Metropolitan Paisios Ligaridis of Gaza in Russia: materials for his biography
Abstract
The last years of life of Paisios Ligaridis, Metropolitan of Gaza, were closely associated with the Russian state and, as it may seem, are well known to researchers. However, some facts of his biography are still insuffi ciently studied and require further research. Paisios Ligaridis’ activity at the Great Moscow Council of 1666/67 is evaluated in the relevant scholarly literature mostly negatively. Both supporters and opponents of Nikon, Patriarch of Moscow, treat him either as an initiator of the decisions taken at the council, or as an embodiment of servility. However, such views do not take into account either unpublished archival materials or historical sources published as early as the 18?20th centuries. Even less explored are the facts associated with the departure of Paisios Ligaridis to the Orthodox East and his second return to Moscow. They are dealt with differently in historiography not only because of the insuffi cient source base but more often because of the biased interpretation of the available pieces of evidence. Paisios arrived in Kiev in May 1673 and was not going to leave it quickly. Using published and unpublished sources this article puts forward a hypothesis about the possible reasons for the return of Paisios Ligaridis from Kiev to Moscow and his new departure from Moscow in 1676.
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