The Metaphrast

Saint Gregory the Great. Selected Letters to Eastern Recipients

2025-11-05T17:36:23+00:00

The article contains a commented translation of selected letters to the Eastern addressees of St. Gregory the Great, which touch upon ecclesiastical-political, canonical, theological and moral issues. The publication examines both the correspondence of St. Gregory with contemporary Church hierarchs (St. John IV the Faster, St. Eulogius of Alexandria, St. Dometian of Melitene), and his interaction with the secular authorities in the person of Leontia Augusta, the wife of Emperor Phocas. Although the letters cited were written on different occasions, they contain a number of common motifs: on the one hand, St. Gregory’s lamentations about his personal sinfulness and unworthiness, on the other hand, occasional assertions about the special pastoral responsibility of the Bishop of Rome and his moral duty to decide not only the affairs of the Roman Church, but also to give instructions to representatives of the spiritual and secular authorities in the East.

Abba Dοulas's Response to Presbyter Hermaios

2025-11-05T17:17:59+00:00

This collective article was prepared based on the results of a year-long course devoted to the study of Greek ascetic literature at the Moscow Theological Academy. The article contains a commented translation of Abba Doulas’s response to Presbyter Hermaios. In this letter, Doulas consoles the disciple, encourages him to be patient, citing the example of repentant sinners, as well as previous Fathers who labored for many years, and convinces him to remain silent. The article is preceded by a preface in which the biblical, patristic, hagiographical and liturgical sources of the «Abba Doulas’s Response» are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the parallels of the message with «Apophthegmata Patrum». In the commentary to the translation, the most controversial passages from the point of view of interpretation are noted and the choice of one or another lexeme is justified to most adequately convey the meaning, as well as the editors’ opinion regarding the acceptability of various contexts in the Greek text.

Saint Cosmas of Maiuma Canon of the Octoechos to Our Lord Jesus Christ, Sung During the Attack of Filthy and Impure Thoughts

2025-11-05T19:54:00+00:00

This article presents a translation from Ancient Greek into Church Slavonic and modern Russian of the «Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ, sung when attacked by filthy and impure thoughts». This Canon is part of the corpus of twenty Octoechos canons attributed to St. Cosmas of Maiuma, of which only five are used in modern liturgical practice. A brief preface provides general information about the corpus of Octoechos canons attributed to St. Cosmas of Maiuma, as well as the structural features of the penitential Canon in question.

Apophthegmata Patrum: A Source Studies Review

2025-11-08T12:11:22+00:00

PhD in Theology
Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Theory of Law at the Volgograd
State University
director of the Center for the Training of Church Specialists of the Volgograd Diocese

Professor J. J. Pelikan (1923–2006): From Lutheranism to Orthodoxy

2025-11-08T12:24:24+00:00

In the publication presented a brief biography of the doctor of philosophy J. J. Pelikan (1923-2006), a well-known American scholar of Slovak origin, a distinguished professor at Yale University and the author of many studies in the field of patristics, church history and theology. Attached is a chronological list of Pelikan's works. The scholar's work is devoted to various aspects of theology, belief, and interaction between Christianity and society. Pelikan was interested in the ancient paternal heritage, Eastern and Latin, studying its complex relationship with classical culture. He was also interested in medieval authors, the history of Christianity in the period of the Reformation and in later periods up to the 20th century. Being familiar with many Russian theologians, I knew many languages several Slavonic, prof. Pelikan became one of the recognized specialists in the field of medieval intellectual and church history. At the end of his life, after the strengthened theological quests, Pelican moved to Orthodoxy. His special merit consists in revealing the Orthodox tradition to the Western reader.

To the Question of Caius Marius Victorinus’ Biography

2025-11-08T11:32:19+00:00

The article is dedicated to the life analysis, social status and religious-philosophical worldview of the Christian Neoplatonist of the 3rd-4th centuries, rhetor Caius Marius Victorinus (between 281 and 291 - between 382 and 386), who made a considerable contribution to the Nicaean theology development in the Christian West and also exerted a decisive influence on the formation of the Latin Trinitarian paradigm. The process of deconstruction is carried out in three aspects: biographical, political and cultural-intellectual. The life and literary work of the theologian and philosopher are today restored on the basis of scattered testimonies of his closest contemporaries, late antique and Church figures of the Early Middle Ages: from St. Jerome of Stridon (c. 347-419/420) to Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims (c. 806-882). The texts containing information about the life and work of Gaius Marius Victorinus are presented in Latin with the author’s translation into Russian. Particular attention is paid to the comparison of information about Victorinus in the works of P. Monceau, P. Hadot and A. R. Fokin. The article provides the author’s translation of the epitaph dedicated to the granddaughter of Gaius Marius Victorinus, the Latin text of which is contained in the fundamental work about Victorinus by the French historian of philosophy P. Hadot. Based on the analysis of materials on the political, social, legal and cultural aspects of life in late antique Roman society, some assumptions are made that can shed more light on the little-known life path of the Christian Neoplatonist.

Ineffable Words (2 Cor. 12, 3–4) in the Exegetical Polyphony of St. Symeon the New Theologian: An Attentive Reading of the Third ‘Ethical Discouse’

2025-11-08T11:52:22+00:00

This article presents the findings of a meticulous reading of St. Symeon the New Theologian’s third Ethical Discourse, offering insights into the text’s precise techniques, dynamics, and profound significance. St. Symeon not only interprets the nature of the ineffable words (or verbs) heard by the Apostle Paul in the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:3-4) but also addresses the question of whether Paul’s experience is accessible to his contemporaries. He provides a unique patristic interpretation of the parable of the mustard seed, relating it to the spiritual life of humanity: the grain symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and the garden represents the heart of each individual. To explain how St. Paul could “see” ineffable words, St. Symeon posits the existence of a unified sense within the soul, which fragments into hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch only when directed toward earthly objects. This idea finds direct textual parallels in the writings of St. Diadochos of Photiki, whose influence on St. Symeon had previously been dismissed by scholars. Based on this teaching, St. Symeon offers three interpretations of the ineffable words. First, they are invisible visions of the unknowable glory and divinity of the Son of God, revealed through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Second, drawing on 1 Tim. 4:8, he identifies them as the blessings awaiting the faithful at the Second Coming. Third, he equates these blessings with the Holy Gifts that unite humanity with Christ. This analysis also highlights St. Symeon’s view that knowledge of God encompasses not only the contemplation of God but also the process of becoming like Him. His call to seek the kingdom of God, not as a physical place but as the reign of God within the believer, underscores the transformative nature of spiritual life. Through linguistic, semantic, and structural analysis, the article illuminates the distinctive features of St. Symeon’s interpretative method, positioning him not only as a mystic but also as an innovative exegete of Holy Scripture.