A Message by the Athonite Fathers to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich with the Request to Help the Rusicon (1667)

The publication has been prepared by D. V. Zubov and P. V. Kuzenkov

Abstract

The preparation of a complete collection of documentary material on the history of the Russian monastery on St Athos in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon (Rusik, Rosikon), led by D.V. Zubov, focuses on reconstructing a comprehensive picture of this monastery's connections both with other Athos monasteries and with the outside world. For obvious reasons, the most important place here is occupied by relations with Russia, which played a special role in the life of St. Panteleimon's monastery. Among the many documents concerning the fate of the Rosikon our attention was caught by the letter, stored in the fonds of Greek Affairs of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Greece under No 622. This letter, addressed on behalf of all the hegumens of Mount Athos to the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, describes the difficult situation of the "Rusik" (that is how St Panteleimon Monastery is mentioned here) and calls upon the sovereign to take care of the reconstruction of the ruined monastery. The letter was delivered to Moscow by the newly appointed hegumen of St Panteleimon, Archimandrite Nikodim.