Ustav Skitsky in Relation to the Byzantine Patristic Tradition (135 years after the first Monography about st. Nil Sorsky)

Abstract

The first monography about St. Nil Sorsky by Alexander Arhangelskii published in St. Petersburg in 1882 served as a point of reference for the reflection. The Russian philologist (a specialist in the field of Moscovite Rus’ literature) assigned to the 5th chapter of the Hermitage Rule about 8 main passions, the role of the central part of the work has an impact on a specific interpretation of the meaning of the treaty and leads to the hypothesis of a direct impact of St. John Cassian the Roman on the Old Russian Hesychast. However, in the article the thesis is proposed that the most important text of Sorsky hermit describes the spiritual strategy in which the doctrine of the passions and fight with them serves as a link of the Strategic Chain of Hesychasm, which reflects the spiritual process leading to the theosis. In view of the finding of the lack of direct references by the author of the Hermitage Rule to the Progenitor of Western monasticism of 4^th-5^th century – as a source of quotations and references in the first place two Holy Fathers who belong to the Sinai-Syrian formation of Hesychasm were mentioned: John Climacus and Isaac the Syrian whose names appear in the Rule 24 times each. In the next the Athos-Sinai mainstream – St. Gregory of Sinai (16 times) and St. Symeon the New Theologian (appointed 12 times), a representative of the Areopagitic-Constantinople formation of Byzantine Hesychasm, are referred to.