Vassian Patrikeyev is a well-known domestic political and spiritual figure, a familiar publicist of the 16th century. He is considered a student and follower of the Monk Nil of Sorsk, a co-author and collaborator of Maxim the Greek. He is attributed to the representative of the flow of non-possessors, which he even headed for some time. He had the nickname Oblique, which can be found regularly in the works and memoirs of him. In all likelihood, it was given to him not because of external shortcomings, but was invented by ideological opponents, the followers of Joseph Volotsky, who called themselves Josephites. In this article we will tell the biography of the writer, as well as his main works.
Origin
It is known that Vassian Patrikeyev was born around 1470. His parents were representatives of the we althy and influential family of the princes Patrikeyevs. They originated from one of the sons of the Lithuanian prince Gediminas, whose name was Narimant. He moved intoOrthodoxy, taking the name Gleb.
The father of the hero of our article, Ivan Yuryevich and grandfather Yuri Patrikeevich, were in the service of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II, and after Ivan III. They held important government positions. Yuri Patrikeevich at the head of the Moscow army in 1433 opposed the Galician princes Dmitry Shemyaka and Vasily Kosoy. True, his campaign failed. The army was defeated, and he himself was taken prisoner.
Managing to return to Moscow, he was left in 1439 to defend the city, when Vasily II feared the raids of Khan Ulu-Mohammed.
Ivan Yurievich was considered one of the close boyars under Vasily the Dark. In 1455 he succeeded in a successful campaign against the Tatars. He defeated the enemy's army near Kolomna on the Oka. He was the Moscow governor and chief governor of the Grand Dukes Vasily II and Ivan III.
Successful career and monastic vows
Vassian Patrikeev in the world bore the name Vasily Ivanovich. The diplomatic and military career of the young prince was very successful. In 1493 he was sent with an army to Mozhaisk. Over the next year, he took part in negotiations with ambassadors from Lithuania three times. As a result, he managed to achieve the conclusion of a peace treaty on favorable terms, for which he was granted a boyar.
In 1496, Vasily Ivanovich Patrikeev, at the head of the Russian army, went on a campaign against the Swedes. When there was a quarrel between Ivan III and his son Vasily, the Patrikeyevs sided with Ivan's grandson Dmitry Ivanovich. They proclaimed him the heir to the throne, for which they fell into disgrace when Ivan III established himself onthrone.
As a result, in 1499 the hero of our article was tonsured a monk under the name of Vassian (Patrikeev). Officially, he was assigned to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
Meet Neil Sorsky
It is noteworthy that at the same time he did not want to stay away from the events that took place in the country, taking an active part in them. The church writer, presumably it was Maxim the Greek, recalled that the monk Vassian Patrikeev was famous in the world for his intelligence, military prowess and outstanding abilities. Once in the monastery, he soon became famous for his great erudition and outlook, the observance of strict monastic regulations.
He soon came under the influence of Neil Sorsky. This is a famous Orthodox saint, a prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, who is considered the founder of skete residence in Russia. He is the author of the "Ustav about skete life", "Tradition", a large number of epistles, distinguished by non-possessive views.
Non-possessiveness
Under the influence of Nil Sorsky, Vassian became a nonpossessor. This is a monastic movement in our country, which existed in the XV-XVII centuries. Its appearance was associated with disputes over monastic possessions, which were opposed by supporters of these ideas. Their main opponents in this were the Josephites.
It is noteworthy that their confrontation was not limited to issues of monastic estates, as well as other property issues. Differences of opinionalso concerned the attitude towards heretics who repented and wished to beg for forgiveness, as well as general church and local tradition. This dispute ended in victory for the Josephites. It is believed that he was of great importance for the development of the Russian Orthodox Church.
It is important that the meaning of the originally emerged sports about the monastic property is beyond the scope of monastic asceticism. Some researchers today consider non-covetousness as a kind of ascetic norm and ethical principle that was characteristic of the Russian mentality, which developed under the influence of eldership. The sermons of the nonpossessors had a certain impact on secular society, especially on the attitude of ordinary people to the use of other people's labor and property.
Judging by the documents of that time that have come down to us, the non-possessors themselves, like the Josephites, then practically did not use this term. Only isolated cases of application of these concepts are known. For example, Maxim Grek, in papers dating back to the 1520s, in a dialogue about monastic riches, calls the arguing "possessive" and "non-possessive".
Also, the Orthodox theologian and polemicist of the 16th century Zinovy Otensky call the hero of our article Vassian a non-possessor, criticizing his works and views. Officially, this term became generally used only at the end of the 19th century.
Non-possessiveness is based on one of the three monastic vows that should be given at tonsure. At the same time, the Wanderer denies not only all kinds of earthly riches, but even the smallest property.
Initially, non-covetousness was formed on the basis of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. It originated as a monastic movement. The first disagreements that arose between the monks became known in the middle of the 15th century, when Abbot Tryphon was at the head of the monastery. At the same time, it is impossible to say with complete certainty what were the true causes of the disagreements that arose.
The next significant clash occurred during the time of Abbot Serapion, who led the monastic brethren from 1482 to 1484. From Ivan III, he received almost three dozen villages on the territory of the Vologda volost. By that time, the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was already a large landowner, so the acquisition of new lands was not a matter of providing for the monks, but only of increasing the well-being of the monastery. Violation of the precepts of the founder of the monastery led to the fact that one and a half dozen elders left the monastery in protest. Then Prince Mikhail Andreevich intervened in the situation. As a result, the conflict was quickly resolved.
The next abbot was the monk Guriy, close to Nil Sorsky, who returned to the prince the lands received under Serapion. But even in this case, there are only indirect indications that it was the land issue that was at the heart of the conflict. For example, some researchers claim that the elders left the monastery, protesting against the actions of Serapion, who, in their opinion, violated the internal daily routine of the monastery.
After 1419, the Kirillo-Belozersky brotherhood again begins to acquire new lands, provoking yet another confrontation.
Political and ecclesiasticalactivities
The views of Vassian Patrikeev are summarized in this article. Together with Nil Sorsky and his followers, he opposes the ownership of church lands and any other property. At the same time, their opponents, the Josephites, represented the interests of a large monastic landholding. From their point of view, the monastery should have had its own household.
In his works, Vassian Patrikeev expounded the main views. In the treatise "The Assembly of a Certain Elder", he calls not to own or keep any property, in his opinion, monks should live in silence and silence, eating at the expense of subsistence farming. All this confirms his commitment to asceticism.
At the same time, in his books, Vassian Patrikeev criticized usurers in the church, and especially the accrual of compound interest. He accused them of gluttony and greed.
Return from link
Contemporaries note that Vassian was a persistent man who defended his beliefs in every possible way and fought for them. It is noteworthy that, unlike his mentor, Nil Sorsky, he was a passionate and energetic figure. For example, as part of his ideological struggle, he prepared an edition of his Pilot's Book.
In 1509, Vasily III returned him from exile, he managed to win the sympathy and trust of the ruler. It is known that the Grand Duke carefully studied the works of Vassian Patrikeev, calling him his mentor in matters of philanthropy.
He earned universal reverence and respect for himself when he began to speak for those who stumbled and disgraced together with Metropolitan Varlaam of Moscow and All Russia.
Opal at the end of life
At the end of his life, the hero of our article again fell into disgrace. The years of Vassian Patrikeyev's life fell on the period from about 1470 to the time after 1531.
Shortly before this, Bassian made an attempt to attack the Josephites, accusing them of heresy. But even in this case, he pointed out that every heretic is worthy of forgiveness and understanding in case of his sincere repentance.
It was in 1531 that his active social and religious activities ended. This happened after his main opponent, Metropolitan Daniel, accused the former prince of heresy.
Formally, the charges were that Vassian allegedly denied the doctrine of the dual nature of Jesus Christ - human and divine. Daniel stated that Bassian believed that Christ had only a divine nature.
By order of the rulers, Vassian was imprisoned in the Joseph-Volokolamsky Monastery. As Prince Kurbsky noted, shortly after this, the other was killed by the Josephites.
Publicism
Vassian Patrikeyev and his works became known during the exile. These are the works "A meeting of a certain elder", "Answer of the Cyril elders", "Debate with Joseph Volotsky".
In "The Tale of the Heretics" Vassian Patrikeev examines in detail and many-sided the question of their fate. If aThe Josephites demanded the merciless punishment of all apostates from the Christian faith. Both the unrepentant and the repentant. Vassian Patrikeev also returns to this question in "The Reply Word", combining two topics that worried him the most.
In particular, he once again condemns the monastic and church ownership of estates, and also calls for gentle treatment of heretics, especially those who sincerely repent.
The situation of the peasants
Telling briefly about the philosophy of Vassian Patrikeev, it should be noted that the monk denounces other monks for deviating from the commandments of the Gospel about non-possession, love and mercy. For example, in the "Word of Reply" he depicts vivid pictures of the harsh and unfair, in his opinion, exploitation of peasants by monasteries, sympathetically describes the plight in which they are.
In fact, the slave-owning position of the peasants greatly worries the monk. This topic from a certain period begins to play a large role in his journalism, eventually turning into an important topic for controversy among thinkers of the 16th century.
In the "Discussion with Joseph Volotsky" in the form of an open dialogue, the communication of representatives of two opposite directions of church thought is presented. In this work, the hero of our article sums up certain results from many years of controversy, formulates the ideas of his philosophy, Vassian Patrikeyev. In this work, he points out that he persuaded the prince to deprive monasteries and churches of lands, formulating his own way of opposing monastic and secularized lands.
Compiling the Pilot Book, he gives his main works the form of canonical treatises, supporting his reasoning with specific references. The first edition was completed by 1517, and the second five years later with the participation of Maxim the Greek. Unlike the official one, which was recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church, everything in it is built according to a systematic principle, and not in chronological order. This enables the compiler to express the ideas he needs through the appropriate selection of materials and articles.
Features of the literary manner
All his years of life Vassian Patrikeev was engaged in active publicistic activity. The main features of his literary manner were passionate denunciation, sharpness, caustic controversy and harshness. He achieved sharpness by contrasting reality with the ideals of Christian teaching. For example, if it was about monastic life. He also actively used in his writings such a technique as irony.
In his use of caustic polemics, his journalistic skills constantly found common ground with the so-called "biting" style of Ivan IV the Terrible.
If we talk about the history of Russian journalism in the 16th century, Vassian occupies an important and honorable place in it. He is considered one of the most influential and consistent ideologists who formulated the idea of non-acquisitiveness. His teaching about the inadmissibility of monasteries to own villages deserves special attention. This met the interests of many strata of contemporary society at once. In particular, the secular part of the feudal class andgoals pursued by the leaders of centralized power. All of them were most directly interested in the secularization of monastic and church lands. Vassian's statements also responded to the interests of ordinary peasants, who for decades were subjected to merciless exploitation in these monastic estates.
After moving to Russia, the idea of non-possessiveness was supported by Maxim Grek, Theodosius Kosoy relied on them in his works when he criticized the patrimonial rights of monasteries.
