I. Testimonia externa

The first fifteen pages of the book are dedicated to prof. Popov “external evidence about the blessed Diadochos, his works in general and especially about the ascetic word” in the original texts with Russian translation with the aim that “the reader could more easily judge the researcher’s attitude towards them” (V-VI). Such evidence was obtained by Prof. Popov collected only ten in total, with three pieces of evidence: 7 – an iambic poem by the monk Athanasius, copyist of the manuscript M. Synod, bibliography. 899 No. 145, 9 - an extract from the Khludovsky verse Prologue of 1370 and 10 - from the great Makariev Chetya-Menai about the martyrdom of Diadochos on the 31st day of the month of Augustus “are drawn into research and published” by him for the first time, and all the others “were already taken into account by the learned men who compiled about the bl. Brief Notes to Diadoche” (p. VI). Prof. It seems to Popov that all this “external evidence” can be considered “indicators of the path along which research about the bl. Diadoche, which can support and clarify them with other, clearer and more decisive data (external and internal evidence) obtained by a comprehensive study of creations and the teachings of the bl. Diadoche” (p. vii). But in reality, whether these “signposts of the way” can be considered sufficiently reliable, and whether they lead to the results desired by the author - this, in our extreme understanding, is subject to even greater doubt. About the first two external evidence: about the signature of the bishops of ancient Epirus under their letter to Emperor Leo (after 457) regarding the dignity of the Council of Chalcedon and with the censure of the Monophysites, and about the prologue to the “Historia persecutionis africanae provinciae”, written in 487 by Bishop Victor of Vitensa, Prof. himself. Popov states that “the importance of the first (two) is significantly diminished by their lack of clarity and definiteness, for example, in the first testimony the name of Bishop Photica is distorted (signature: Didacus, episcopus Phocae, similiter), the second testimony, which also distorts the name of a certain famous writer and teacher, does not contain an indication of his episcopal see (beato Diadoco). Both of these pieces of evidence will become especially important if evidence is presented showing that Bl. actually lived in the 5th century. Diadochos is a writer who is called the bishop of Photiki manuscripts containing his ascetic creation, and that this bishop could have taken part in composing the epistle of the bishops of Epirus” (p. VI). In other words, this means that the scientific importance of these evidence will become clear only after the publication of the second volume of Mr. Popov’s work, now postponed, as one must think, ad graecas calendas, but highly desirable for the inquisitive reader of his present first volume, full of mysteries, omissions, languid expectations and hardly ever realized hopes... In the third testimony of Abba Philemon, who cites “a saying from the ascetic writings of Bl. Diadoche", prof. Popov already directly refers his reader to the non-existent second volume. “This testimony, according to him, shows strength only after research about the time of life of its culprit,” “since, according to our research presented in the second volume (?), Abba Philemon” “was famous for his exploits in the second half of the 5th century and died at the end of it” (p. vii). The fourth one is no better, or, according to Prof. Popov, the sixth testimony, which acquires the significance of a “way pointer” for the researcher about the blessed Diadochos and his works only in the unknown future, after this professor bothers to gift Russian theological science with the mysterious second volume. “The testimony (6th) of Patriarch Photius that in the book of testimonies he read about the twofold activity in Christ Jesus there was a saying of Diadochos, bishop of Photiki, and that this bishop was placed among the fathers who lived before the Council of Chalcedon (451), during it and after it, will acquire chronological significance only then, according to Prof. Popov, when the time of origin of the collection of sayings about two actions in Christ Jesus is determined and it is proven that in this collection of Blessed. Diadochus is given a place among the fathers who lived during or after the fourth ecumenical council” (p. vii). All the evidence we have indicated undoubtedly establishes the fact that the publisher of the “works” of Blessed Diadochos would have acted more expediently if he had placed much of the second volume in the preface to the present first volume, or even directly published the entire second volume, which, according to Prof. Popov, the basis for many questions related to the personality of his chosen writer and his creations. The fifth testimony is from the “Library” of Patriarch Photius of Constantinople, which states that “the nodwriting calls Diadochos, Bishop of Photiki in ancient Epirus, the father of the word (λόγος ἀσκητικός)” (p. 8), the seventh testimony is a poem by Abbot Athanasius, the copyist of the manuscript M. Synod, bib. No. 145, placing the words of Bl. Diadochos in third place (p. 13), and the eighth testimony - the iambic poem of Nilus, Abba of the Grota Ferrat monastery, turning to the Savior, through the prayers of Diadochos (p. 14), does not add anything new to what can be obtained about this writer and his works from numerous manuscripts containing his work, well known in ascetic writing under the name "λόγος ἀσκητικός." The ninth and tenth evidence from the Khludovsky verse Prologue of 1370 and the Makaryevsky great Chetya-Minea, indicating the martyrdom of Diadochos on August 31 through beheading with a sword “into a weapon” (p. 15), for the first time “involved in research” about the blessed Diadochos, as having “important significance” for determining and clarifying his “martyrdom, day death and glorification" by the Church (p. VI), prof. Popov, represent, in our opinion, the fruit of a deep misunderstanding on the part of the latter, and both of these pieces of evidence have no relation to the church writer under study. None of the ancient writers calls Diadochos, Bishop of Photikis, a martyr. Nor do the numerous manuscripts containing his creations give him this honorable title, calling him either “τοῦ ἁγίου Διαδόχου”, or more often “τοῦ μακαρίου ἀββᾶ Διαδόχου, ἐπισκόπου Φωτιχῆς" (rkp. ΧII century. Vatop.-Athos. bib. No. 405; ΧIII century. rkp. Lavra of St. Athanasius on Athos No. 40 G′; rkp. XV-XVI в. № 124 К′; ркп. XV в. Ватоп. библ. № 243; 1510 г. ркп. Иверск.-Афон. библ. № 1337), или «ὁ ὅσιος πατὴρ ἡμῶν» (анонимный схолиаст стр. 529). And the publisher of Bl.’s works himself. Diadoche prof. Popov, who everywhere calls this writer “blessed,” is, of course, well aware of how much higher the hieromartyr stands in the rank of saints (if, of course, it were known with certainty that Bishop Diadochos of Photikis ended his life as a martyr) 1 before the blessed and even the venerable. As for the day of glorifying the memory of the writer Diadochos, we now have a positive indication on this score in a very curious Georgian parchment Synaxarion of the 11th century, translated from Greek by the famous Athonite scribe, abbot of the Athos-Iveron monastery of St. George II Mtatsmindeli († 1066). In this Synaxarion, under the fifth day of March, along with the memory of Mark the monk, known in ascetic writing for his hundred chapters 2, the martyr Eulogius of Palestine, Saint Gregory, Bishop of Constantia of Cyprus, we also find the memory of “Saint Diadochos, Bishop of Photiki in Illyricum, who wrote one hundred chapters of ascetic teaching” 3. It is clear, therefore, that Diadochos the martyr, celebrated by the Church on August 31, and Diadochos the blessed, Bishop of Photiki, author of “Λόγος ἀσκητικός,” celebrated on March 5, are two completely different persons, and there is no reason to confuse or identify them. Thus, what remains is the last fourth testimony - the troparion in the 8th song of the canon of St. Theodora Studita on cheese Saturday. Here a certain Diadochos is sung together with Nicholas the holy preacher (τῷ ἱεροκηρύκφ), with the honey-tongued (μελιγλώσσφ) Sophronius and the supreme fathers (τοῖς πατροκορυφαίοις) Eustathius and Juvenal (p. 6). In itself, this testimony is not distinguished by certainty, and does not directly state in any way that we are talking about the blessed Diadochos, the author of λόγος ἀσκητικός. Only the epithets - sacred preacher and honey-speaker of those fathers among whom the name of Diadochos stands, give some reason to assume that we are talking about church writers, to whose category the Diadochos who concerns us belongs. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain undoubtedly on this basis, in his Philocalia, placed the named troparion of the canon among the testimonies speaking about the blessed Diadochos. That's all that can be said for now about these “signposts of the path along which, in the opinion of Prof. Popova, should direct research on the blessed Diadochos.” To recognize these indexes as quite reliable or at least sufficient, since they only “outline the main (sic) elements of the biography, bibliography and assessment of the teachings of the bl. Diadoche” (p. VI), the publisher of the works of the bl. Diadoche, trying to “reinforce and clarify them with other, clearer and more decisive data (external and internal evidence) obtained by a comprehensive study of creations and the teachings of the bl. Diadoche” (p. vii). It must be assumed that among such “clear and decisive data” is Prof. Popov also attributed the place in the word to the ascension of the bl. Diadoche: “πῶς δὲ νῦν οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λειτουργοἰ... ἀπεκδεχόριεθα” (p. 558), in which, in his words, “can be seen as an indication by the author himself of his episcopal dignity” (ibid. note 1; Sn. p. XXXI). No one, as far as we know, doubted Diadochos, the writer of λόγος ἀσκητικός, as the bishop of Photiki, as both ancient writers unanimously testify (see testimonia externa) and numerous Greek manuscripts containing the works of this author, and therefore to stop and raise this question, in our opinion, is completely useless: As for the expression itself in the word for the ascension: οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λειτουργοἰ, then for someone who knows the Greek language it gives with the same right to “see the indication of the author himself” and to his episcopal dignity, and presbyteral, and even deaconal, since everything members of the church hierarchy are servants of Christ and equally await the coming of Christ to earth for judgment. With such “clear and decisive data”, even questions that do not raise doubts, we admit, become confused and doubtful. All that has been said, taken together, leads us to the sad conviction that the task of collecting the “basic elements” of the biography of the bl. Diadoche for the future second volume by prof. Things are not going well for Popov. Prof. Popov, who decided to identify Didacus, episcopus Phocae, who signed among the Epirus Protestant bishops in the letter to St. Emperor Leo I (467-474) regarding the unrest due to the Monophysite heresy, with the martyr Diadochos, beheaded by the sword “for a weapon” on August 31, it would not be superfluous, of course, in the future second volume of his work to explain to perplexed readers the reasons that led the Photikian bishop Diadochos to such a sad end as beheading with a sword “for a weapon”, and Epirus, during his reign St. Emperor Leo G, was it a suitable place for the manifestation of martyrdom of the kind indicated... Isn’t it this rapprochement of the bl. Diadoche with Mark the monk and the homogeneity of their literary activity, and it is necessary to explain the inscription that exists in some manuscript monuments: “τοῦ μακαρίου Μάρκου τοῦ Διάδοχου” (p. 574)? The unknown scholiast “λόγος ἀσκητικός” is apparently no stranger to seeing the continuity of these two ascetic writers (p. 580). RKP. Church archaeologist. Museum in Tiflis No. 198, l. 165. We are obliged to point out this curious evidence of ancient writing to Fr. K. S. Kekelidze, Ph.D. theology of our Academy, to whom we offer our deep gratitude for it. You might be interested in: