Волинський благовісник (Oct 2018)
Vicar of the Kyiv diocese Bishop of Kaniv Sylvester (Malevansky) – a theologian and prominent graduate of the Volyn Theological Seminary
Abstract
A special historical discipline – prosoiography is one of the methods of historical and biographical research, contributes to the in-depth and detailed study of biographies of historical personalities. Today, due to the need of studying and reporting to the general public the ways of life of the prominent personalities of the Church of Christ and to restore the historical memory of our people, we must remember those, who in the various historical periods of the development of our Church and State remained the light of true Christianity and science. Bishop of Kaniv Sylvester (Malevansky) is the famous person of the Church of Christ. He contributed to the development of spiritual science through his inspirational works and archipostoral activities, being firstly the teacher, inspector, and later – the rector of the Kiev Theological Academy. The thorny way of the scholar-theologian and the priest activity Sylvester (Malevansky) began in the old spiritual education center in Volhynia – the Volyn Theological Seminary. There he received deep theological knowledge as well as spiritual experience and perfection, which later led him to the realization and acceptance of the monasticism. Due to successful scientific work in the field of theology, Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky) was suggested as an outstanding graduates of the Volyn Theological Seminary. His church-administrative, teaching, and especially scientific activity was inscribed in the history of domestic theology and in the Kiev Theological Academy for centuries. In this article, based on the literature, we present the reconstruction of the fragments of the biography of Sylvester (Malevansky) – an outstanding graduate of the Volyn Theological Seminary, Bishop of Kaniv, vicar of the Kiev diocese, teacher and rector of the Kiev Theological Academy. The source of the research is the memories of his contemporaries, as well as obituaries, posted on the pages of the scientific journal "Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy". The analysis of these sources makes it possible to compile in detail a prosoiographical portrait of the Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky). These biographical facts characterize Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky) as a bright theological scientist who made a significant contribution to the development of spiritual education and church history, since he devoted his life to science and God for the development of the Orthodox Church.
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