Vassian Patrikeev is a well-known domestic political and spiritual figure, a well-known publicist of the 16th century. He is considered a student and follower of the Monk Neil of Sora, co-author and collaborator of Maxim the Greek. He is attributed to the representative of the course of non-possessors, which he even headed for some time. He had the nickname Kosoy, which can be regularly found in works and memoirs about him. In all likelihood, it was not given to him because of external flaws, 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 about his main works.
Origin
It is known that Vassian Patrikeev was born around 1470. His parents were representatives of a wealthy and influential family of princes Patrikeev. They originated from one of the sons of the Lithuanian prince Gediminas, whose name was Narimant. He converted to Orthodoxy, taking the name Gleb.
The father of the hero of our article, Ivan Yurievich and grandfather Yuri Patrikeevich, were in the service of the Grand Prince of Moscow Vasily II, and after Ivan III. They held significant government posts. Yuri Patrikeevich at the head of the Moscow army in 1433 opposed the Galician princes Dmitry Shemyaki and Vasily Kosy. True, his campaign failed. The army was defeated, and he himself was captured.
Having managed to return to Moscow, he was left in 1439 for the defense of the city, when Vasily II was afraid of the raids of Khan Ulu-Muhammed.
Ivan Yurievich was considered one of the closest boyars under Vasily the Dark. In 1455, he succeeded in a successful campaign against the Tatars. He defeated the enemy’s army in the Kolomna region on the Oka. He was the Moscow governor and chief governor of the Grand Dukes Vasily II and Ivan III.
Successful career and monastic tonsure
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 Mozhaysk. Over the next year, he participated 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, at the head of the Russian army, Vasily Ivanovich Patrikeev went on a campaign against the Swedes. When a quarrel between Ivan III and his son Vasily happened, the Patrikeevs sided with the grandson of Ivan Dmitry Ivanovich. They proclaimed him heir to the throne, for which they fell disgraced when Ivan III established himself on the throne.
As a result, in 1499, the hero of our article was tonsured a monk under the name Vassian (Patrickeev). Officially, it was assigned to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery.
Acquaintance with Neil Sorsky
It is noteworthy that he did not want to stay away from the events that took place in the country, taking most active part in them. The church writer, presumably it was Maxim Grek, 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, observing strict monastery regulations.
Soon he was influenced by Neil Sorsky. This is a famous Orthodox saint, a prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, who is considered to be the founder of hermitage in Russia. He is the author of the "Charter on the wondrous life", "Tradition", a large number of messages, differing in non-possessive views.
Non-possessiveness
Under the influence of the Nile of Sora, Vassian became a non-possessor. This is a monastic movement in our country, which existed in the XV-XVII centuries. Its appearance was associated with disputes about 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 questions about the monastic estates, as well as other property problems. Differences in views also concerned attitudes towards heretics who repented and wished to beg forgiveness, as well as general church and local tradition. This argument 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 significance of the originally arisen sport about monastic property is beyond the scope of monastic asceticism. Some researchers today regard non-possessiveness as a kind of ascetic norm and ethical principle, which was characteristic of the Russian mentality, which developed under the influence of senility. The sermons of non-possessors had a definite influence on secular society, especially on the attitude of ordinary people to the use of other people's labor and property.
Judging by the documents that reached us at that time, non-possessors themselves, like the Josephites, practically did not use this term then. Only isolated cases of the application of these concepts are known. For example, Maxim Grek in the papers relating to the 1520s, in the dialogue about the monastic wealth, calls the disputants "coercive" and "non-covetous".
Also, the Orthodox theologian and polemicist of the 16th century, Zinovy ​​Otensky, is called a non-possessor of the hero of our article, Vassian, criticizing his works and views. Officially, this term became generally used only at the end of the XIX century.
At the heart of non-possessiveness is one of the three monastic vows, which should be given with tonsure. The wanderer in this case denies not only all kinds of earthly riches, but even minimal property.
Initially, non-possessiveness was formed on the basis of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. It arose as a monastic movement. The first disagreements that arose between the monks became known in the middle of the 15th century, when the abbot Trifon was at the head of the monastery. At the same time, one cannot speak with full confidence about what were the real reasons for the disagreements that arose.
The next significant clash occurred during the time of Hegumen Serapion, who led the monastery brotherhood 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 securing the monks, but only the growth of the welfare of the monastery. Violation of the covenants of the founder of the monastery led to the fact that one and a half dozen old men left the monastery in protest. Then Prince Mikhail Andreevich intervened in the situation. As a result, the conflict was quickly settled.
The next hegumen was the monk Gury, close to the Nile, who returned the prince the lands received at Serapion. But even in this case there are only indirect indications that the land issue was at the heart of the conflict. For example, some researchers claim that the elders left the monastery in protest against the actions of Serapion, who, in their opinion, violated the internal routine of the monastery.
After 1419, the Cyril-Belozersky brethren again began to acquire new lands, provoking further confrontations.
Political and Church Activities
The views of Vassian Patrikeev are summarized in this article. Together with Neil Sorsky and his followers, he opposes the possession of church lands and any other property. At the same time, their opponents Josephites represented the interests of large monastic land tenure. From their point of view, the monastery should have had its own farm.
In his works, Vassian Patrikeev set forth the main views. In the treatise "A collection of a certain old man", he calls not to own or hold any property, in his opinion, the 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 calculation of compound interest. He accused them of gluttony and greed.
Return from link
Contemporaries note that Vassian was a persistent man who in every possible way defended his convictions and fought for them. It is noteworthy that, unlike his mentor, Neil Sorsky was a passionate and energetic figure. For example, as part of his ideological struggle, he prepared the editorial board of his “Pilot 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 gained universal veneration and respect for himself when he began to speak for those who were stumbled and disgraced together with Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Varlaam.
Opal at the end of life
At the end of his life, the hero of our article again fell into disgrace. The years of life of Vassian Patrikeev fell from about 1470 to the time after 1531.
Shortly before this, Vassian attempted 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 the 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 accusations were that Vassian allegedly denied the doctrine of the double nature of Jesus Christ - human and divine. Daniel declared that Vassian considers, as if only divine essence is characteristic of Christ.
By order of the rulers of Vassian imprisoned in Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery. As Prince Kurbsky noted, shortly afterwards, the Josephs were different in his life.
Journalism
Even in the period of exile, Vassian Patrikeev and his writings became known. These are the works “Collection of a certain elder”, “The answer of the Cyril elders”, “Debate with Joseph Volotsky”.
In The Word on Heretics, Vassian Patrikeev gives a detailed and comprehensive examination of their fate. If the Josephites demanded merciless punishment of all apostates from the Christian faith. And unrepentant, and repentant. Vassian Patrikeev returns to this question in the “Answer Word”, combining the two topics that excited him the most.
In particular, he once again condemns the monastic and church ownership of the estates, and also calls for the gentle treatment of heretics, especially those who sincerely repented.
The situation of peasants
Speaking briefly about the philosophy of Vassian Patrikeev, it should be noted that the monk convicts other monks for deviating from the commandments of the Gospel of non-possession, love and mercy. For example, in the “Response Word”, he depicts visual pictures of the tough and unfair, in his opinion, exploitation of peasants by monasteries, with sympathy describes the distressing situation in which they are.
In fact, the slave position of the peasants greatly worries the monk. From a certain period, this topic begins to play a large role in his journalism, eventually turning into an important topic for controversy among thinkers of the 16th century.
In "Debate with Joseph Volotsky" in the form of an open dialogue, 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 Patrikeev. In this work, he points out that he persuaded the prince to deprive monasteries and churches of lands, formulating his own way of confronting monastic and secularization lands.
Composing the “Helmsman Book”, he gives the form of canonical treatises to his main works, reinforcing 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, which was recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church, everything is built in it according to a systematic principle, and not in chronological order. This provides an opportunity for the compiler to express his ideas through an appropriate selection of materials and articles.
Features of the literary manner
All his years of life, Vassian Patrikeev was engaged in active journalistic activities. The main features of his literary manner were passionate denunciation, pungency, caustic controversy and sharpness. He achieved acuteness by contrasting reality with the ideals of Christian teaching. For example, if it was a question of monastic life. He also actively used in his writings such a technique as irony.
In the use of caustic controversy, his journalistic prowess 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 XVI century, then 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-possessiveness. Particularly noteworthy is his teaching on the inadmissibility of monasteries to own villages. This met the interests of many layers of modern society at once. In particular, the secular part of the feudal class and the goals pursued by the leaders of centralized power. All of them were most directly interested in the secularization of monastic and church lands. The statements of Bassian and the interests of ordinary peasants, who for decades were subjected to ruthless exploitation in these monastic estates, were also in line.
After moving to Russia, the idea of ​​non-possessiveness was supported by Maxim Grek, Theodosius Kosoy relied on them in his work when he criticized the patrimonial rights of monasteries.