Why was Epiphany called wise? Photos and biography of Epiphanius the Wise

Thanks to history textbooks, many of us know about glorified people in the ages, for example, about great generals, politicians and scientists. But, unfortunately, the school gives only a tiny bit of knowledge about those figures who carried through their lives wisdom and kindness, and also immortalized historical facts.

We propose to correct this and find out about a truly great man who is known to people religious and religious as the Monk Epiphanius the Wise (photo of the uncanonized saint, unfortunately, for the prescription of the years does not exist). He is the author of biographical texts about outstanding people of his time, participated in the annals of significant events of that era and, most likely, had influence in high society. The life of Epiphany the Wise, a brief summary of his literary works, which miraculously survived to this day, are described in this article.

No date of birth

The certainty is not known when Epiphanius the Wise was born. The monk's biography contains scanty and sometimes inaccurate information: the Monk Epiphanius lived in the second half of the 14th century, so it's no wonder that after so many hundreds of years after his death so little information remained about this clever man. However, all the same there are pieces of collected facts, which, from scattered pieces, add up to a certain life story of the monk Epiphany.

Gifted novice

It is widely believed that the life of Epiphany the Wise began in Rostov. His young spiritual path began in his hometown, in the monastery of St. Gregory the Theologian, the peculiarity of which was that the divine services were conducted in two languages: Church Slavonic and Greek.

In addition to bilingual bias, the monastery was famous for its magnificent library, which contains a huge number of books written in different languages. An inquisitive mind and a relentless thirst for the knowledge of a hardworking novice led him to sit for hours on volumes, studying various languages, as well as chronographs, ladder, biblical texts, historical Byzantine and ancient Russian literature.

A huge role in the formation of Epiphanius was played by close contact with Stephen Perm - the future hierarch who served under the same monastery. The erudition and broad outlook are one of the reasons why Epiphany was called the Wise One.

Wind wanderings

In addition to books, Epiphanius drew knowledge in his wanderings. Preserved information that the monk traveled a lot around the world: he was in Constantinople, made a pilgrimage to Mount Athos in Jerusalem, and also often visited Moscow and other Russian cities and scales. The proof of the journey to Jerusalem is the work of "The Epiphany of the Mnich about the Path to the City of Holy Jerusalem". Apparently, the knowledge received by a monk in expeditions can also serve as an answer to the question of why Epiphanius was called the Wise One.

The Writer of the Trinity Monastery

Upon graduation from the monastery of St. George the Theologian, the life of Epiphany the Wise continued beneath Moscow. In 1380, he moved to the Trinity Monastery and entered the famous ascetic in Russia - Sergius of Radonezh - as a pupil. In this monastery, Epiphanius was listed as a literate man and conducted an active book-writing activity. The evidence of this fact is that in the bale of the manuscripts of the Sergius-Troitsky Lavra there is a "Stikhirar" written by him with a lot of notes and notes with his name.

Literature and drawing

In 1392, after the death of his mentor and the spiritual father of Sergius of Radonezh, the life of Epiphany the Wise undergoes significant changes: he is transferred to Moscow under the leadership of Metropolitan Cyprian, where he meets the artist Theophanes the Greek, whom he will then be associated with long friendly relations. The artist and his work produced such an indelible impression on the monk and led him into such indescribable ecstasy that Epiphanius himself began to draw a little.

A word about Stefan Permsky

In the spring of 1396 Bishop Stephen of Perm died as a proponent of the monk-chronicler. And after some time, obsessed with the desire to tell the world about the deeds of the saint, Epiphanius the Wise wrote "The Life of Stephen of Perm". This work is not a detailed biography, but a traditional ecclesiastical and instructive description of all the benedictions of the bishop of Perm: Epiphany praises Stefan as a saint who created the Perm alphabet, turned the pagans into Christian faith, crushed the idols and built Christian churches on the lands of the Komi peoples.

The feat of Stephen of Perm in the Christian field Epiphany equates to historical events, for besides the excellent literary qualities "The Life of Stephen of Perm" - is an invaluable historical source, because in addition to the person of Bishop Stefan, it contains archival facts connected with ethnography, culture and history of those ancient times and Events taking place in Perm, its links with Moscow and the political situation as a whole. It is also remarkable that in this literary work there are no miracles.

Contemporaries find it difficult to read the writings of Epiphanius the Wise. Here are a few words that are often present in the legends of Epiphany:

• These;
• No more Russian;
• Half-spoken, verb;
• From the parent to the deliberate;
• The cleric is great;
• As well as the Cristians.

Over time, the chronicle work, literacy and mastery of the monk's words were highly appreciated by the learned men. This is another reason why Epiphanius was called the Wise One.

Flight to Tver

In 1408, a terrible thing happened: the brutal Khan Yedigei, who was obsessed with war, attacked Moscow with his army. The life of God-fearing Epiphanius the Wise makes a sharp turn: a modest book-writer flees to Tver, not forgetting to take his works. In Tver Epiphanius was sheltered by the archimandrite of the Savior-Afanasyev monastery Cornelius (in the world - Cyril).

Monk Epiphany lived in Tver for 6 years, and over these years he became close friends with Cornelius. It was Epiphanius who told the archimandrite about the work of Theophanes the Greek, highly speaking about the artist's works. Epiphanius told Cyril that Feofan painted about 40 churches and several buildings in Constantinople, Cafe, Chalcedon, Moscow and Veliky Novgorod. In his letters to the archimandrite Epiphanius also calls himself an isogram, that is, a book schedule, and notes that his drawings are only a copy of the work of Theophanes the Greek.

Native home

In 1414, Epiphanius the Wise returned to his native penates again - to the Trinity Monastery, which by that time was called Troitsko-Sergievsky (after Sergius of Radonezh). Despite the work on the life of Stephen of Perm, as well as on the long existence far from his native monastery, Epiphany continues to make notes and document the facts of his mentor's actions from the Grigorievsky Monastery, collecting the eyewitnesses' data and his own observations into one whole. And in 1418 Epiphanius the Wise wrote "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh". It took him 20 years. For faster writing, the monk lacked the information and ... courage.

A word about Sergius of Radonezh

"The Life of Sergius of Radonezh" - even more voluminous work than "The word about the life and teachings of the holy father of our Stephen, the former Bishop of Perm." He differs from the first "Life" with an abundance of biographical facts from the life of Sergius of Radonezh, and also differs by a more precise sequence of chronological events. Especially worth noting is inscribed in this "Life" historical fact relating to the battle of Prince Dmitry Donskoy with the Tatar army of the cruel Khan Mamai. It was Sergius of Radonezh who blessed the prince for this warlike campaign.

Both "Lives" are the reflections of Epiphanius the Wise about the difficult fate of the main characters, their emotions and feelings. The works of Epiphany are saturated with complex epithets, ornate phrases, various synonyms and allegories. The author himself calls his exposition of thoughts only "verbal cobweb".

Here are the most common words of Epiphanius the Wise, taken from the "Life of Sergius of Radonezh":

• As it were;
• The sixth week;
• A four-day day;
• Prinesosta baby;
• Retentively;
• As well as priast;
• Bought the same;
• Priest commander.

Perhaps, it is such an unusual way of book-writing that answers the question of why Epiphanius was called the Wise One.

Another known version of the "Life of Sergius of Radonezh" in our time exists due to the processing of Athonite monk Pakhomiya Serba, who lived in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery from 1440 to 1459. It was he who created the new version of "Life" after the Monk Sergei of Radonezh was canonized. Pachomius Serb changed the style and supplemented the work of Epiphany the Wise with a narrative about the relics of the Monk, and also described the posthumous miracles created by Sergius of Radonezh.

No date of death

Just as the date of birth of Epiphany the Wise is unknown, the exact date of his death is not established. Various sources claim that the book writer ascended to heaven in the interval between 1418 and 1419 years. The expected month of death is October.

The feast day of Epiphanius the Wise - June 14. At the moment he is not ranked as a saint, that is, he is not canonized. But, most likely, this is only a matter of time ...