Codrul Cosminului (Jul 2018)
Information on Paisius Velichkovsky and the Romanian Monasticism of the 18th Century in the Pages of “Kievskaia Starina” (1892-1894)
Abstract
The first Ukrainian scientific historical review “Kievskaia starina” was a significant consolidating factor in the socio-political life of the Ukrainian nation at the end of the nineteenth century. It united Ukrainian intellectuals and laid foundations for a scientific research of many issues in the field of Ukrainian studies. In this journal, we may find the materials related to Ukrainian history and its well-known figures. Among these, articles about the great Ukrainian, outstanding ascetic, spiritual and cultural figure, Paisius Velichkovsky were printed. “Kievskaia starina” describes the period of his life on Mount Athos, little studied due to the lack of documentary sources. For the first time, it was reported to the public about the most prolific period of Paisius’s life in the Romanian monasteries of Dragomirna and Neamț, where he created a large library, published a Slavic grammar, founded a famous school of translators and scribes of church and theological literature, wrote dozens of spiritual works. For the first time, a document on the close relations between Paisius, Moldavian monasticism and the Zaporizhian Sich, and its ataman Petro Kalnyshevsky was published in the pages of this Ukrainian journal. We have proved that the Dragomirna Monastery was helped by the Zaporizhian Sich. Paisius Velichkovsky contributed to the transformation of the monasteries of Dragomirna and Neamț into prominent educational and spiritual centres. The sources, concerning Paisius Velichkovsky’s life and work, have not been sufficiently studied, and his contribution towards the culture of the Christian East is not adequately appreciated yet. Therefore, there is an urgent need to draw attention to this prominent person.
