In No. 6 for 2001, the editorial board published a part of Archpriest A.M. Derzhavin's master's thesis on the work of St. Demetrius of Rostov on the 1st Book of the Chettii-Minei. In this issue, we offer you an excerpt from the dissertation on the completion of the work on the last books of the Chetii-Minei of St. Demetrius.
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Work on the second book was begun, and for a long time it was carried out only with those sources that could be found in the Lavra and in the south-west. How far it progressed before the autumn of 1689 is unknown, but the lack of a guiding source, on the one hand, and on the other, the unrest and anxiety experienced, probably had a strong and unfavorable effect on its success and often forced the Saint to put aside his work. Realizing that even now, after returning from Moscow, work cannot go on successfully without the Makariev Four - Mines. The saint tries to get them from Moscow (...)
Meanwhile, important and significant events have taken place in the church life of Kiev. In April (1690), during the fifth week of holy Great Lent, His Grace Metropolitan Gideon Sviatopolk of Kiev passed away, and Archimandrite Varlaam Yasinsky of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was elected to replace him by the Council of Ukrainian Clergy. At the end of July, Varlaam went to Moscow and here on August 31, he received consecration from the newly elected and appointed Metropolitan Adrian of Kazan to the Moscow Patriarchate. St. Demetrius
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he noted these events in his Diary, and they were really important both for himself and for his cause. The new patriarch was not an ardent opponent of the Latin party. As a result, it was expected that he would take a more active part in the work of Saint Demetrius and, as far as possible, help him complete the compilation of the lives of the saints. As for Barlaam Yasinsky, even in the rank of archimandrite, he took a lot of care about the writing and publication of the Chettii-Minei, and now, of course, he could even more help in the successful completion of this work (...)
Patriarch Andrian fulfilled the request of Saint Demetrius and soon sent him the Makariev Chetii-Minei. Meanwhile, the Saint's work on compiling his lives continued, and his words in a letter to the patriarch that he was ready to work "nochedenochno" were not a simple phrase. To protect himself from any interference, he left the abbot's quarters in the monastery on February 10 of the same year, 1690, and "began to live in the hermitage of the desert, near the Church of the Holy Spirit. Nikolai Krupitsky". He worked at the skete for more than a year, but apparently this place did not give him complete peace. Therefore, in October of the following year, 1691, Saint Demetrius orders to build a special cell for himself in the desert "for the most peaceful", as he himself says, "copying the lives of saints". The cell was completed on October 15 and consecrated on October 18. The saint then "began to live in it in the name of the Lord", and in February 1692 again left the abbacy in the Baturinsky monastery, so that, without being distracted by anything, he could continue his work.
Having worked with such care throughout the years 1691 and 1692, the Saint managed to finish the second book of Chethii-Minei by the beginning of 1693. It was necessary to make some corrections in it and then print it, but at the beginning of 1693 an event occurred that prevented this and for a long time delayed the publication of the second part of the Chettiih-Miney. "During Lent," St. Demetrius writes in the Diary, " Bolland's books on the lives of saints were brought to me from Gdansk." It was the famous Antwerp edition [Acta Sanctorum] of Jesuit scholars, sent to Kiev in the amount of 18 volumes for the first five months of the year, starting from January. The richness of the hagiological material contained in the Acts, the thorough introductions and commentaries to the lives of saints, the wide reading of publishers and their freedom from a narrow religious point of view could not fail to attract the attention of St. Demetrius. Although the second book of the lives of the saints, as we have already said, was quite ready for publication, however, the Saint did not want to publish it now and decided to first supplement it with new material from the source just sent...
"In the same year (i.e., in 1693)," the Saint writes in the Diary, " after the resurrection of Christ, I left the desert for Kiev, to the printing press-
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full name. God, help me!" This article was written on May 1. Obviously, as much as Saint Demetrius wanted to work on the second book a little longer with a new source that he had just received, his duty to the Lavra and the society, which had been waiting for the second book to be published for a long time, forced him to leave his quiet cell and go to Kiev. On May 9, the Saint arrived there and presented his work to the Lavra authorities. Probably, at the same time, he explained that he needed to supplement it with a new source, and asked for time to do so. The Lavra decided to print the lives for the month of December, which could not be corrected according to the Acta Sanctorum, and hand over the remaining two months - January and February - to Saint Demetrius for completion and correction. The saint remained in the Lavra and continued his work here, and the month of December was sent for viewing to Barlaam of Yasin, who was entrusted with this task by Patriarch Adrian...
Barlaam Yasinsky's reading of the December lives of saints and the preparation of preliminary articles for the second book took more than a month, so that the Lavra Printing House could only start typing and printing it on July 10. "On July 10," the Saint notes in the Diary, " on the day of the memory of Anthony of the Caves, the month of December began to be printed." The other two months were obviously still on the mend. The saint was in no hurry to send them to the printing house and, remaining in the Monastery, continued to supplement and correct them according to the Acta Sanctorum. The whole year 1693 passed in this work (...)
The final correction of January and February was probably completed by him not earlier than June 1694. This month, precisely "in Peter's Fast", he was appointed abbot of the Glukhovsky Monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and left the Lavra. Thus, the correction and addition of the second book of the Acta Sanctorum delayed the publication of the book by almost a full year. It probably began shortly after the departure of Saint Demetrius to Glukhov, and ended in early 1695. So this book was compiled and published for seven years, two years longer than the first book. The reason for this, however, did not lie in Saint Demetrius; even now he worked with the same zeal and self-forgetfulness. Moving to a skete, then to a special solitary cell, and finally being removed from the abbacy clearly proves this. The publication of the book was delayed by the unfavorable external circumstances that St. Demetrius experienced at the beginning of his work on it, and the desire to correct and supplement it from a new source.
Immediately after leaving the printing house, the second book of the Chettii-Minei was sent to Moscow with the monks of the Caves deliberately sent there to make offerings to the tsars and Patriarch Adrian. In addition to the book, the monks of the Lavra brought the Patriarch letters from Metropolitan Varlaam of Yasin, from Hetman Ivan Mazepa, and from Archimandrite Lavra
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Meletiya Vujahovicha and his brothers. All of them, announcing the publication of the book, asked the patriarch "merciful, lovingly and inevitably" to accept it, "compiled by the diligent correction and writing of the most honorable Father Demetrius", to bless the Lavra to sell it, and" to the industrious Father Abbot Demetrius " to give the archpastoral blessing for the continuation of work and send it to him "for the most holy correction" of their lives "for the time being, the next three books of the Chettii-Minei of His Beatitude Metropolitan Makarii".
St. Demetrius, as soon as he received the second book of the Chethii - Minei from the press, also immediately sent it, not even bound "for the speed of time", to the Patriarch through "his special messengers". In the letter that was attached to the book, St. Demetrius asked that the Patriarch, by a special letter, instruct Barlaam of Yasin to read and correct the Chetii-Minei compiled by Demetrius. Obviously, this participation of Metropolitan Barlaam was valuable and necessary for a modest and insecure copyist of the lives of saints. As a well-educated man who had been abroad, Varlaam Yasinsky was a necessary addition to the hard-working, but, of course, not so well-read and familiar with foreign literature Dimitri (...)
After the publication of the third book of Chettiih-Minei, like the first and second, was sent to Moscow for an offering to the tsar and Patriarch (...)
After finishing the third book of the Chetiyah-Minei and putting it to the press. Saint Demetrius did not immediately begin to continue his work. Despite the deep respect that his Four Sons enjoyed among the learned people of the South-West, the Saint understood that "the obedience entrusted to him by the Little Russian Church" was only partially fulfilled. According to him, the books he wrote should have been popular books, that is, they should have been read daily by anyone who wanted to, not only free from hard work, but also engaged in it, and this was precisely not the case. Due to their vastness and high cost, the Chetii-Minei published by the Lavra were inaccessible to poor villagers and inconvenient for reading by people burdened with work. Grieving over this and wishing to bring his work closer to the common people, the Saint, after the end of the third part of the Chettii-Minei, conceived the idea of compiling a special "little book, and even the poor can more easily acquire it, and those who are embraced by the cares of life can easily honor every day of the real saints." This idea was probably suggested to the Saint by the existence of such short collections of the lives of saints among Catholics. One of them was also in the library of St. Demetrius (...)
By the decree of Tsar Peter I, Saint Demetrius was summoned to Moscow in 1701, and on March 23, the week of the Cross, he was made bishop in Siberia...
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Consecrated Metropolitan of Siberia on March 23, 1701, Saint Demetrius could not immediately go to the place of his new ministry. It was early spring, the roads were difficult to travel, and there was no way to get to distant Siberia by them. It was necessary to wait for a more convenient time, and St. Demetrius remained in Moscow. He lived in the Chudov monastery, where the Siberian metochion was located, and, performing the next service, tirelessly taught the people. At the end of April, the roads dried up, and it was possible to set out, but Tsar Peter did not give permission to leave and ordered the Saint to wait until he, the tsar, who was then in Voronezh, returned to Moscow. The departure to Siberia was again postponed, and in the summer St. Demetrius fell ill (...)
The illness lasted until autumn. It was brought to the tsar's attention, and, according to some sources, Peter himself visited the ailing archimandrite and in conversation with him learned the main cause of the illness, according to others, the Saint presented the tsar with a written explanation that, due to poor health, he was hardly suitable for the Tobolsk diocese, and would meet difficulties there by the end of his Four years-Miney. As a result of these relations with the tsar, the Saint was allowed to remain in Moscow, and he was released from the Siberian diocese. Another student of the Kiev College, Philotheus Leshchinsky, was sent there, and St. Demetrius was transferred to Rostov, in place of the deceased Rostov Metropolitan Joasaph Lazarevich. The decree on this was made on January 4, 1702, and on March 1 of the same year, on the Sunday of the third week of Great Lent, Metropolitan Dimitry already arrived in Rostov to visit his diocese.
So, this time the Saint lived in Moscow from February 9, 1701 to March 1702, i.e. for more than a year. ...He became particularly close to his old acquaintance, the hieromonk of the Chudov Monastery, Theologian, Karion Istomin, and Theodore Polikarpov. While living in Rostov, the Saint maintained a lively correspondence with Theologos and sent the most friendly greetings to his new acquaintances at every opportunity. All of them were sincere supporters of the enlightenment, they all loved the book business dearly and were well aware of its position in Moscow at that time. Feodor Polikarpov was the director of the Moscow Printing Yard, while Feologos and Karion Istomin also served as reference officers there. All three of them were educated in Greek by the Likhud brothers, and at one time they were considered experts not only in Greek, but also in Latin (...)
Under the influence of new acquaintances, Saint Demetrius ' attitude towards Moscow, its historical past and the shrines of the Moscow region also changed (...). Performing divine services in Moscow churches and participating in religious celebrations. The saint recognized the shrines
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As a result of all these influences, the latter formed a new view of the purpose and tasks of their work.
Living in the south. The saint regarded the compilation of the Chethii-Mina as "obedience entrusted to him by the Little Russian Church", so in the first books he tried first of all to satisfy the needs and requests of this church... About the little - known saints-and almost all the ascetics of the north - eastern region belonged to such-he made only a brief mention in mesyatseslov...
Moscow early noticed this feature of the work of St. Demetrius and (...) they tried to acquaint St. Demetrius with the lives of the Great Russian saints. Now that the Saint has moved to the north, the influence of new acquaintances in this direction has undoubtedly increased, and he himself, having become more familiar with Moscow, has clearly seen how far his Chetii-Minei are from fullness, how much he has missed the lives of saints dear and close to the heart of Great Russia. As soon as this shortcoming was realized. The saint began diligently collecting and copying the lives of Great Russian saints, in order to later supplement his Chetii-Minei with them.
Work in this direction was probably started in Moscow, but continued with particular vigor in Rostov. Rostov, the second largest city after Moscow in terms of the abundance of saints in the north-eastern region, deeply interested the Saint in its antiquity and sacred historical traditions. The saints Leontius and Isaiah who rested in it, newcomers from the south, were supposed to relate Saint Demetrius to his new place of service and point out to him that in ancient times there was no division of Russia into great and small. As a result, the Moscow impressions in Rostov had to be further deepened, and the new direction in the work acquired greater strength and consciousness. The correspondence of St. Demetrius shows how keenly he was interested in the Rostov antiquity and how diligently he collected those monuments of writing that could illuminate for him the past destinies of the North-Eastern region and, in particular, the works and exploits of its spiritual enlighteners and ascetics (...)
Initial work on the last part of Chettiih-Miney probably began in Moscow, but not much was done here. One might think that the Saint did not even begin compiling the lives here. In Moscow, therefore, perhaps only a plan was developed and the necessary materials were collected. All the rest of the work was done in Rostov, among the many complex and varied tasks of managing an extensive diocese...
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The saint was sick in his soul, seeing the ruin of a previously rich bishop's house, he pitied the calamities of the clergy and people, and, suffering extreme poverty himself, had to limit himself in everything. It is impossible to read his letters without deep emotion, in which he asks his benefactors to send him "not much tea," because "there is no place to get it in Rostov, but you need time," when he invites them to his "cell for mushrooms," when he says: "I am almost on foot, - neither horse nor horse. the rider. There is no shortage of sheep for food and no horses." But if poverty and grief oppressed the soul, the damp, unhealthy climate of Rostov quickly destroyed the body. He began to feel ill frequently, and in letters to friends complained of his "unhealthy health." Finally, a lot of expensive time was taken up by trips to Moscow on call, in the middle of service. During the seven years of his life in Rostov, Saint Demetrius visited Moscow three times: in 1705, 1706 and 1707, and the first stay lasted more than a year.
In such unfavorable and difficult conditions, the Saint had to work on the last quarter of the Chethii-Mina. One should only be surprised when he found time for this work. But love and a sense of duty overcame everything. Breaking away from the administration of the diocese and the reception of various officials, the Saint devoted to his cherished work every free day, every unoccupied hour. "During the day at the dim mica window, and at night by the weak light of a tallow candle," he wrote the last months of Chetiya-Minea, forgetting about his own rest and peace. Something seemed to urge him to finish this job as soon as possible. It was as if he knew that he didn't have much time left to live, and that he still had a lot of work to do. It was necessary to collect material and give sufficient readings for each day of the month... There were also difficulties of another nature, arising from the confusion and ambiguity of the Prologue, that main manual for establishing the memory of saints. But the work was already close to completion, and on February 9, 1705, the Saint completed his immortal work.
He is in a hurry to share his joy with his beloved friend and shortly after February 9 writes to Theologian: "Rejoice to me spiritually, for by the help of your prayers the Lord has vouchsafed me to write amen in August and complete the fourth book of the lives of the saints, which he sent to Kiev for publication."..
More than one friend was interested in the book. It can be said that all literate Russia was impatiently waiting for the end of the Chetii-Minei, and the Saint began to receive requests for the fourth book to be sent immediately after its publication. In 1707, the Saint was honored with a more solemn celebration for his work. At the end of this year, prefect and philosophy teacher Stefan Pribylovich was sent to Rostov from the Moscow Academy, who on behalf of the Academy on December 26
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in the Chamber of the Cross, he presented the Saint with a "dedicatedconclusion" and delivered a eulogy. This conclusion, very skilfully written on a piece of atlas, was preserved in the sacristy of the Saviour-Yakovlevsky Rostov Monastery. It is written in Latin and is decorated with drawings and figures, the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, surrounded on the sides by angels and the face of saints. From these drawings and inscriptions, it is clear that the conclusion was an expression of appreciation for the compilation of the lives of saints. The saint is called here father, patron, and especially benefactor; his four books of life are likened to the four Gospels...
The books of the Chettiih-Miney were sold so quickly that the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra almost immediately began to worry about their second edition. After graduating from Minei, Dimitri wrote a small book about schismatics in 1707-1709. He worked on it until he felt completely ill. The disease quickly weakened his strength and on October 27, 1709, St. Demetrius of Rostov ended his life.
The publication was prepared by E. I. Derzhavina
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