his own writings. Judging by one of them - “The Tale of the Life and Teachings” of Stefan of Perm - one can think that E.P., like Stefan of Perm, studied in the Rostov monastery of Gregory the Theologian, the so-called Shutter, famous for its library: he writes that he often “fought” with Stefan about understanding texts and was sometimes an “annoyance” to him; this suggests that if Stefan was older than E.P., then not by much. Stefan studied Slavic and Greek there and eventually could speak Greek. The huge number of quotations and literary reminiscences cited from memory, intertwined with each other and with the author’s speech, in E.P.’s writings shows that he knew the Psalter, the New Testament and a number of books of the Old Testament very well and was well read in patristic and hagiographical literature (see about this in the book by V. O. Klyuchevsky on pp. 91-92); from the meanings of Greek words given by him, it is clear that he, to some extent, learned the Greek language (it is important in this regard that, according to the Tale of Peter, Tsarevich of the Horde, in Rostov church services were conducted in parallel in Greek and Russian).

From the Eulogy to Sergius of Radonezh, inscribed in the name of E.P., it follows that the author traveled a lot and visited Constantinople, Mount Athos and Jerusalem. But since the Life of Sergius of Radonezh, compiled by E., was touched upon in the 15th century. Pachomius the Serb, it is possible that the words about travel belong to him; however, stylistically this “Lay” is related to the works of E.P., and there is no other reason to think that Pachomius invaded it with his pen.

Archimandrite Leonid assumed that the indication of the way to Jerusalem written by E.P. has reached us, meaning the “Tale” inscribed with the name of Epiphanius “mnikha”. Later it turned out that most of the text of this monument coincides with the “Walking” of Agrephenius. It is still possible that Epiphanius, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land after 1370 and used for his “Tale” the recently written “Walk” of Agrephenius, was E.P. (the beginning of the journey seems strange only for E.P. from Veliky Novgorod). F. Kitsch admits that E.P. visited Athos even before writing the Word on the life and teaching of Stephen of Perm, because in the techniques of “weaving words” characteristic of this work, one can feel the author’s familiarity with the works of Serbian and Bulgarian hagiographers of the 13th-14th centuries . (but she does not exclude the possibility that E.P. could have met them in Rostov).

In the title of the Eulogy to Sergius of Radonezh, E.P. is called “his disciple.” Pachomius the Serb in the afterword to the Life of Sergius says, moreover, that E.P. “for many years, especially from the very age of his youth,” lived with the Trinity Abbot. More definitely, we can only say that in 1380 E.P. was in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and was then already an adult, literate, experienced book scribe and graphic artist, as well as an observant person prone to chronicle records: what he wrote there in this time Stichirarion - GBL, collection. Tr.-Serg. Lavra, No. 22 (1999) - with a number of postscripts containing his name, including about the incidents of September 21, 1380, the thirteenth day after the Battle of Kulikovo (postscripts published by I. I. Sreznevsky).

When Sergius of Radonezh died (1392), E.P. began making notes about him. Apparently in the 90s. E.P. moved to Moscow. But in the spring of 1395, at the time of the death of Stefan of Perm in Moscow, he was absent there. Written as if under the fresh impression of the death of Stephen of Perm, the “Sermon on the life and teaching of our holy father Stephen, who was a bishop in Perm” is usually dated to the 1390s. But there are no solid grounds for such a dating, excluding the beginning of the 15th century. E.P. writes that he diligently collected information about Stefan everywhere and compiled his own memoirs. E.P. conducted and wrote these inquiries, obviously, in Moscow, without going to Perm (otherwise, I think he would have said so). He calls himself in the text “a thin and unworthy wretched monk”, “a monk who writes off”, and in the later title he is called “a monk among the holy monks”; so it is possible that he was ordained as a priest later than the writing of the “Tale of the Life and Teaching” of Stephen of Perm. E.P. notes that he took up work on this “Word” with great willingness, “we are driven by desire... and we strive with love,” which is confirmed by the very lively and chromatically rich tonality of the work and the author’s generosity in various, seemingly optional excursions (for example, about the month of March, about alphabets, about the development of the Greek alphabet). In places there is irony in his text (at himself, at church careerists, at the sorcerer Pam). In his speech and in the speech of his characters, including pagans, E.P. abundantly invests biblical expressions.

In total, in the “Sermon on the Life and Teaching” of Stephen of Perm, there are 340 quotations, of which 158 are from the Psalter. Sometimes E.P. composes very long chains of quotes alone. It has been noticed (F. Wigzell) that he does not quote literally exactly, from memory, without being afraid to change the grammatical form if he needs it for some reason, and freely adapt the quoted text to his speech rhythm, without, however, compromising his meaning. Sometimes in the text of E.P. there are proverbs (“Vision is truer than hearing,” “like sowing on water”). It’s E.P.’s taste to play with words like “...the bishop’s “visitor” will appear, and the visitor will be visited by death.” He is very attentive to the shades of both the semantic and sound, musical side of a word, and sometimes, being stopped, as it were, by some word or a flaring feeling, he suddenly launches into skillful variations on the theme of this word and seems unable to stop. E. P. could see examples of this kind of rhetorical variations, dating back to the ancient technique of the “Gorgian Scheme,” both in translated literature and in the original South Slavic literature (for example, in the Life of St. Simeon, written in the 13th century by the Serb Domentian, and in works of the so-called Tarnovo school of Patriarch Euthymius).

E.P. writes about himself - of course, rhetorically and self-deprecatingly - as an ignoramus from the point of view of ancient education, but his widespread use of techniques of the art of speech dating back to antiquity shows that he went through a good rhetorical school either in the Rostov "Shutter" or at southern Slavs, or in Byzantium among the Greeks. Using, for example, the technique of homeotelevton (consonance of endings) and homeoptoton (equal cases), while openly rhythmizing the text, he creates, without any transition from ordinary prose, in a prose environment, periods that, in modern opinion, approach poetic ones. This kind of panegyric meditation (V.P. Zubov, O.F. Konovalova compares them with a book’s artistic ornament) are usually found in those places where the speech concerns something that arouses in the author a feeling of the eternal, inexpressible by ordinary verbal means. Such periods are oversaturated with metaphors, epithets, and comparisons. Moreover, when making comparisons (notes O.F. Konovalova), what is usually meant is not the real similarity of something with the object of speech, but the symbolic meaning of the object, which is biblical in origin. Synonyms, metaphorical epithets, comparisons are sometimes arranged, like quotations from Scripture, in long chains. It is the “Tale of Life and Teaching” by Stefan of Perm that first of all allows us to speak of E.P. as a Russian writer, in whose work the style of “weaving words” reached its highest development.

According to composition, the “Tale of Life and Teaching” is divided into introduction, main narrative and rhetorical conclusion. The main narrative is divided into 17 chapters, each with its own title (“Prayer”, “About the Church of Permstey”, “Teaching”, “About the debate of the sorcerer”, etc.). The final section, in turn, has four parts: “The Cry of the Perm People”, “The Cry of the Church of Perm, When Widowed and Crying for the Bishop”, “Prayer for the Church” and “Crying and Praising the Monk Writing Off”. Of these, “The Cry of the Perm People” contains the largest amount of specific historical information and is closest to the chronicle laments. In “The Cry of the Church,” folklore motifs such as the funeral laments of widows and brides are stronger. In general, in this final part of the Word, three stylistic layers are distinguished: folklore, chronicle and laudatory, traditional for the lives. The composition of the Word with all its features belongs, apparently, to E.P. himself: no predecessors or successors of this Word in composition were found among the Greek and Slavic Lives.

Being an outstanding work in its literary qualities, the Tale of Stephen of Perm is also a most valuable historical source. Along with information about the personality of Stefan of Perm, it contains important materials of an ethnographic, historical, cultural and historical nature about the then Perm, its relationship with Moscow, the political outlook and eschatological ideas of the author himself and his circle. This “Word” is noteworthy for the absence of any miracles in its content. At the same time, however, it is in no way a biography in the modern sense of the word. Only in passing, for example, do we learn that Stefan was well acquainted with Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich and Metropolitan Cyprian and enjoyed their love, but when and how he met them is unknown; Also, by the way, from the cries of the Perm people, it becomes known that some Muscovites derogatorily called Stefan Snore, but how this nickname arose and what is connected with it is also unknown. The main thing that E.P. focuses on is Stefan’s studies, his mental qualities and his work on creating the Perm charter and the Perm church. E.P. praises Stefan for his persistence in learning, noting that he, having a sharp and quick mind, could nevertheless delve into every word of the text he was studying for a long time, but at the same time quickly, skillfully, beautifully and hardworkingly wrote books. E.P. notes with praise that Stefan learned all external philosophy and book wisdom, that he knew Greek and Permian languages; that he created a new written language, Permian literacy, and translated books from Russian and Greek into Permian and taught Permians this literacy using these books; that he taught them to sing hymns in the Permian language; that he saved them from hunger by bringing bread from Vologda; for the fact that he defended his flock from the cruelties of the Moscow administration and from Novgorod robbers.

“The Tale of the Life and Teachings” of Stephen of Perm has reached us in manuscripts and in full form (the oldest or one of the oldest copies is GPB, collection of Vyazemsky, No. 10, 1480; in total, about twenty copies of the 15th-17th centuries are known) , and in one way or another abbreviated, including a short prologue (in total, more than thirty lists of differently abbreviated text of the Word are known). In the 16th century Metropolitan Macarius included the “Sermon on Life and Teaching” in the Great Menaions of Chetia on April 26 (Assumption list: State Historical Museum, Synod. collection, No. 986, l. 370-410).

Living in Moscow, E.P. knew Feofan the Greek, loved to go to talk to him, and he, as he writes, “had a great love for me.” In 1408, during the invasion of Edigei, E.P. fled with his books to Tver, where he found a patron and interlocutor in the person of Archimandrite Cornelius of the Spaso-Athanasian Monastery, in the schema of Cyril. Six years later, Archimandrite Kirill remembered four unusual miniatures he had seen in the Gospel of H.P. depicting the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople (“I remembered last winter,” writes H.P.). In response to this, in 1415 E.P. wrote his message to him, preserved in the only list - GPB, Solov. collection, No. 1474/15, l. 130-132 (XVII-XVIII centuries). In this message or passage, entitled “Copied from the message of Hieromonk Epiphanius, who wrote to a certain friend of his Cyril,” we are talking about Theophanes the Greek as the author of the drawing copied by E.P. in his Gospel and which interested Cyril. E.P. highly appreciates Feofan’s intelligence, education and art. Only from this message is it known that Theophanes the Greek painted more than forty stone churches in Constantinople, Chalcedon, Galata, Kafa, Veliky and Nizhny Novgorod, in Moscow, as well as the “stone wall” (treasury, N.K. Goleizovsky believes) of Prince Vladimir Andreevich to the tower of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich. E.P. also notes the extraordinary freedom of the artist’s behavior during creativity - that while working, he never looked at samples, constantly walked and talked, and his mind was not distracted from his painting. At the same time, E.P. ironizes over the constraint and uncertainty of “our non-essential” icon painters, who are unable to tear themselves away from the models. In this letter, E.P., by the way, calls himself an “isographer,” and from the fact that he copied the drawing of Theophanes the Greek, it is clear that he was at least a book miniaturist.

In 1415, E.P. no longer lived in Moscow (“always living in Moscow,” he writes in a letter to Kirill Tversky). Most likely, he had already returned to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, since in 1418 he completed the work that required his presence there on the life of the founder of the monastery, Sergius of Radonezh (at the beginning of this life, E.P. notes: “... such a holy elder, most wonderful and kind From there he died 26 years ago." Probably at this time, if not earlier, E.P., as Pachomius the Serb writes, “was the confessor in the great Lavra to the entire brotherhood.”

The Life of Sergius of Radonezh is an even larger work in volume than the Tale of Stephen of Perm. In composition, it is similar to that: the main part of the narrative is preceded by an introduction and is also divided into separate chapters with special names (there are thirty of them in total), and the entire Life ends with “A word of praise to our venerable father Sergius. It was created by his disciple, the holy monk Epiphanius.” In its tone and theme, this life is much smoother and calmer than the “Tale of Life and Teaching” by Stephen of Perm. There are no excursions “to the side” like there, there is less irony; there are almost no rhythmic periods with homeoteleutons, much less play with words and synonymous amplifications, but they still exist; there are no “cries”, there is only “Prayer” at the end. One feels that the work was written by a much calmer person than “The Tale of Life and Teaching.” However, they have a lot in common. Many quotations from Scripture, expressions, and images coincide. The critical attitude towards the actions of the Moscow administration on the annexed lands is similar. E.P. sometimes pays close attention here to the sensory side of objects (very vivid, for example, is the description of the bread received in the monastery after the famine and the listing of colorful and luxurious expensive fabrics). Being also one of the pinnacles of Russian hagiography, the Life of Sergius of Radonezh, like the Tale of Stephen of Perm, is a most valuable source of information about the life of Muscovite Rus' in the 14th century. It contains a large number of names, ranging from people who moved with Sergius’s parents from the Rostov region to Radonezh, and ending with the Metropolitan and Grand Duke of Moscow, appearing in some of its episodes. Unlike the “Tale of Life and Teaching,” this life is full of miracles. In the middle of the 15th century. supplemented it in terms of posthumous miracles, but also shortened and rearranged it in some ways by Pachomius the Serb. It is even believed that the Life has not been preserved in its completely pure original form. It has come down to us in several editions, the relationship of which has not yet been fully studied. In the edition, which N. S. Tikhonravov considered the original, Y. Alissandratos discovered a symmetrical arrangement of themes. In the 16th century Metropolitan Macarius included the Life into the VMC on September 25th. It was subjected to repeated alterations even after Pachomius the Serb (for more details, see the article “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”).

In addition to the praise that ends the Life of Sergius of Radonezh, E.P. is also credited with a second praise of Sergius entitled “The Word of Praise to the Venerable Abbot Sergius, the new wonderworker, who also in the last births in Rus' shone forth and received many healing gifts from God.”

Based on the words of E.P. in the Life of Sergius of Radonezh about his nephew Theodore of Rostov (“The rest of his deania will be written indefinitely, as the word of another time is similar to the demanding word”), one can think that he at least planned to write the Life of Theodore, but for us it is unknown.

The “Tale of the Life and Teachings” of Stefan of Perm and the Life of Sergius of Radonezh (especially the Lay) are similar in many ways to the “Tale of the Life and Repose of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia.” V.P. Adrianova-Peretz was the first to note this, but she herself was inclined to believe that the author imitated E.P. and wrote, therefore, no earlier than the 20s. XV century A. A. Shakhmatov and S. K. Shambinago considered the Word as a work of the 14th century. A.V. Solovyov remained at this point of view and, following V.P. Adrianova-Peretz, compared the literary devices of the two Words, and came to the conclusion that they were both written by the same author. He rated the Lay of the Prince as the most brilliant work of literature of the late 14th century. and concluded that E.P. wrote it before the “Tales of the Life and Teachings” of Stephen of Perm. But M.A. Salmina and M.F. Antonova returned to the point of view of V.P. Adrianova-Peretz, one on the basis that the Word about Dmitry Donskoy first appeared, in her opinion, in the so-called “code of 1448.” » (the hypothetical source of the Chronicles of Sophia I and Novgorod IV), the other - because “irrefutable facts indicating the authorship of one person - Epiphanius”, she could not find, but noticed obvious stylistic parallels to the Word in HIVL - in the Tale of the Invasion of Tokhtamysh (1382 g.), in the philosophical and poetic accompaniment of the Spiritual Letter of Metropolitan Cyprian (1406), in reports of the paralysis and death of the Tver Bishop Arseny (1409) and in the preface to the story of the repose of the Tver Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich (formerly S.A. Boguslavsky and S.K. Shambinago noted the similarity of the style of this preface and the works of E.P., see: History of Russian Literature. M.; Leningrad, 1945, vol. 2, part 1, pp. 238, 245-246) . After this, in the text of the Word it was noticed that a Letter from the author to the customer had accidentally fallen into it, and in the composition of this Letter there were features of similarity with the composition of the works of E.P. - the Life of Sergius of Radonezh and Letters to Kirill Tverskoy; at the same time, the previously understood period of the text of the Word, into which the Letter was wedged, was also clarified; It turned out that, playing with the semantic plans of the speech, the author hints at some kind of evil associated with the prince and makes it clear that he prefers to remain silent about it. This place reveals his acquaintance with the “Dioptra” of Philip the Hermit (and the same technique leading to the “Dioptra” is used in the poetic accompaniment of the Spiritual Letter of Metropolitan Cyprian). Stylistic parallels were also noted between the inscribed works of E.P. and the Moscow chronicle (characteristic of Dionysius of Suzdal, The Tale of Mitya-Mikhail) and a case specific to E. was indicated. P. use of the word “visitor” in the letter of Metropolitan Photius. As a result, it turned out to be possible (G.M. Prokhorov) that E.P. was involved in maintaining the Moscow chronicle under Metropolitan Cyprian and carried out literary orders for the all-Russian collection; in particular, he wrote “The Tale of the Life and Death of the Grand Duke” (the oldest type of text is preserved in a 15th-century list in the GPB, F.IV.603); and under Metropolitan Photius he served as a writer-secretary.

E.P. died no later than 1422, the time of the discovery of the relics of Sergius of Radonezh (he does not know about this yet).

Ed.: Life of our venerable and God-bearing father Sergius of Radonezh and wonderworker of all Russia: (According to the face list of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra of the 16th century). Sergiev Posad, 1853; A word about the life and teaching of our holy father Stephen, who was a bishop in Perm // PL. St. Petersburg, 1862, issue. 4, p. 119-171; Epistle of Epiphanius to St. Cyril, 1413 / Ed. A. I. Nikiforov // PS, 1863, vol. 3, p. 323-328; Sreznevsky. Monuments, stb. 240-241; The life and labors of our venerable and God-bearing father, Abbot Sergius the Wonderworker, and the little confession of his divine miracles, was copied by his disciple, the holy monk Epiphanius // VMCh, September, days 25-30. SPb., 1883, stb. 1463-1563; On the same day (September 25) the Word of praise to our venerable father Sergius was created by his disciple, the holy monk Epiphanius // Ibid., stb. 1563-1578; The life of our venerable and God-bearing father Sergius the Wonderworker and a word of praise to him, written by his disciple Epiphanius in the 15th century. / Reported by Archimandrite. Leonid. Printed according to the Trinity lists of the 16th century. with discrepancies from the Synodal list of Makariev Chetiyh-Menya. SPb., 1885 (PDPI, No. 58); The Legend of Epiphanius Mnich on the Path to Jerusalem, ed. archim. Leonida // Teaching staff, St. Petersburg, 1887, vol. 5, issue. 3 (15), p. I-III, 3-6; Tikhonravov N. S. Ancient Lives of St. Sergius of Radonezh. M., 1892 (2nd ed. M., 1916; reprint: Die Legenden des heiligen Sergij von Radonež. Nachdruck der Ausgabe von Tichonravov. Mit einer Einleitung und einer Inhaltsübersicht von L. Müller. München, 1967); Life of St. Stephen, Bishop of Perm written by Epiphanius the Wise / Ed. Archaeographer. com., ed. V. G. Druzhinina. St. Petersburg, 1897 (reprinted with an introduction by D. Chizhevsky: Apophoreta Slavica. The-Hague, 2, 1959); The month of April is 26th day. Our venerable father Epiphanius composed a Word about the life and teaching of our holy father Stephen, who was a bishop in Perm // VMC, April, days 22-30. M., 1915, stb. 988—1109; Grabar I. E. 1) Theophanes the Greek // Kazan. museum Vestn., 1922, No. 1, p. 5-6; 2) Theophan the Greek: (Essay on the history of ancient Russian painting) // On ancient Russian art. M., 1966, p. 78-82; Letter from Epiphanius to his friend Cyril / Trans. from other Russian and com. A. I. Nekrasova // Masters of art about art. Vol. 4. Selected excerpts from letters, diaries, speeches and treatises. M.; L., 1937, p. 15-18; Epiphanius the Wise: Translation from other Russian. I. G. Dobrodomova / Comp., preface. and note. N. K. Goleizovsky // Masters of art about art. Vol. 6. Selected excerpts from letters, diaries, speeches and treatises. M., 1969, p. 26-30; Strokov A., Bogusevich V. Novgorod the Great. L., 1939, p. 108-110; Lazarev V.N. Theophanes the Greek and his school. M., 1961, p. 113-114; Epiphany's Message to Kirill Tverskoy / Prep. text, trans. to modern times rus. language and com. O. A. Belobrova // Izbornik: (Collection of works of literature of Ancient Rus'). M., 1969, p. 398-403, 750-751; The life of our venerable and God-bearing father, Abbot Sergius the Wonderworker. Copied quickly from the Wise Epiphanius / Prep. text and com. D. M. Bulanina, trans. to modern times rus. language M. F. Antonova and D. M. Bulanin // PLDR. XIV - mid. XV century M., 1981, p. 256-429, 570-579; Extracted from the message of Hieromonk Epiphanius, who wrote to a certain friend of his, Cyril / Prep. text, trans. to modern times rus. language and com. O. A. Belobrova // Ibid., p. 444-447, 581-582.

Lit.: Filaret. Review. Kharkov, 1859, p. 119-120; Klyuchevsky V. O. 1) Exemplary writers of Russian lives in the 15th century. - PO, 1870, No. 8, p. 188-208; 2) Old Russian Lives, p. 88—132, 247, 351; Arseny And Ilarius. Description of Slavic hands. Holy Trinity Library Sergius Lavra. M., 1878, part 1, p. 36-37: Barsukov. Sources of hagiography, stb. 511-521, 544-548; Leonid [Kavelin]. Information about Slavic manuscripts received from the book depository of the Holy Trinity-Sergius Lavra to the library of the Trinity Theological Seminary in 1747. M., 1887, issue. 1, p. 22, 49, 75; M., 1887, issue. 2, p. 40, 41, 105; Belokurov S. A. Venerable Sergius of Radonezh and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Russian literature. M., 1892; Zelinsky I. Epiphanius the Wise as the author of lives // Tr. Kyiv. spirit. acad., 1897, No. 3, p. 230-232; Churilovsky I. F. Notes on the manuscripts of the Chudovsky Monastery containing the Life of Stephen of Perm // LZAK, 1901, vol. 12, Extracts from the protocols, p. 32-36; Epiphanius the Wise // PBE. Pg., 1905, vol. 5, stb. 483-484; Golubinsky E. E. Venerable Sergius of Radonezh and the Trinity Lavra he created. 2nd ed. M., 1909; Sedelnikov A. D. From the field of literary communication at the beginning of the 15th century: (Kirill of Tverskoy and Epiphanius “Moscow”) // IORYAS. L., 1926, t. 31, p. 159-176; Martyushev A. M.“Epiphanieva” story as a historical document about the Komi people: (Material on the history of the Komi people) // Zap. I studied the islands. Komi region. Ust-Sysolsk, 1929, issue. 2, p. 12-34; History of Russian literature. M.; L., 1945, vol. 2, part 1, p. 235-238; Adrianova-Peretz V. P. A word about the life and death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia // TODRL. M.; L., 1947, vol. 5, p. 82-89, 91; Borisevich L. S. 1) Monuments of Moscow literature of the 14th - early 15th centuries. (1326-1418). Author's abstract. Ph.D. dis. Tyumen, 1951; 2) Political trends in Moscow “lives” of the 14th century. // Scientist. zap. Shakhtin. ped. Institute, 1957, vol. 2, issue. 1, p. 53-63; Zubov V. P. Epiphanius the Wise and Pachomius the Serb: On the issue of editions of the Life of Sergius of Radonezh // TODRL. M.; L., 1953, vol. 9, p. 145-158; Lazarev V.N. Painting and sculpture of Novgorod: XIV century // History of Russian art. M., 1954, vol. 2, p. 150-154; Likhachev D. S. 1) Depiction of people in hagiographic literature of the late XIV-XV centuries. // TODRL. M.; L., 1956, vol. 12, p. 105-115; 2) Man in the literature of Ancient Rus'. M.; L., 1958, p. 80—103; 2nd ed. M., 1970, p. 72-92; 3) Some tasks of studying the second South Slavic influence in Russia. M., 1958 (same in the book: Studies in Slavic literary criticism and folklore. M., 1960, pp. 95-151); 4) The culture of Rus' during the time of Andrei Rublev and Epiphanius the Wise (late XIV - early XV centuries). M.; L., 1962; 5) Pre-Renaissance in Rus' at the end of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries. // Literature of the Renaissance and problems of world literature. M., 1967, p. 136-182; Voronin N. N. 1) Literary sources in the works of ancient Russian architects // TODRL. M.; L., 1957, t. 13, p. 364-374; 2) Architecture of North-Eastern Rus' XII-XV centuries. T. 2. XIII-XV centuries. M., 1962, p. 184, 415-420; Konovalova O. F. 1) On the question of the literary position of the writer of the late 14th century. // TODRL. M.; L., 1958, t. 14, p. 205-211; 2) Comparison as a literary device in the Life of Stephen of Perm, written by Epiphanius the Wise: (From observations on the style of panegyric literature of the XIV-XV centuries) // Collection of articles on methods of teaching foreign languages ​​and philology. Caf. foreign language and philol. Leningr. technol. Institute of Refrigeration Industry. L., 1963, issue. 1, p. 117-137; 3) A word of praise in the “Life of Stephen of Perm”: (Form and some stylistic features) // Ibid. L., 1965, issue. 2, p. 98-111; 4) “Weaving of words” and wicker ornament of the end of the 14th century: (On the issue of correlation) // TODRL. M.; L., 1966, t. 22, p. 101-111; 5) The principle of selecting factual information in the Life of Stephen of Perm // TODRL. M.; L., 1969, t. 24, p. 136-139; 6) About one type of amplification in the Life of Stephen of Perm // TODRL. M.; L., 1970, t. 25, p. 73-80; 7) Panegyric style of Russian literature of the late XIV - early XV centuries: (Based on the material of the Life of Stephen of Perm, written by Epiphanius the Wise. Abstract of candidate thesis. L., 1970; 8) Visual and emotional functions of the epithet in the Life of Stephen of Perm // TODRL . L., 1974, t. 28, p. 325-334; 9) Constructive and stylistic application of quotations in the Life of Stephen of Perm, written by Epiphanius the Wise // Zeitschrift für Slawistik, 1979, Bd 24, Heft 4, S. 500-509; 10) On the question of the traditional scheme and plot narration in the Life of Stephen of Perm, written by Epiphanius the Wise // Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitat Greifswald, 1982, Jhrg 31, H. 1, S. 27-29; Soloviev A.V. Epiphanius the Wise as the author of “The Tale of the Life and Repose of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia” // TODRL. M.; L., 1961, t. 17, p. 85-106; DaneM. M. Epiphanius' Image of St. Stefan // Canadian Slavonic Papers. Toronto, 1961, t. 5, p. 72-86; Budovnica. Dictionary, p. 71, 102, 237; Goleizovsky N. TO. 1) Notes on the work of Theophanes the Greek // VV. M., 1964, t. 24, p. 139-149; 2) Epiphanius the Wise about the frescoes of Theophan the Greek in Moscow // Ibid., M., 1973, vol. 35, p. 221-225; Dmitriev L. A. 1) Unresolved questions of the origin and history of the expressive-emotional style of the 15th century. // TODRL. M.; L., 1964, t. 20, p. 72-89; 2) Plot narration in hagiographic monuments of the late XIII-XV centuries. // Origins of Russian fiction. L., 1970, p. 208-262; Lotman Yu. M. Lectures on structural poetics. Vol. 1. Introduction, theory of verse. Tartu, 1964 (Uch. zap. Tart. univ., issue 160. Tr. on sign systems, vol. 1), p. 75-76; Mulić M. Pletenije sloves i hesihasum. — Radovi Zavoda za slavensku filologiju. Zagreb, 1965, t. 7, s. 141-156; Belobrova ABOUT. A. About some images of Epiphanius the Wise and their literary sources // TODRL. M.; L., 1966, t. 22, p. 91-100; Vaillant A. Notes sur la Vie d’Etienne de Perm // Revue des études slaves, 1966, t. 45, p. 33-37; Holthusen J. Epifanij Premudryj und Gregor von Nyssa (Ein Beitrag zur Erforschung der enkomiastischen Literatur bei den Slaven) // Festschrift für Margarete Woltner zum 70. Geburstag. Heidelberg, 1967, S. 64-82; Florya B. N. Komi-Vym Chronicle // New information about the past of our country. M., 1967, p. 218-231; MansOn J.P. Studies in Russian Hagiography During the Period of the Second South Slavic Influence. Ph. D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 1968; Salmina M. A.“A Word about the Life and Death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia” // TODRL. M.; L., 1970, t. 25, p. 81-104; Wigzell F. 1) Quotes from the books of Holy Scripture in the works of Epiphanius the Wise // TODRL, L., 1971, vol. 26, p. 232-243; 2) Convention and Originality in the Life of Stefan of Perm: a Stylistic Analysis // Slavonic and East European Review, London, 1971, vol. 49, N 116, July, p. 339-355; Apple O. Die Vita des hl. Sergij von Radonež: Untersuchungen zur Textgeschichte. Munich, 1972; Greexin V.A. 1) Principles of embodiment of the moral ideal in the writings of Epiphanius the Wise // Vestn. Moscow Univ. Philol., 1973, No. 4, p. 15-23; 2) The plot and the author’s principles of narration in the hagiographic works of Epiphanius the Wise // Collection. articles by graduate students and applicants: Philol. Sat. Min. higher and secondary specialized education. Kaz. SSR, 1973, No. 12, p. 79-86; 3) Problems of the style of Old Russian hagiography of the XIV-XV centuries. M., 1974; 4) The work of Epiphanius the Wise and his place in ancient Russian culture of the late XIV - early XV centuries. Author's abstract. Ph.D. dis. M., 1974; 5) Genre originality of the hagiographic works of Epiphanius the Wise // Problems of typology and history of Russian literature. Perm, 1976 (Uch. zap. Prom. university, t. 304), p. 193-213; Antonova M. F. 1) “A Tale of the Life and Death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia”: (Questions of attribution and genre) // TODRL. L., 1974, t. 28, p. 140-154; 2) Some features of the style of the Life of Stefan of Perm // TODRL. L., 1979, t. 34, p. 127-133; 3) Kirill of Turov and Epiphanius the Wise // TODRL. L., 1981, t. 36, p. 223-227; Petkanova-Toteva D. Damn it, this word is laudable from the 14th-15th centuries. // Tarnovskaya book school, 1371-1391. Sofia, 1974, p. 89-112; TOitWithh F.M. The Literary Style of Epifanij Premudryj Pletenije sloves. Munich, 1976; Pop R. A few comments about the literary method of Epiphanius the Wise // Cultural heritage of Ancient Rus'. M., 1976, p. 88-94; ZiOlkOwskiM. WITH. The Style and Authorship of the Discourse on Dmitrij Ivanovic Donskoj. Ph. D. Dissertation, Yale University, 1978; Alissandratos J. 1) Medieval Slavic and Patristic Eulogies. Firenze, 1982, p. 40-42, 68-69, 72-73, 80-88, 101; 2) Symmetrical arrangement of episodes of one edition of “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” // American Contributions to the Ninth International Congress of Slavists, Kiev, September 1983. Vol. 2. Literature, Poetics, History. Columbus, Ohio, 1983, p. 7-17; 3) Traces of patriotic types of praise in the Life of Stephen of Perm // Old Russian literature. Source study. L., 1984, p. 64-74; Prokhorov G. M. 1) Incomprehensible text and Letter to the customer in “The Tale of the Life and Death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar Ruskago” // TODRL. L., 1985, t. 40, p. 229-247; 2) Epiphanius the Wise // Ibid., p. 77-91 (together with N. F. Droblenkova); Monuments of translated and Russian literature of the XIV-XV centuries. L., 1987, p. 92-102, 110-120, 150-154.

Add.: Baycheva M. 1) Canon and nature in the hagiography of the XIV-XV centuries: (Grigory Tsamblak and Epiphanius Premdri) // Tarnovskaya knizhovna school. Sofia, 1984, vol. 3, Grigory Tsamblak: Life and creativity, p. 151-160; 2) Problem for secular feat on heroism in “A word of praise for Evtimy” from Grigory Tsamblak and “Life of Stefan Permsky” from Epifaniy Premdri // Ibid. Sofia, 1985, vol. 4; Cultural development in Bulgarian state. Krayat in the XII-XIV centuries, p. 41-46.

N. F. Droblenkova (bibliography), G. M. Prokhorov

Epiphanius the Wise and his creations

One of the best writers of Medieval Rus', Epiphanius the Wise, was also a student of St. Sergius of Radonezh (See also:). It was he who compiled the main source of our information about Sergius of Radonezh - the original Life of the great Radonezh ascetic, which is one of the “peaks of Russian hagiography” ( Prokhorov 1988. P. 216).

Some researchers of ancient Russian literature believe that Epiphanius wrote the four surviving manuscripts, which are now in the Russian State Library, in the collection of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Not all researchers agree with this assumption. Not everyone recognizes the creation of a number of works by Epiphanius, for example, such as the Teaching against the Strigolniki, the Sermon on the life and death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia, as well as the participation of this student Sergius in the compilation of chronicles. However, there is no doubt that Epiphanius wrote the Epistle to his friend Cyril, the Life of St. Stephen of Perm, the original Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh and a word of praise to him.

Information about Epiphanius the Wise is drawn mainly from his own writings. Judging by the Life of Stephen of Perm, which he compiled, Epiphanius studied at the Rostov monastery of Gregory the Theologian, the so-called “Brotherly Retreat,” famous for its library, was well educated, and spoke Greek. In the title of the Eulogy he compiled to Sergius of Radonezh, he is called his student. Some information about the writer is contained in Lives of Sergius of Radonezh, which was created based on materials from Epiphanius by the writer-monk Pachomius Serb (Logothetus) who came to Rus' from Athos. At the same time, the Serbian hagiographer said that the author of the initial notes about the founder of the Trinity was the cell attendant of the Radonezh saint for many years. In the 90s Epiphanius left the monastery and moved to Moscow, but around 1415 he returned to Trinity. He died no later than 1422.

Life of St. Stephen of Perm, created by Epiphanius the Wise

The first of the famous works of Epiphanius was dedicated to Stephen of Perm - the Life of the Saint, which has the title “A Sermon on the Life and Teaching of our Holy Father Stephen, who was a bishop in Perm.” Epiphanius was personally acquainted with Saint Stephen, the enlightener of the Zyryans (modern Komi), the creator of their so-called “Perm” alphabet, and the translator of liturgical books into the Zyryan language: at the same time, both were monks of the Rostov “Brotherly Seclusion”; at the same time they argued a lot about books. In all likelihood, Stefan also communicated with St. Sergius of Radonezh. The Life of the Founder of the Trinity contains a story about how Stephen, traveling 10 versts from the Sergius Monastery and not being able to visit the great elder, bowed towards the Trinity, and he, getting up from the meal, gave him a return bow. Connected with this plot is the custom at Trinity during the meal to stand up and say a prayer in memory of that greeting.

The composition of the Word about the Perm Bishop is original. The Word contains no Miracles, but at the same time it is not a biography in the modern sense of the term. Epiphany, as if in passing, speaks about Stephen’s acquaintance with Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich and Metropolitan Cyprian, however, he does not focus the reader’s attention on this and does not indicate under what circumstances the saint met them. The author devotes an important place to Stefan’s training, a description of his intellectual qualities, talks about Stefan’s work on creating the Perm alphabet and the Perm Church, as well as his translations of books into the Zyryan language. In addition to information about the saint himself and contemporary historical events, in this work, created in the style, as Epiphanius himself defined, of “weaving words,” various digressions occupy a significant place: about the month of March, about alphabets, about the development of the Greek alphabet. Using the technique of homeotelevton (consonance of endings) and homeoptoton (equal cases), while rhythmizing the text, Epiphanius creates almost poetic passages, rich in metaphors, epithets, and comparisons. The final part of the Word is woven from different stylistic layers: folklore, chronicle and laudatory. The Word about Stephen of Perm is a unique work created by the hand of a great master.

In the OR RNL, in the collection of P. P. Vyazemsky, one of oldest lists of the Life of Stephen of Perm(80s of the 15th century), the most serviceable and complete (cipher: Vyazemsky, Q. 10). On l. 194 rev. (last line) -195 (three lines from the top) (according to modern foliation) the scribe left a partially encrypted record in which he indicated his name in secret writing: “And the many-sinful servant of God Gridya, Stupin’s son, a Rostovite, wrote with his foolishness and lack of intelligence” (on The upper field shows a partial transcript of the entry in the handwriting of late XX - early XX).

Epiphanius the Wise's letter to his friend Cyril

Another work of Epiphanius the Wise is the Epistle to his friend Cyril in Tver (title: “Copied from the epistle of Hieromonk Epiphanius, who wrote to a certain friend of his Cyril”), created in 1415. The message was a response to an unsurvived letter from Archimandrite Cornelius (in the schema of Cyril), rector Tver Spaso-Athanasievsky Monastery. In it, Epiphanius talks about four miniatures depicting the Constantinople Cathedral of St. Sophia, placed in the Gospel that belonged to him. Kirill saw these images from him at the time when the writer, escaping from Moscow from the invasion of the Horde emir Edigei in December 1408, settled in Tver. In his response letter, Epiphanius said that those drawings of the cathedral were copied by him from the works of the famous artist Theophan the Greek, whom he knew personally. The message is of great value, especially for art historians. Only from it is it known that Theophanes the Greek painted more than 40 stone churches and several secular buildings in Constantinople, Chalcedon, Galata, Cafe, Veliky Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, as well as a “stone wall” (probably the treasury) of Prince Vladimir Andreevich and the mansion of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich. In the Epistle, Epiphanius spoke about his observations of the creative style of Theophanes, who, while covering the walls of buildings with frescoes, constantly walked around, talking, and never looked at the samples. At the same time, Epiphanius is ironic at those icon painters who thoughtlessly followed only well-known examples of church painting and did not create anything original.

In the Ordinary Library of the Russian National Library, in one of the collections of the Solovetsky Monastery collection, there is a list Epiphany's letters to his friend Kirill. When and how it got into the library of this monastery is still unknown. Despite the fact that the manuscript is quite late (at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries), it is unique, since today the text of the Message in it is the only copy of this work (cipher: Solov. 15/1474, l. 130).

A eulogy to St. Sergius of Radonezh, composed by Epiphanius the Wise

According to the majority of scientists, Epiphanius composed a praise for the Monk Sergius entitled “A word of praise to the Monk Abbot Sergius, the new wonderworker, who in the last births in Rus' shone forth and received many healing gifts from God.” Since the Word speaks of the incorruptibility of the relics of St. Sergius, some researchers believe that it was written after the discovery and transfer of the saint’s relics into a shrine, that is, after July 5, 1422 ( Kuchkin. P. 417). Others believe that the Word was created on September 25, 1412 in connection with the consecration of the restored Trinity Church ( Kloss. P. 148). From the Word it follows that the author traveled a lot and visited Constantinople, Mount Athos and Jerusalem. Stylistically, the Praise is homogeneous with other works of Epiphanius.

In the OR RNL, in a collection from the Library of St. Sophia Novgorod Cathedral, a list is stored Words of praise, created in the 90s. XV century (code: Soph. 1384, l. 250-262, 1490). The Word was also included in the Sophia list of the Great Mena of the Four (cipher: Soph. 1317, fol. 388 vol.).

Troparion to St. Sergius of Radonezh, compiled by Epiphanius the Wise

It is generally accepted that Pachomius the Serb also compiled the Service to the founder of the Trinity. However, not so long ago, musicologists and medievalists in the manuscript of the Kirillo-Belozersky book writer con. XV century Efrosina found texts two troparions St. Sergius, where the names of their compilers are indicated ( Seregina. P. 210). On l. 196 of the collection is written in cinnabar handwriting: on the right margin of the text of the first troparion “Epiphanievo”, and below under the text of the other - “Pachomius Serbina”. This observation suggested that Epiphanius planned to compose a Service for his teacher. Perhaps the Pachomius Service to the Trinity saint, as well as his Life, is also based on the preparations of Epiphanius (code:
Kir.-Bel. 6/1083, l. 196).

Initial Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh,
created by Epiphanius the Wise

We know that the original Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh was written by Epiphanius the Wise, we know from the Life compiled by the Athonite writer-monk Pachomius the Serb (Logothetus). Afonets significantly revised the text of Epiphanius and created several editions of the work dedicated to the Trinity ascetic. For a long time it was believed that the Life of Epiphanius of St. Sergius has reached our time only in the form of inlays in the work of Pachomius. However, more recently it was discovered text of the Life, which most closely reflects the work created by Epiphanius ( Kloss. P. 155). This is the list of beginnings. 16th century, stored in the OR of the Russian National Library (code: OLDP. F. 185).

Epiphanius's text is part of the so-called Long Edition of the Life of St. Sergius, starting with the preface and ending with the chapter “On the thinness of the Sergius port and about a certain villager”; the subsequent account of events belongs to Pachomius Logothetes. The text of Epiphanius was determined on the basis of a textual comparison of all copies of the Life, especially on the basis of an analysis of the insertions made in the margins of the manuscripts. A comparison of this edition with the Life of Stephen of Perm, compiled by Epiphanius, also indicates the stylistic homogeneity of these texts. In both cases, the same phraseology, vocabulary, quotes, themes, images, references to the same authorities are used; Also similar is the opposition of Stefan and Sergius to the “sano-lovers” who achieve high positions with the help of “promises”.

At the same time, in the Life of Sergius, unlike the Life of Stephen, there are almost no digressions that are not directly related to the plot, and rhythmic passages with homeoteleutons and synonymous amplifications are quite rare. In general, the style of the Life of Sergius in this edition coincides with the style of other works of Epiphanius.

The opinion that the Life of St. Sergius is in the OLDP manuscript. F.185 most closely reflects the text of Epiphanius the Wise, accepted by most researchers of Old Russian writing.

Processing of the XV-XVIII centuries. The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh, compiled by Epiphanius the Wise

The Athonite writer-monk Pachomius the Serb (Logothetus) who came to Rus' more than once “revised” the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh. According to various researchers, there are from two (V. O. Klyuchevsky) to seven (V. Yablonsky) editions of this monument. As a result of the revision of Pachomius, the Life of Sergius was replenished with posthumous miracles of the Trinity saint; it was significantly shortened in comparison with the Life of Epiphanius and was completely devoid of the lyricism characteristic of the work of Sergius’s disciple. Pachomius the Serb gave the Life of Sergius a ceremonial form, strengthened the element of praise to the saint, and removed unwanted anti-Moscow political allusions in order to make the Life suitable for liturgical needs. One of the early editions of Pachomius was identified in the OR of the Russian National Library (code: Soph. 1248).

Edition of the Life of St. Sergius with Miracles, 1449

The editions of Pachomius the Serb do not exhaust the revisions of the Life of St. Sergius. In subsequent times, the text of the Life was also subject to “revision”; additions were made, especially in that part of the work that related to the Miracles of the Trinity ascetic. Already in the second half of the fifteenth century. an edition appeared with the texts of the Miracles of 1449 (according to the classification of B. M. Kloss, this is the Fourth Pachomius edition, supplemented by the Third edition: Kloss. pp. 205-206). Miracles of 1449 occurred in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery under Abbot Martinian of Belozersky . It was under him in 1448-1449. the all-Russian canonization of St. Sergius was carried out (until that time, the founder of the Trinity was revered as a locally revered saint). Probably, the texts of the Miracles of 1449 were written down, if not by Martinian of Belozersky himself, then, of course, from his words. Reverend Martinian Belozersky- student of the monk, interlocutor of the venerable Sergius. Before becoming abbot of the Trinity, Martinian was the abbot of the Ferapont Belozersky Monastery, founded by the Reverend Ferapont Belozersky, who came together with the Monk Kirill Belozersky from the Moscow Simonov Monastery. How the Ferapontov Monastery and its surroundings looked in the 19th century can be imagined from the drawings from album by I. F. Tyumenev “Across Rus'”, stored in the OR RNL (code: f. 796. Tyumenev, archive unit 271, l. 69, 73, 84)

In 1447, the Monk Martinian supported the Moscow prince Vasily the Dark in his struggle for the grand-ducal throne, freeing him from the kiss of the cross (in other words, from the oath) to another contender for the Moscow grand reign, Dmitry Shemyaka. Having defeated his opponent, Vasily the Dark invited Martinian to Trinity as abbot. It is possible, however, that the Miracles of 1449 were recorded from the words of Martinian and by Pachomius the Serb himself. This could have happened at a time when the famous writer in the early 60s of the 15th century. came to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery to collect material about its founder. There, as Pachomius himself told about this in the Life of St. Kirill, he met with Martinian.
In the OR RNL, in the collection of the Library of the St. Sophia Novgorod Cathedral, there is a manuscript of the con. XV century, which includes a fairly early list of the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh with Miracles of 1449. Lists with Miracles of this time are extremely rare among collections containing the Life of the founder of the Trinity. Despite the fact that the manuscript is modestly decorated, its handwriting is quite refined and clear (cipher: Soph. 1389, fol. 281 (on the upper foliation).

Life of St. Sergius in the 16th century.

In the 16th century The text of the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh is included in a number of chronicles and large book collections. In the middle of the 16th century. Already in the Sofia set of the Great Menaion of the Chetii of Metropolitan Macarius on September 25, two editions of the Life compiled by Pachomius the Serb (Prolozhnaya and Lengthy) are included, together with the Eulogy of Epiphanius the Wise. The Sofia set of the Great Menaions of the Four entered the OR RNL as part of the collection of the Library of the St. Sophia Novgorod Cathedral.
The texts dedicated to St. Sergius are in the September volume (code: Soph. 1317): The lengthy edition begins on fol. 373 rev. , and Prolozhnaya - on l. 372 rev.

Life of St. Sergius in the 17th century.

In the 17th century German Tulupov, Simon Azaryin and Dimitri of Rostov worked on the life of St. Sergius.

Saint Demetrius(in the world Daniil Savvich Tuptalo) (1651-1709), Metropolitan of Rostov and Yaroslavl, who took monastic vows in the Kiev Cyril Monastery, for almost twenty years compiled the “Book of Lives of Saints” (Cheti Menaion), included in it his own edition of the Life of St. Sergius, which is based on the text from the Great Mena of the Four. “The Book of Lives of Saints” by Demetrius of Rostov was initially intended for printed publication. Very few handwritten materials from his lifetime have survived. Only two handwritten books of the Four Menaions of Demetrius of Rostov are known, probably executed during the life of the saint. One of these books Chetya Menaia for December, located in OR RNL. The exhibition presents a sample letter from Dimitri’s assistant who prepared this list. The manuscript was written in cursive letter to the con. XVII century (code: OSRC. F.I.651).

Life of St. Sergius in the 18th century.

In the 18th century Empress of All Russia Catherine II turned to the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh and in 1793 wrote her own text dedicated to the founder of the Trinity. However, it does not represent a new edition of the Life compiled by the empress, but only extracts about Sergius of Radonezh from the Nikon Chronicle. Similar historical collections for Catherine II were compiled by Moscow University professors Kh. A. Chebotarev and A. A. Barsov ( Droblenkova. Life of Sergius. C. 333).

In OR RNL, in the meeting Peter Petrovich Pekarsky(1827-1872), academician, famous researcher of Russian literature and history of the 18th century, a handwritten notebook with a text compiled by Catherine II is kept. It is a copy made by the hand of P. P. Pekarsky directly from the empress’s autograph: “Extracts from the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh” (code: f. 568 Pekarsky, item 466).

Icon "Cathedral of Radonezh Saints"

Il. 1. Miniature “Reverend Sergius of Radonezh”. Service Rev. Sergius of Radonezh. Collection of services to the saints. XVII century
Code: OSRC, Q.I.85, l. 425 rpm

Views of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Drawings from I. F. Tyumenev’s album
"Across Rus'." Watercolor. Deut. floor. XIX century

Il. 2. l. 30 Bell tower from behind the garden

Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 275
Il. 3. l. 25. View from the refectory gallery

Views of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Drawings from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Watercolor. Deut. floor. XIX century
Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 275
Il. 4. l. 27. North side. Walls

Views of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Drawings from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Watercolor. Deut. floor. XIX century
Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 275
Il. 5. l. 23. View of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra from a distance, from the Moscow road

Views of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Drawings from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Watercolor. Deut. floor. XIX century
Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 275
Il. 6. l. 26. Walls: East side

Il. 7. Miniature “Savior is in power”. "Pereyaslavl Gospel". Con. XIV-XV centuries Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Scribe Deacon Zinovyshko.

Il. 8. Screensaver. "Pereyaslavl Gospel". Con. XIV-XV centuries Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Scribe Deacon Zinovyshko.
Code: OSRC, F.p.I. 21 (from the collection of F.A. Tolstoy), l. 7 rev.

Il. 9. Screensaver. "Pereyaslavl Gospel". Con. XIV-XV centuries Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Scribe Deacon Zinovyshko.
Code: OSRC, F.p.I. 21 (from the collection of F.A. Tolstoy), l. 79

Il. 10. Screensaver. "Pereyaslavl Gospel". Con. XIV-XV centuries Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Scribe Deacon Zinovyshko.
Code: OSRC, F.p.I. 21 (from the collection of F.A. Tolstoy), l. 26

Il. 12. Screensaver and beginning of the manuscript.
Ladder of John of Sinai. 1422
Golutvinsky Epiphany Monastery (Kolomna).
Code: Weather. 73, l. 1

Il. 13. Scribe's note. Ladder of John of Sinai. 1422 Golutvinsky Epiphany Monastery (Kolomna).
Code: Weather. 73, l. 297

Il. 14. Miniature “Evangelist Matthew”. Four Gospels. 1610
Contribution to the Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery.
Code: Weather. 163, l. 6 rev.

Il. 15. Record of the deposit of the manuscript in the Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery. Four Gospels. 1610
Code: Weather. 163, l. 239 rev.

Il. 16. Miniature “Reverend Abraham of Galicia”. Service and Life of St. Abraham of Galicia (Gorodetsky or Chukhlomsky). XVIII century
Code: AN Lavra, A-69, l. 2

Il. 17. Miniature depicting a plot from the Life of St. Abraham of Galitsky. Service and Life of St. Abraham of Galicia (Gorodetsky or Chukhlomsky). XVIII century
Code: AN Lavra, A-69, l. 2 vol.

Il. 19. Prayers, as well as a record of manuscript contributions. Jerusalem Charter. 1412
Code: OSRC. F.p.I.25, l. 1 rev.

Il. 20. Savva Zvenigorodsky’s rescue of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich during a bear hunt. Illustration by N. S. Samokish for the poem “The Deliverer” by L. A. Mey. 1896-1911

Il. 21. Eugene Rose (Eugene) de Beauharnais (1781 1824) - stepson of Napoleon Bonaparte, Viceroy of Italy. Engraved portrait. Department of Prints of the Russian National Library

Il. 22. Portrait of the Duchess
Daria Evgenievna Leuchtenberg.
Hood. F. Flaming. France. 1896
Canvas, oil. State Hermitage Museum

Il. 23. Portrait of Albrecht Adam. Voyage pittoresque et militaire Willenberg en Prusse jusqu’ à Moscou fait en 1812 pris sur le terrain meme, et lithographié par Albrecht Adam. Verlag Hermann und Barth. Munich." 1827
(“Picturesque picture of a military campaign from Willenberg in Prussia to Moscow in 1812” (1827 – 1833)

Il. 24. A. Adam. “Monastery in Zvenigorod. Main apartment September 13, 1812" (“Abbaye de Zwenigherod. Quartier General le 13 Septembre”). Oil drawing from “Russian Album” by A. Adam. State Hermitage Museum, inv. No. 25996

Il. 25. A. Adam. “Monastery in Zvenigorod. September 10, 1812" (“Vue de ľabbaye de Zwenigherod le 10 Septembre”). Lithograph from the album “Voyage pittoresque et militaire Willenberg en Prusse jusqu’ à Moscou fait en 1812 pris sur le terrain meme, et lithographié par Albrecht Adam. Verlag Hermann und Barth. Munich." 1827 (“Picturesque picture of a military campaign from Willenberg in Prussia to Moscow in 1812” (1827 – 1833). Department “Rossika”, RNL

Napoleon's autograph signature.

Il. 26, 27. Letter from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte addressed to the Viceroy of Italy E. Beauharnais. Fontainebleau. September 14, 1807
Napoleon's autograph signature.
Code: f. No. 991. General collection. foreign autographs, op. 3, without no.

Napoleon's autograph signature.

Il. 28, 29. Letter from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte addressed to the Viceroy of Italy E. Beauharnais. Fontainebleau. September 30, 1807
Napoleon's autograph signature.
Code: f. No. 991 (General collection of foreign autographs), op. 1, No. 923

Il. 31. Funeral record. Canon. Con. XIV-early XV century and beginning XV century Simonov Monastery.
Code: OSRC. O.p.I.6 (from the collection of F. Tolstoy), l. 84

Il. 32. Life of St. Stephen of Perm, compiled by Epiphanius the Wise (“Sermon on the life and teaching of our holy father Stephen, who was a bishop in Perm”) Collection. Beginning XV century
Code: Elm. Q. 10, l. 129

Il. 33. Record of the scribe of the Life of St. Stephen of Perm, compiled by Epiphanius the Wise Collection. Beginning XV century
Code: Elm. Q. 10, l. 194 rev. (last line) 195 (three lines at the top in scribe's handwriting)

Il. 34. Message from Epiphanius the Wise to his friend Kirill in Tver.
Collection. XVII-XVIII centuries
Code: Solov. 15/1474, l. 130

Il. 35. Laudatory speech from Rev. Sergius of Radonezh, compiled by Epiphanius the Wise. Collection. 90s XV century
Code: Sof. 1384, l. 250

Il. 37. Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh (the closest text, compiled by Epiphanius the Wise). Start list XVI century
Code: OLDP. F. 185, l. 489 rev. 490

Il. 39. Ferapontov-Belozersky Monastery. Drawing from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Hood. I. F. Tyumenev (?). Watercolor. Deut. floors XIX century
Code: f. : f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 271, l. 69

Il. 40. Ferapontov-Belozersky Monastery. Drawing from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”.
Hood. I F Tyumenev (?). Watercolor. Deut. floors XIX century
Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 271, l. 73

Il. 41. Below: Lake near the Ferapontovo-Belozersky Monastery. Above: Patriarch Nikon’s island Drawing from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Hood. I F Tyumenev. Watercolor. Deut. floors XIX century
Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 271, l. 84

Il. 42. Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh with miracles of 1449. Collection. Con. XV century
Code: Sof. 1389, l. 281 (on top foliation).

Il. 43. Preface to the manuscript. Great Menaion of the Chapel of Metropolitan Macarius (Mineaion for September). Ser. XVI century
Code: Sof. 1317, l. 3

Il. 44. Screensaver for the manuscript. Great Menaion of the Chapel of Metropolitan Macarius (Mineaion for September). Ser. XVI century
Code: Sof. 1317, l. 9

Il. 45. Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh, compiled by Pachomius the Serb Great Menaion of the Chapel of Metropolitan Macarius (Mineaion for September). Ser. XVI century
Code: Sof. 1317, l. 373 rev.

Il. 47. Sample of handwriting of assistant Dmitry Rostovsky. Menaion of the honor of Demetrius of Rostov. List of con. XVII century
Code: OSRC. F.I.651

Il. 48. Extracts from the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh, made by Empress Catherine II. 1793 Copy of P. P. Pekarsky from Catherine’s autograph. Ser. XIX century
Code: f. 568. Pekarsky, units. hr. 466

Il. 49. Note in cursive writing: “Prologue of the Prilutsky Monastery.” Prologue. Con. XIV-early XV century Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.
Code: SPDA. A.I.264 (2), l. 2

Il. 50. Screensaver with the image of Rev. Martinian Belozersky. Life of Rev. Martinian Belozersky. Beginning XVIII century
Code: Weather. 739.

Il. 51. Miniature depicting Rev. Kirill Belozersky. Beginning of the Rev. Service Kirill Life of St. Kirill Belozersky and Service to him. 1837
Code: Kir.-Bel. 58/1297, l. 4 rev.-5

Il. 52. Items from the sacristy of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery,
belonged to the Monk Kirill Belozersky.

Code: f. 796. Tyumenev, unit. hr. 271, l. 43

Il. 53. Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Church of Rev. Sergius in the Ivanovo Monastery.
Drawing from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Hood. A. P. Ryabushkin. Watercolor. Deut. floor. XIX century
Code: f. 796.Tyumenev, units hr. 271, l. 33

Il. 54. First cell of St. Kirill Belozersky.
Drawing from I. F. Tyumenev’s album “Across Rus'”. Hood. A. P. Ryabushkin. Watercolor. Deut. floor. XIX century
Code: f. 796.Tyumenev, units hr. 271, l. 34

Il. 55. Beginning of the second Epistle of Metropolitan Cyprian to abbots Sergius of Radonezh and Fyodor Simonovsky. Helmswoman. Beginning XV century
Code: F.II.119

The first author of the work “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” a brief summary of which is presented here, is Epiphanius the Wise. He took up this work the next year after the death of the monk, that is, in 1393 according to the new style. Unfortunately, the death of Epiphanius prevented him from finishing work on his life, and the official original signed by Epiphanius’s hand has not reached us, only lists have reached us. It is difficult for an unprepared modern reader to perceive a text written in the 14th century, so today they most often read not it, but a modern adaptation, the author of which is “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”.

Features of life

When you start reading the life of a saint, you need to have an idea of ​​the peculiarities of the genre and understand that this is not a one hundred percent reliable story, but also not an absolute fiction. As I present the work “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” a brief summary of which will follow below, I will note some features of the life as a genre.

Childhood and youth

The future ascetic was born into the family of a princely servant, Kirill, and his wife, Maria, and the child was given the name Bartholomew. As Epiphanius writes, little Bartholomew showed strict piety from infancy. (By the way, this is a canonical moment for life - emphasizing the fact that the future saint differed from others in behavior even in childhood.) Bartholomew had a hard time learning, even despite his diligence, but one day he met an old man in the forest, took him to his home, where they prayed together. The elder gave Bartholomew a prosphora and the Psalter opened at one of the most difficult moments. After eating the mallow, the young man began to read aloud without hesitation, although he could not do this before. After the death of his parents, Bartholomew goes to a secluded life with his brother Stefan. The invited abbot Mitrofan tonsured him into monasticism with the name Sergius.

Young ascetic

“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” a brief summary of which does not make it possible to properly describe the ascetic life of the Monk Sergius, reports that at about 20 years old he retired to desert places, where he worked, prayed, exhausted himself with exploits and fasted for a long time. Demons and the devil himself tried to seduce and frighten the saint, but he did not succumb. (By the way, mentions of satanic intrigues and temptations in life are practically obligatory.) Animals began to come to Sergius, including the memorable bear.

The monastery around the cell of Sergius

Having heard about the wonderful ascetic, people came to him with their sorrows and worries, seeking consolation. Gradually, a monastery began to gather around a secluded cell in the forest. Sergius refused to accept the rank of abbot, but insisted on a very strict charter of the monastery. One day the monastery ran out of bread. There was nowhere to get food from, the monks began to grumble and go hungry. Sergius kept praying and instructing his companions about patience. Suddenly, unknown merchants arrived at their monastery, unloaded a lot of food and disappeared in an unknown direction. Soon, through the prayer of Sergius, a source of clean, healing water began to flow near the monastery.

Miracle Worker

Many stories have been preserved about the miracles of St. Sergius. You can read about them in the original, but in our version - “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh: a summary” - it should be said that the saint always hid his good deeds and was very upset, showing true Christian humility when they tried to reward or thank him. Nevertheless, the saint's fame grew more and more. It is well known that it was St. Sergius of Radonezh who blessed Dmitry Donskoy as a Saint; he devoted almost all his time to hard work and prayer, and spent the rest in soul-saving conversations with everyone.

Righteous death

The humble holy ascetic knew about his death for six months (which is also a canonical element of life). He died in 1393, at the end of September, and was buried in the right vestibule of the monastery church. Over many centuries of existence and prosperity, through the prayers of its monastery, it turned into one of the largest and most significant laurels in the world - the Holy Trinity

You have read the article “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh: a summary,” but, without a doubt, Epiphanius’s work is worth reading in its entirety.

And a number of books of the Old Testament were well read in patristic and hagiographical literature.

In addition, like Stephen of Perm, “he also learned Greek to some extent.” Some facts suggest “that the author traveled a lot and visited Constantinople, Mount Athos and Jerusalem.”

Epiphanius is named as a disciple of St. Sergius in the title of the “Eulogy to Sergius of Radonezh,” and Pachomius Logofet, or Serb, reports that Epiphanius for many years, from his youth, “lived with the Trinity Abbot.” In 1380, Epiphanius was in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, being “already an adult, literate, experienced book scribe and graphic artist, as well as an observant person prone to chronicle records.” “When Sergius of Radonezh died (1392), Epiphanius the Wise began to make notes about him.”

After the death of Sergius in 1392, Epiphanius apparently moved to Moscow to serve under Metropolitan Cyprian. He became close friends with Theophanes the Greek. In 1408, during the attack on Moscow by Khan Edigei, Epiphanius fled to Tver, where he became friends with the Archimandrite of the Spaso-Athanasian Monastery Corniliy, in the schema Cyril, with whom he subsequently corresponded; in one of his messages, he spoke highly of the skill and work of Theophanes the Greek, his intelligence and education. In this letter, Epiphanius calls himself an “isographer.”

Considering that Epiphanius the Wise, apparently, came from Rostov, and also that on May 12 the memory of St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, the same name as Epiphanius the Wise, it becomes clear that the exact date of the death of the hagiographer is contained in a source of Rostov origin. Based on this, knowing the year of Epiphanius’s death, we can assume with reasonable confidence that Epiphanius the Wise died on June 14, 1419.

True, recently a statement has appeared that he died much later. According to V. A. Kuchkin, we find evidence of this in the “Eulogy to Sergius of Radonezh,” written by Epiphanius. It contains a mention of the relics of the saint, which the believers kiss. In the researcher’s opinion, this phrase could only appear after July 5, 1422, when, during the “finding of the relics” of Sergius, his coffin was dug out of the ground and his remains were placed in a special reliquary. From here, Kuchkin draws two conclusions: firstly, the “Word of Praise to Sergius of Radonezh” was written by Epiphanius the Wise after July 5, and secondly, it appeared not earlier than the “Life” of Sergius, as is believed in the literature, but later.

However, as V.A. Kuchkin found out, the word “cancer” in ancient times had several meanings. Although most often it meant “tomb, a structure over a coffin,” there are examples of its use in the meaning “coffin.” If we turn directly to the text of Epiphanius and do not “pull out” a single word from it, then it becomes clear that in the “Eulogy to Sergius” the hagiographer recalled the events of the city associated with the funeral of the saint. Many of those who knew the Trinity abbot did not have time for his burial and after Sergius’s death came to his grave, falling at his tombstone to pay him their last respects.

But what finally convinces V.A. Kuchkin of the fallacy of his reasoning is that in the Middle Ages there was a widespread custom of placing empty shrines over the burial place of a saint or, in other words, over relics that were kept in secret. Moreover, they were often placed over the saint’s tomb long before his glorification. Thus, over the grave of Zosima Solovetsky (died in the city, canonized in the city), his disciples erected a tomb “after the third year of the Dormition of the Saint.”

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Notes

Literature

• Zubov V. P. Epiphanius the Wise and Pachomius the Serb (on the issue of the editions of “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”) // TODRL. M.; L., 1953, vol. 9, p. 145-158.
• Kirillin V. M.
• Klyuchevsky V. O.// Old Russian lives of saints as a historical source
• Konyavskaya E. L.// Ancient Rus'. Questions of medieval studies, 1, 2000, p. 70-85.
• Krebel I., Rogozhnikova T. P.// Philological Yearbook. Vol. 2. - Omsk: Omsk State University.
• Prokhorov G. M.// Dictionary of scribes and bookishness of Ancient Rus'. Vol. 2 (second half of the XIV-XVI centuries). Part 1: A-K / USSR Academy of Sciences. IRLI; Rep. ed. D. S. Likhachev. - L.: Nauka, 1988. - 516 p.

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Excerpt characterizing Epiphanius the Wise

Prince Vasily fulfilled the promise made at the evening at Anna Pavlovna's to Princess Drubetskaya, who asked him about her only son Boris. He was reported to the sovereign, and, unlike others, he was transferred to the Semenovsky Guard Regiment as an ensign. But Boris was never appointed as an adjutant or under Kutuzov, despite all the efforts and machinations of Anna Mikhailovna. Soon after Anna Pavlovna's evening, Anna Mikhailovna returned to Moscow, straight to her rich relatives Rostov, with whom she stayed in Moscow and with whom her beloved Borenka, who had just been promoted to the army and was immediately transferred to guards ensigns, had been raised and lived for years since childhood. The Guard had already left St. Petersburg on August 10, and the son, who remained in Moscow for uniforms, was supposed to catch up with her on the road to Radzivilov.
The Rostovs had a birthday girl, Natalya, a mother and a younger daughter. In the morning, without ceasing, trains drove up and drove off, bringing congratulators to the large, well-known house of Countess Rostova on Povarskaya throughout Moscow. The countess with her beautiful eldest daughter and guests, who never ceased replacing one another, were sitting in the living room.
The Countess was a woman with an oriental type of thin face, about forty-five years old, apparently exhausted by children, of whom she had twelve. The slowness of her movements and speech, resulting from weakness of strength, gave her a significant appearance that inspired respect. Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya, like a domestic person, sat right there, helping in the matter of receiving and engaging in conversation with the guests. The youth were in the back rooms, not finding it necessary to participate in receiving visits. The Count met and saw off the guests, inviting everyone to dinner.
“I am very, very grateful to you, ma chere or mon cher [my dear or my dear] (ma chere or mon cher he said to everyone without exception, without the slightest shade, both above and below him) for himself and for the dear birthday girls . Look, come and have lunch. You will offend me, mon cher. I sincerely ask you on behalf of the whole family, ma chere.” He spoke these words with the same expression on his full, cheerful, clean-shaven face and with an equally strong handshake and repeated short bows to everyone, without exception or change. Having seen off one guest, the count returned to whoever was still in the living room; having pulled up his chairs and with the air of a man who loves and knows how to live, with his legs spread gallantly and his hands on his knees, he swayed significantly, offered guesses about the weather, consulted about health, sometimes in Russian, sometimes in very bad but self-confident French, and again with the air of a tired but firm man in the performance of his duties, he went to see him off, straightening the sparse gray hair on his bald head, and again called for dinner. Sometimes, returning from the hallway, he walked through the flower and waiter's room into a large marble hall, where a table for eighty couverts was being set, and, looking at the waiters wearing silver and porcelain, arranging tables and unrolling damask tablecloths, he called to him Dmitry Vasilyevich, a nobleman, who was taking care of all his affairs, and said: “Well, well, Mitenka, make sure everything is fine. “Well, well,” he said, looking around with pleasure at the huge spread-out table. – The main thing is serving. This and that...” And he left, sighing complacently, back into the living room.
- Marya Lvovna Karagina with her daughter! - the huge countess's footman reported in a bass voice as he entered the living room door.
The Countess thought and sniffed from a golden snuffbox with a portrait of her husband.
“These visits tormented me,” she said. - Well, I’ll take her last one. Very prim. “Beg,” she said to the footman in a sad voice, as if she was saying: “Well, finish it off!”
A tall, plump, proudly looking lady with a round-faced, smiling daughter, rustling with their dresses, entered the living room.
“Chere comtesse, il y a si longtemps... elle a ete alitee la pauvre enfant... au bal des Razoumowsky... et la comtesse Apraksine... j"ai ete si heureuse..." [Dear Countess, how long ago... she should have been in bed, poor child... at the Razumovskys' ball... and Countess Apraksina... was so happy...] animated women's voices were heard, interrupting one another and merging with the rustle of dresses and the moving of chairs. That conversation began, which is started just enough so that at the first pause you get up and rustle with dresses , say: "Je suis bien charmee; la sante de maman... et la comtesse Apraksine" [I am in admiration; mother's health... and Countess Apraksina] and, again rustling with dresses, go into the hallway, put on a fur coat or cloak and leave. about the main city news of that time - about the illness of the famous rich and handsome man of Catherine's time, old Count Bezukhy, and about his illegitimate son Pierre, who behaved so indecently at an evening with Anna Pavlovna Scherer.
“I really feel sorry for the poor count,” said the guest, “his health is already bad, and now this grief from his son will kill him!”
- What's happened? - asked the countess, as if not knowing what the guest was talking about, although she had already heard the reason for Count Bezukhy’s grief fifteen times.
- This is the current upbringing! “Even abroad,” said the guest, “this young man was left to his own devices, and now in St. Petersburg, they say, he did such horrors that he was expelled from there with the police.
- Tell! - said the countess.
“He chose his acquaintances poorly,” Princess Anna Mikhailovna intervened. - The son of Prince Vasily, he and Dolokhov alone, they say, God knows what they were doing. And both were hurt. Dolokhov was demoted to the ranks of soldiers, and Bezukhy’s son was exiled to Moscow. Anatoly Kuragin - his father somehow hushed him up. But they did deport me from St. Petersburg.
- What the hell did they do? – asked the Countess.
“These are perfect robbers, especially Dolokhov,” said the guest. - He is the son of Marya Ivanovna Dolokhova, such a respectable lady, so what? You can imagine: the three of them found a bear somewhere, put it in a carriage and took it to the actresses. The police came running to calm them down. They caught the policeman and tied him back to back to the bear and let the bear into the Moika; the bear is swimming, and the policeman is on him.
“The policeman’s figure is good, ma chere,” shouted the count, dying of laughter.
- Oh, what a horror! What's there to laugh about, Count?
But the ladies couldn’t help but laugh themselves.
“They saved this unfortunate man by force,” the guest continued. “And it’s the son of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov who is playing so cleverly!” – she added. “They said he was so well-mannered and smart.” This is where all my upbringing abroad has led me. I hope that no one will accept him here, despite his wealth. They wanted to introduce him to me. I resolutely refused: I have daughters.
- Why do you say that this young man is so rich? - asked the countess, bending down from the girls, who immediately pretended not to listen. - After all, he only has illegitimate children. It seems... Pierre is also illegal.
The guest waved her hand.
“He has twenty illegal ones, I think.”
Princess Anna Mikhailovna intervened in the conversation, apparently wanting to show off her connections and her knowledge of all social circumstances.
“That’s the thing,” she said significantly and also in a half-whisper. – The reputation of Count Kirill Vladimirovich is known... He lost count of his children, but this Pierre was beloved.