“Through the Letter Sent with my Envoys to Kiev” St. Dimitry`s of Rostov Contacts with Kiev and Chernigov in 1701–1709

• Main Author: Krylov Aleksei
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University 2016-10-01
• Series: Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Svâto-Tihonovskogo Gumanitarnogo Universiteta: Seriâ II. Istoriâ, Istoriâ Russkoj Pravoslavnoj Cerkvi
• Subjects: St. Dimitry of Rostov; St. John (Maksimovich) of Tobolsk; Joasaf Krokowski; ukrainian clergy; history of Russian Church.
• Online Access: http://periodical.pstgu.ru/en/pdf/article/3434
• ISSN: 1991-6434; 2409-4811

The article examines st. Dimitry’s of Rostov contacts with Kiev and Chernigov in 1701–1709. Dimitry’s correspondence is vast, but addressees of the most of the known letters are Dmitry’s Moscow friend and Great Russian hierarchs. Problem of st. Dimitry’s contacts with his Little Russian acquaintances still remain obscure. This article deals with the information of st. Dimitry of Rostov correspondence with addressees in Kiev and Chernigov and the circumstances of Dimitry’s visit to Chernigov in 1704. In time of his episcopal service st. Dimitry exchanged letters with Josaph Krokowski, archimandrit of Kievan Lauras and future metropolitan of Kiev. Letters were sent with agents of both hierarchs. This correspondence was devoted to the publication of the “Lives of the Saints” in the Lavra’s typography. There are no evedencies of st. Dimitry writing letteres to members of Chernigov clergy in 1701–1709, although st. John Maximovich archbishop of Chernigov sent his new books to Dimitry of Rostov. However in february of 1704st. Dmitry undertook a journey to Chernigov that left almost no traces in sources. The main evidence is record of Pachomios of Roman, a Moldavian ascetic, about himself meeting Rostov metropolitan in Chernigov in 1704. This trip was an exeptional event and could be connected with the demise of Parthenios Neboza, metropolitan of Holmogory, who died suddenly on 2 january 1704 in Yaroslavl. Author concludes that Dimitry of Rostov in 1701–1709 was not isolated from his old friends and mantained his ties with educated clergy of Little Russia during the years of his Episcopal service in Moscow and Rostov.