Митрополит Исидор Киевский (1385/1390–1463)

The epistolary heritage and panegyrics of Isidore present great importance for historical science. Isidore's letters in Greek testify to him being a talented scientist and inscribe his personality in the environment of the late Byzantine intellectual elite, while the Latin letters become the most valuable source on the history of siege and fall of Constantinople and the subsequent reaction of the world community to this tragic event. Panegyrics in honor of the royal persons give a huge volume of historically important information necessary to provide a historical overview of the system of government, foreign and domestic policies of the Byzantine and German emperors in the late 14th — first third of the 15th centuries.

Isidore's theological works are of less importance for the Orthodox theology. Although they bear a vivid imprint of originality and intellectualism of the originator, they are just rehashing of patristic thoughts and quotations already known for a long time. These works have significance only for the idea of Union developed by Latinophile theologians within the framework of the discourse connected with the Basel and Ferrara-Florentine Councils and the subsequent reaction of the Orthodox population of the Byzantine Empire to this idea of Union. Based on the analysis of these works, the author shares the hypothesis of Ioannis Polemis that Isidore considered it possible to enter into union irrespectively of any theological basis.

The hymnographic works of Isidore are of particular interest: 4 prayers and 2 unpublished acoluthies were written in honor of the Archangel Michael and St. Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. If the prayers reflected a kind of political ideology of the Byzantine Empire and were written for specific people and due to certain circumstances, the two liturgical orders were composed by Isidore, apparently, in the throes of religious feeling. Isidore carried his monastic ministry in the imperial monasteries in honor of the Archangel Michael near Monemvasia and St. Martyr Demetrius in Constantinople; and, probably, for some reason he was not satisfied with the hymnography in honor of these saints available in liturgical books.

Historical and canonical works of Isidore occupy prominent place in his literary heritage, being designed to resolve a controversial question of the belonging of a number of dioceses to the Monemvasia metropolia.

To write these works, Isidore used an impressive amount of canonical and other sources, the study of which allowed some researchers to conclude that in the first half of the 15th century in Monemvasia there was a high-quality canonical library.

Language of Isidore's literary works is refined and bears the imprint of the magnificent education of this writer. In accordance with the tradition of Byzantine intellectuals, when creating a work, Isidore consciously archaized his language, using long-obsolete forms and syntactical constructions that had become obsolete. If the style of his early works was still somewhat artificial, with time Isidore improved it, seeking perfection. As a rule, the works of Isidore were written on some occasion or due to specific situation, so there was no significant manuscript tradition (with the exception of letters about the Fall of Constantinople) and, therefore, most letters had never been in wide circulation, influencing neither minds, nor worldviews. Nevertheless, many of the Isidore's works become the remarkable examples of late Byzantine rhetoric, which are worth of translating into Russian and further detailed studying.

Об авторе

Акишин Сергей Юрьевич — кандидат богословия (2018 г.), научный сотрудник кафедры церковно-практических дисциплин Екатеринбургской духовной семинарии. Выпускник церковно-практического отделения Московской духовной академии (2007 г.) и аспирантуры Уральского федерального университета (2018 г.). Заместитель главного редактора журнала «Вестник Екатеринбургской духовной семинарии».

Автор публикаций по поздневизантийской истории и истории русской литургики в духовных учебных заведениях Российской империи.