Feofan Prokopovich

(1677 or 1681-1736)
Dane von Hagen, who visited St. Petersburg in 1736, recorded the impressions of the meeting with Theophanes: 'In his younger years he traveled almost all countries of Europe and Asia. In science there was little his equals in particular among the Russian spiritual. In history, theology and philosophy, he possessed a profound knowledge in mathematics and had her extraordinary passion. He understood and spoke on the different European languages', perfectly knew Latin, Greek and Hebrew. All this is true - more educated than Theophanes, the man was not at that time in Russia. But not learning, he became known in the history of Russian church ...
Elisha (or Eleazar) - that was his secular name. He was born in Kiev, from childhood bore the name of the mother, the father of his totally unknown. From an early age he was sent to a convent school and then at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, who gave young men an excellent education. Then replenish the knowledge in Lviv, and after the adoption of the Uniate faith under the name Samoylo walked all over Europe: in Poland, Germany, where he attended the famous Protestant universities in Leipzig, Halle, Jena, and so on to Rome itself.
. Three years Samoylo studied at the Vatican, from which escaped the great scandal
. The reason it is unknown to us, but we note that the general standard of the way of the future theorist Peter's reforms either directly or even anything but. This is largely depended on his character. The first biographer of Theophanes Academy Bayer wrote that his hero was a 'green-choleric sanguine temperament'.
. Travels and Adventures in Europe, much has been given to the young man, and when he returned to Kiev, there could not help noticing a talented, lively and erudite monk
. Here, he took monastic vows in the Orthodox faith under the name of Theophanes and in 1705 became professor of poetics in his native Kiev-Mohyla Academy. At this point, and introduced him a chance to dramatically change the destiny: the solemn divine service in Kiev in honor of the Battle of Poltava in 1709 Feofan delivered a brilliant speech, eulogy was present once the king of the reformer, and was last seen them.
. Probably, . Peter was struck not so much inherent ability Feofan talent and shamelessly say in the eyes slaver, . many of his outstanding oratory data, . extensive knowledge, . mind and above all - is the intellectual suppleness, . often called unprincipled.,
. A few years later, more precisely - from 1716, Theophanes was in Russia for the first roles, and assisted by Peter, to reform the church
. Um, phenomenal erudition scholar monk working at full capacity, he was the true soul of an ambitious reform of the Millennial Church Institute. Properties of the mind and character of Theophanes allowed him to prove anything: the king wants to justify the benefit of collective management of the church - and Theophanes does so brilliantly in a lengthy 'Spiritual Regulation' (1721), . concluded the transformation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the servant of the State, . and priests - in the informants, . obliged the authorities to open the sacred secrecy of confession, . and promoters of all austere secular authorities,
. Theophanes and his colleagues at the Synod obediently did everything demanded of them the king, who could not bear that in a society which he created in Russia, someone could be nepodvlasten, even in the shower, even to himself, pervasive state power.
. Peter must justify new educational and ratsionalistskimi arguments his limitless power of the autocrat - and Theophanes wrote fundamental treatises 'word of power and honor of the royal' (1718) and 'The truth will monarch' (1722), . which claims, . that the emperor is not only given the people of God, . but also acts as his power, . Helmsman, . gain power over people as a result of the social contract,
. Besides, . king - patriarchal father subjects, . and if by the Emperor himself was the father, . he would, . by virtue of royal power, . would have been his own son son! But, . Theophanes - no priest Habakkuk, and never for the sake of their own beliefs on the fire has not gone: will require him to justify the king tomorrow, . as opposed to yesterday, . exclusive benefit of the patriarchate and historical implications of the republican regime in Russia, . he would have done it once and, . Remembering Moses, . Pope, . Greek polis and the Novgorod Republic,
. And all would come together, all would have been convincing, talented and bright - like everything he undertook Theophanes.
. Theophanes was a wonderful speaker, . true artist, . He felt the subtle atmosphere, . public, . could speak so, . that people are dying away in delight, . crying with grief, . mentally transported thousands of miles and hundreds of years - and all this was accomplished with the help of words, . intonation, . gesture,
. Even, . pronouncing archaic to our ears the text of his funeral speech at the funeral of Peter the Great, . we can not but feel the whole power of this talent, . entire flexible expressiveness of his language: 'What is the CE? To what we have come, . on the Russians? What we see? What do we do? Peter the Great buries! Do not dream these things? Do we not sleepy ghost? Ah, . the true sadness to us! Ah, . known as our misfortune!.,
. Hsieh shalt thy, Russia, Sampson, in what order you are able to will reveal, nobody in the world had hoped, but the whole world was astonished yavlshemsya. I found it in you, the weak force, and made on behalf of his stone, adamantovu: found host in the home detrimental, in a field of loosely, from the adversary swearing, and introduced a patronymic is good, the enemies of a terrible, resounding everywhere and nice! "
. And how brilliant sermons delivered during the life of Peter Theophanes on all solemn occasions, you spoke about the victories, anniversaries, anniversaries
. He was a true Chrysostom Russia.
It was magnificent, towering Theophanes the pulpit, before hundreds of parishioners listened to him, in the radiance of festive robes, so insignificant and petty, he turned out in everyday life. Acquisitiveness, insatiably desire for power and destructive soul ambition, fear for their own their homes at the foot of the throne, a vice president where he established the Synod - all this vanity would not let him sleep peacefully.
. The enemies of the Archbishop of Pskov (then - Novgorod) has been set - some hated him, a stranger, a contempt for the Russian church traditions, while others - for the evil he did, and still others - for what was a talented, lucky, close to the king
. Theophanes, repeatedly beaten on his left cheek, never substitutes for the right and had the habit of forgiving. He stubbornly pursued his enemies, planting enemies in distant monasteries and the prison pit, each wrote a denunciation denunciation back. According to one of his biographers, Theophanes life did not leave the Secret Chancellery: was there any persons under investigation or prosecution.
. Undoubtedly, Theophanes was a true son, not only of his age, but also the medium of court flatterers, who in cassocks, jackets and coats at all times, crowded around the throne, violently pushing each other
. No sooner had the closest associate of Theophanes in the Synod of Archbishop of Novgorod Theodosia not show proper deference to the Empress Catherine I, . as Theophanes, . together with other members of the Synod, . hastened to pour on the head of a comrade tub of mud and, . by, . Theodosius forever disappeared from life.,
. And Peter, and after his death, the main task of charming, kind Theophanes was a desire to survive, to please the new ruler, like the next favorite, whether Menshikov, Dolgorukiy or Biron
. But he was not deprived of a developed sense of beauty, genuine passion for books, mathematics, poetry. Theophanes enthusiastically wrote not only denunciations and sermons, and poems, and plays, historical works, treatises on logic, physics, poetics, pedagogy.
Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, he was also known as Copernicus, Galileo, Spinoza. All of them, like other thinkers of antiquity, medieval, Renaissance and modern times, he read in the original, he knew and admired. Theophanes was not a miser, has spared no money on beautiful things, the rich built. He passionately loved life and believed that the death of 'the evil of all evil, the evil'. In accordance with the fashionable views of his hedonic (the ultimate goal - the pleasure of) their own age and temperament, . He saw no happiness in focused prayer, . asceticism and suffering for their faith, . ideas, . people and good, . but in, . that 'human happiness consists in the perfect abundance of all that, . that life should be pleasant and,
. For these things is especially advantageous, beauty and amenity space salubrity air, healthy food and fruits of the earth, and so forth. ". We see a lot of sin monk Theophanes, if thought so!
. But costly for his soul and the body elected by them once vain: in 1736 the Danish traveler walking along the beautiful garden with Theophanes already decrepit, tired, sick old man, although that was not yet 60 and
. This was the last summer of the Archbishop: September 8, happened to him the most evil of the evil for him - he died and was buried in one of the shrines of Russian Orthodoxy - in Sofia Novgorod.