Abstract
Composing the first Ukrainian Synaxarion (Chetii-Minei), the great Ukrainian theologian, scholar and hagiographer St. Dymytriy Tuptalo (1651–1709) relied on different sources, including Slavonic, Greek, Latin, and Polish. Thanks to an Antiochian Patericon by the Greek Syrian author Theodoret of Cyrrhus – History of the Friends of God, Dymytriy could introduce Theodoret’s holy friends to a Ukrainian readership, creating a bridge between the School of Antioch and Kyivan theological tradition. Introducing the Vitae of Syriac Saints into the Ukrainian and Russian Church calendar, Dymytriy to a considerable extent adopted Theodoret’s views on asceticism, Christian anthropology, and Church history. Thus, he may be called an ally of the Antiochian school, which was to a great extent marginalized in Byzantium since the 5th century and later on. Moreover, St. Dymytriy venerated Theodoret himself as one of those Saints despite incessant debates around his name initiated by his opponents at the Second Council of Constantinople.
Highlights
Composing the first Ukrainian Synaxarion (Chetii-Minei), the great Ukrainian theologian, scholar and hagiographer St
Introducing the Vitae of Syriac Saints into the Ukrainian and Russian Church calendar, Dymytriy to a considerable extent adopted Theodoret’s views on asceticism, Christian anthropology, and Church history. He may be called an ally of the Antiochian school, which was to a great extent marginalized in Byzantium since the 5th century and later on
Dymytriy venerated Theodoret himself as one of those Saints despite incessant debates around his name initiated by his opponents at the Second Council of Constantinople
Summary
1.1 Name As Canivet observes (p. 10; MST 44), Theodoret himself calls his Patericon in three different ways: The Ascetical Life (ἀσκετικῇ πολιτεία, Prol. 10.2), History of the Monks (μοναχῶν ἱστορίᾳ, XVII.11.4), and Life of the Saints (ἁγίων τὴν πολιτείαν / βίος, Prol. 9.1; On Divine love 19; Ep. 82). In sixteen cases[14] out of thirty-six, he was writing about living Saints, his contemporaries, often his own teachers or friends This conditioned an interesting feature of his hagiographies: many chapters lack the traditional ending like, ‘the Saint rested in peace with God in a certain year.’[15] So his editors – St. Dymytriy among them – had to introduce such endings by themselves.[16] Theodoret heard the stories about the great ascetic teachers of the previous generation from their immediate pupils. Being proud of his holy friends, he, tried sometimes to soften and retouch in his account some rather weird features of their asceticism With this purpose Theodoret, as Canivet observed, ‘attributes to his heroes of endurance’ features characteristic of the Greek philosophers, like ‘moderation, common sense, equilibrium and serenity’.20. 1.5 Influence History of the Friends of God is just one document which testifies to the nature of Theodoret’s life-long mission, which was to introduce Syriac spirituality into the framework of the universal Church. This is the second citation read on the 7th Ecumenical Council. Glubokovsky, Historical meaning, I. 417. Assemani, Bibl. orient, III. 1, 49
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
