St Maximus the Greek

This paper presents the missing aspect of the theology of St Maximus
the Greek that is organically connected with his biographical destiny. Especially are considered the circumstances of the second trial against St. Maximus the Greek in 1531. The author focuses on the accusation of supposed heretical mistakes in his translation of the text “Тhe Hagiography of the Mother of God” from Menologion of Symeon Metaphrastos. Consequently it is provided the textual analyse of his selected works that show a significant attachment to the Holy
Trinity with a special attention, dedicated also to veneration of Mother of God. Of particular interest here is the tradition of the Byzantine hymnography reflected in the works of St. Maximus the Greek, mainly in those that are defined as prayers, confessions and theological polemics that showed his prayer fully veneration of the Mother of God. Obviously, an Athonite monk understood the Mother of God as a part of the orthodox Holy Trinity, which he explained in his texts. He often supported his arguments for the holiness of the Mother of
God with exegetic examples from the Holy Scripture. Indeed, the verses from the Byzantine hymnographical odes, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and which flourished in the Holy Vatopedi monastery, as well as in the Athonite period of the monk Maximus, present the essence of the works and personal theology of Maximus the Greek. Therefore, this unique monastic worldview, which combined very different sources of Christian knowledge (the Holy Scripture, hymnography, liturgy, patristic, iconography, and hagiography), was also marked by the special consideration of the Mother of God in Orthodox theology, which
together make the theological system of Saint Maximus the Greek so original.
Keywords: St Maximus the Greek, The Holy Mother of God, Byzantine
Hymnography, Byzantine Liturgy, Byzantine Hagiography, The Church Fathers, The Orthodox, The Athonite Monastic and Ascetic Tradition.

This paper presents the circumstances of the trials against St. Maximus the Greek and focuses particularly on the second trial in 1531. The author focuses on the accusation of supposed heretical mistakes in his translation of the text The Hagiography of the Mother of God from the Menologion of Symeon Logothet Metaphrastos. On the basis of the manuscript, it is proposed that Maximus used the exact and careful method of translation based on patristic and hagiographic sources. More than that, in his writings he combined earlier hagiographic sources from the Eastern and Western early Christian traditions, such as the patristic and liturgical interpretations of the hagiographic material. Of particular interest is that the tradition of the Byzantine hymnography reflected in the works of St. Maximus the Greek, mainly in those that are defined as prayers, confessions, and theological polemics that significantly showed his attachment to the protection of the Mother of God.

Based on a manuscript by St Maxim the Greek, this article explores his specific understanding of the relationship between language and biblical tradition. It gives some answers to questions concerning his theology, which are posed by his liturgical experience of the sacred time, which is based not on repeating the excerptions from the patristic authors, but is primarily founded on his accurate reading and in-depth perception of the Holy Bible. Maxim the Greek, who in his personal writings showed a detailed knowledge of both the Old Testament and Slavonic biblical texts, was thus not only able to separate the canonical from the non-canonical sacred texts, but also successfully classified the Christian teachings according to ethical value, from the Old Testament prophets to the apostles and the Church Fathers. With his hierarchy he also gave meaning to the ontological-eschatological dimension (three levels – appropriate to the Holy Trinity) of their spiritual efforts. His knowledge, which also reflects the precise understanding of dogmatic theological decisions of the first ecumenical church councils, ranks highest the learning that comes directly from the Son of God, which Maxim the Greek experienced through his theological-liturgical prayer practice.
Maxim found theologically unambiguous formulations which most profoundly determined the specific nature of his personal theology in the Byzantine hymnography dedicated to the Mother of God. All the mentioned facts lead the author to the further explore his specific
Old Church Slavonic language, in which he managed to preserve not only the early Christian mentality but also the theological-liturgical characteristics of the ascetic and later monastic discipline that he learned in the monastery of Vatopedi at the Holy Mount Athos. The article concludes with the proposition that only through detailed study of the personal language of St Maxim the Greek can we arrive at a definition of his Theology.
Keywords: St Maxim the Greek, Bible, liturgy, grammar, theology, Old Church Slavonic

Maximus the Greek was several times misunderstood because of his
individual use of the Slavic language. Born as Mikhail Trivolis in the Greek town of Arta, he gained a humanistic education in north Italy, particularly in Florence and Venice, where he was engaged in the process of the first printings of books and handling
sample manuscripts. His author’s work that in original form remained in manuscripts, reflected his awareness of the strict Orthodox theology and at the same time his special consideration of Biblical grammar. The paper shows how his use of (Slavic) language was all the time intentional, but at the same time profoundly influenced by Byzantine
tradition, especially the liturgical emphasis. With such an attitude Maximus the Greek managed to create his own, deeply personal theological system, significantly marked with the synthesis of different Christian sources (hagiographic, hymnographic, patristic) of canonical knowledge. As a result, his own worldview combined the Byzantine
(Constantinople) ideology of monasticism with his personal practise of Athonite ascetism, as seen in his theological works and his prayers.

This paper presents the circumstances of the trials against St. Maximus the Greek, and focuses particularly on the the second trial in 1531. The author focuses on the accusation of supposed heretical mistakes in his translation of the text The Hagiography of the Mother of God from Menologion of Symeon Metaphrastos. On the basis of the manuscript, it is proposed that Maximus used the exact and careful method of translation based on patristic and hagiographic sources. More than that, in his writings he combined earlier hagiographic sources from the Eastern and Western early Christian traditions, such as the patristic and liturgicalinterpretations of the hagiographic material. Of particular interest is that the tradition of the Byzantine hymnography reflected in the works of St. Maximus the Greek, mainly in those that are defined as prayers, confessions and theological polemics that significantly showed his attachment to the protection of the Mother of God.

The paper investigates the foundations of the ethical values that shaped the deeply personal theology of St. Maximus the Greek. By providing the original evidence from his writings (as well as from manuscripts) and the precise biographical context, the author reveals significant disagreement between Maxim's Russian co-speakers and his previous philological, ascetic and monastic experience, concerning the Byzantine system of education, especially the Byzantine consideration of divine wisdom and human knowledge. In particular, this paper analyses Maxim's understanding of (Greek) grammar. It also discusses the question of 'the Jesus prayer' and its possible literal traces in the writings of Maxim the Greek. In conclusion, it seems that Maxim the Greek created a completely unique ethical system of intellectual knowledge that should be connected to the Athonite prayer and liturgical practice.

У ИСТОКОВ МОНАШЕСКОГО МИРОВОЗЗРЕНИЯ ПРЕП. МАКСИМА ГРЕКА (к 550-летию со дня рождения святого)
The article analyzes six original works by St. Maxim the Greek,
which are joined in the Parisian manuscript collection in a unique way. They all share the theme of monastic life and are composed in the form of answers. It turns out that it was in these works that Maxim the Greek created a special concept of “inner man”. Rather, traces of his personal practice of “prayer of the heart” (Jesus Prayer) can be detected, which bears testimony to his monastic experience and worldview that bring to mind the spiritual ascetic practice of hesychasm. Moreover, the mentioned works of St. Maxim the Greek include essential techniques for creating a literary text, thus reflecting not only hisunderstanding of literary creativity, but also the essence of poetics of St. Maxim the Greek. It is for the first time that these works are examined in such a detail and on the basis of handwritten manuscripts.
Аннотация: В статье приводится анализ шести тематически близких авторских сочинений преп. Максима Грека, которые соединены в Париж-ском рукописном собрании сочинений в уникальный ряд текстов. Их объединяет тема монашеской жизни, они построены в форме ответов. Оказывается, что Максим Грек именно в этих сочинениях создал особое понятие «внутреннего человека». Вернее, наблюдаются следы его личной практики «молитвы в сердце» (Иисусовой молитвы), что свидетельствует о его монашеском опыте и мировоззрении, которые напоминают духов-ную аскетическую практику в исихазме. Более того, упомянутые произ-ведения преп. Максима Грека включают оригинальные приемы создания им литературного текста, поэтому отражают не только его понимание литературного творчества, но и суть авторской поэтики. Детально рас-сматриваются эти сочинения впервые, притом на основе рукописных ма-териалов. Ключевые слова: преп. Максим Грек, молитвенные практики, исихазм, монашество, Афонское монашество, древнерусская литература, церков-нославянский язык. Abstract: The article analyzes six original works by St. Maxim the Greek, which are joined in the Parisian manuscript collection in a unique way. They all share the theme of monastic life and are composed in the form of answers. It turns out that it was in these works that Maxim the Greek created a special concept of "inner man". Rather, traces of his personal practice of "prayer of the heart" (Jesus Prayer) can be detected, which bears testimony to his monastic experience and worldview that bring to mind the spiritual ascetic practice of hesychasm. Moreover, the mentioned works of St. Maxim the Greek include essential techniques for creating a literary text, thus reflecting not only his This is an open access article Distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 (СС BY-ND)

The article aims at contributing to the restoration of Maximus the Greek’s journey in the West by investigating two turning points in the earlier period of his biography: the interval between his arrival in Florence and his departure to Mirandola and the last years he spent in Italy. Investigation is grounded in direct Slavic sources, authoritative biographies and the results of the most recent studies.
В статье предлагается исследование двух узловых моментов раннего этапа биографии Максима Грека: период между его приездом во Флоренцию и отъездом в Мирандолу и его последние годы в Италии. Цель работы – восстановление его жизненного пути на Западе. Используются славянские источники, авторитетные биографии и достижения новейших исследований.

The conference, dedicated to St Maximus the Greek (cca. Arta, 1470-1556, Moscow), the monk of the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi (Vatopedi).
The title of the paper: The Veneration of the Mother of God in the Theology and Works of St Maximus of Vatopaidi.