John Chrysostom in Russian writing

Alexey Ivanovich Sobolevsky, Doctor of Russian Language and Literature, Ordinary Professor of St. Petersburg. University, ordinary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. It is difficult to find in ancient Russian literature such a collection of teachings that would not contain words with the name of Chrysostom. It goes without saying that only a few of the works of Chrysostom circulated in this literature belong to the truly famous father of the church. Not only the words of unknown and little-known South Slavic and Russian authors were usually attributed to Chrysostom, but often also the works of such luminaries of South Slavic and Russian literature as John the Exarch of Bulgaria, Cyril of Turov, Serapion of Vladimir. Moreover, a number of teachings of famous fathers of the Greek church were considered in ancient Russian writing to belong to the same pen of Chrysostom. But our ancestors read quite a lot of such works of this church father, which either really belong to him, or are attributed to him in Greek writing (spuria). Academician E. E. Golubinsky in the first volume of his “History of the Russian Church” indicates 203 words of Chrysostom that existed in the pre-Mongol period of the history of Russian literature, translated from Greek into the ancient Church Slavonic language. This number could be increased somewhat by adding those words of Chrysostom found in more or less later ancient Russian collections, the language of which, with its features, indicates the antiquity of the translation. In addition, the “Teaching Gospel” of Constantine the Bulgarian, unknown in the Russian list of pre-Mongol times, consists mainly of the words of Chrysostom. All the words of Chrysostom, read by our ancestors in the 10th-13th centuries, were translated into Church Slavonic not in Russia, but in the Slavic south. A number of them appeared in the Church Slavonic language almost during the time of the Slavic first teachers, from the pen of their students. The rest (at least most) were translated at the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries. in Bulgaria, under the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon, during the heyday of Church Slavonic writing. “Prologue of the most Christ-loving king Simeon,” or church glory. a poem in praise of Simeon, located with a collection of 137 (more precisely, 135) words of Chrysostom, known as Zlatostruya, reports that the king himself chose these words and called the book compiled from them “Golden Jet”. But, probably, here, as in other similar cases, they used a ready-made Greek collection. – Apparently, soon after “Zlatostruy”, another collection of 80 words of Chrysostom appeared in Bulgaria, which came down to us completely in the Makariev Chetyi-Minaia (under November 13) and is not quite in the Russian list of the 12th century, having the same 67 words and in the same translation as “Zlatostruy”, but in a different order. Our scientists usually also call him Zlatostroem, but without reason. – Around the same time, 21 words of Chrysostom were translated on the occasion of the overthrow of the imperial statues in Antioch: this collection in ancient Rus' was called Andriatis. – A certain number of Chrysostom’s words were part of the Greek Chety-Menai of the ancient (pre-Metaphrast) edition and were translated along with the lives and words of other fathers that made up this collection. One might think that all the mentioned words of Chrysostom passed from the Slavic south to Rus' at the beginning of the existence of Russian writing, i.e. in the X-XI centuries. and quickly became, despite the literalness and hence the sometimes unclear translation, a favorite reading among ancient Russian scribes. The latter changed many of them, making insertions, abbreviations, simplifying the language; their adaptations are found in the greatest number in Izmaragd and Chrysostom, two collections of teachings compiled in Russia in the 14th century - the first for home reading by the laity, the second for church use. In the 14th and 15th centuries, during lively relations between Russians and the southern Slavs, which resumed with the weakening of the Tatar yoke, our ancestors received from these Slavs a significant number of previously unknown works of Chrysostom, translated into Church Slavonic in Bulgaria in the 13th-14th centuries. – One part of them was a collection of Margaritas (i.e. pearls), which usually has about 30 words in Russian lists; it was translated by the monk Dionysius, a student of the Bulgarian Patriarch Theodosius (13th century); “Margarit” became widespread in Russia and has come down to us in a large number of lists. The other part was part of the Teaching Gospel, a collection of words for pronouncing in church on Sundays and holidays, compiled, according to Greek manuscripts, by Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople, and according to Russian copies, by Patriarch Callistus. It has been translated twice; both translations received significant use in Russia. One of these translations has a date of its appearance in Church Slavonic; according to some lists it is 1343, according to others it is 1407. (probably the first date indicates the time of compilation of the Greek collection, and the second - the time of translation). Simultaneously with these two collections, a number of other words of Chrysostom were translated in the Slavic south and transferred from there to Russia. The first translations of Chrysostom's works into Church Slavonic made in Russia are associated with Maxim the Greek. In 1525, he himself translated Chrysostom's Conversations on the Gospel of John, numbering 88 (with the omission of four chapters that were absent in the Greek manuscript that he used), and his collaborator and student monk Selivan, with his assistance, translated Chrysostom's Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew, numbering 90. An admirer of Maximus, Prince. Kurbskin, having fled from Moscow to southern Russia, in his new homeland began to translate the works of Chrysostom into Church Slavonic from Latin and compiled a new extensive collection of his words, the New Mariarite; the latter was not widespread. Then, he corrected and supplemented with the missing chapters the translation of the Conversations on the Gospel of John made by Maxim the Greek. In the first half of the seventeenth century. Southwestern Russian scientists published three large works of Chrysostom in Church Slavonic: in 1614 in Lvov “The Book (or six words) on the priesthood” (with the life of Chrysostom and other appendices), in 1623 in Kyiv Conversations on the 14 Epistles of St. Paul and in 1624, also in Kyiv Conversations on the Acts of St. The first work was translated by the Lvov hieromonk Paphnutius, the second by the famous Lavrenty Zizaniy, the third by the teacher of the Lvov school Gabriel Dorofeevich. Moreover, Leonty Karpovich translated the interpretation of Chrysostom into the “Our Father,” published in 1620 in Vilna. In the second half of the same XVII century. working hard on the works of Chrysostom in Moscow. One of his words in a new translation in Church Slavonic was published in the Moscow Anthologion in 1660, several words also “newly translated” were published in the Moscow Margarita in 1698; a few words translated by the monk Euthymius remained in the manuscripts. Euthymius also checked Andriatis with the Greek original, corrected it and prepared it for printing. The first printed editions of Chrysostom's works, which were published in Russia, date back to the 16th century. The above-mentioned “Teaching Gospel” by Philotheus (or Callistus) was first published in 1569 in Zabludov (now Grodno province), then, in the 17th century, it was published several more times, incidentally twice in translation from Church Slavonic into Western Russian book language, in 1616 in Evye (near Vilnius) and in 1637. in Kyiv. "Margarit" was printed for the first time in 1595 in Ostrog; then this edition, with additions, was repeated in 1642 and in 1698 in Moscow. We mentioned the “Book of the Priesthood” and other southwestern Russian publications above. Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew and Conversations on the Gospel of John, the latter with corrections and additions by Kurbsky, were again revised by Dionysius the Greek and published in 1664 and 1665. in Moscow. Several words of Chrysostom were published, along with the words of other church fathers, in the Sobornik, published in 1647 and 1700. in Moscow. The transitional era of Peter the Great did not give Russia anything new from the works of John Chrysostom. One can only point out that at that time in Moscow the following were published again: in 1705, “The Book of the Priesthood”, in 1707, “The Teaching Gospel”, in 1709, Conversations on the Epistles of St. Paul and in 1712 Conversations on the Acts of the Apostles, with amendments by the director of the Moscow printing house Fyodor Polikarpov. But in subsequent times, especially in the second half of the 18th century, a number of Chrysostom’s works were again translated and published, translated both into Church Slavonic and into Russian. It may be noted: Conversations on the first book of Moses' Genesis, M. 1766 (several editions): Conversations on the ten psalms of David, M. 1773 (several editions): Conversations on some psalms of David, M. 1775: Conversations on all the psalms of David (except those translated earlier, and other words of Chrysostom), M. 1787; Conversations to the Antiochian people, St. Petersburg. 1778; Six words about the priesthood, St. Petersburg. 1776; Book about virginity, M. 1783; Ten conversations about repentance, 14 on some of the Lord's holidays and Sundays and 10 instructive words or conversations on psalms and other texts, Kyiv 1774; Particularly zealous translators were St. Pisarev and priest. Iv. Ivanov (Sidorovsky). Moreover, a book appeared, translated from Latin: The Spirit or Thoughts of John Chrysostom, or his abbreviated moral teaching, M. 1781. Finally, Margarit, M. 1764, 1776, Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew, M. 1781, and Conversations on the Gospel of John, M. 1793, were republished - the last two books with corrections archim. Ambrose and Archbishop. Irinea (Klementyevsky). The 19th century was marked by the translation into Russian of all the works of Chrysostom. It was made by teachers from St. Petersburg. Spirit. Academy and published in the supplement to “Christian. Reading" for the first time in the forties, fifties and sixties, for the second time, begun (in 1895) on the initiative of the founder and first editor of this "Encyclopedia" prof. A.P. Lopukhin - as the “Complete Collection of Works” by Chrysostom (finished in 1906). Moreover, Chrysostom's Interpretations on the Epistles of St. John were again translated into Russian. Pavla, M. 1839–1844, and a number of small works published separately; may be noted: Words on the Priesthood, trans. priest Kolokolova, St. Petersburg. 1874; About raising children, trans. archbishop Philareta Chernigov, St. Petersburg. 1889; About virginity, translation by M. Viktorova, St. Petersburg. 1892, etc. (see above). A few words of Chrysostom translated into ancient Church Slavonic in the 19th century. were published as monuments of this language, as part of the Klotsov collection and the Suprasl manuscript of the 11th century. acad. I. I. Sreznevsky. A few more words and the entire “Margarit” was (entirely) published as part of the Makaryev Chet-Menya by the Archaeographical Commission.