Book Review: Archimandrite Macarius (Veretennikov). (2024) Patriarkh-Skhimnik [Patriarch-Schemamonk]. Sergiev Posad: Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 544 p.

The personality of Patriarch Nikon (1652-1666; f 1681) and his deeds have attracted the attention of domestic and foreign lovers of Russian history, researchers of various fields of knowledge for three and a half centuries, whose works became the basis for a special direction in Russian humanities called "Nikon studies". The collection of historiographic works and materials dedicated to the sixth Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was recently replenished with a new study by Archimandrite Macarius (Veretennikov) The Patriarch-Schemamonk (2024). The book under review continues a series of serious monographic publications by Father Macarius on Russian metropolitans and patriarchs and summarizes his numerous studies on Nikon. The generalization of the previous historical-philological and source-study-factual experience allowed the church historian to conclude that there is no complete monograph about this Primate, his life path and activities in Russian historiography. It is this circumstance that determined the relevance and novelty of the publication and defined its purpose. The author shows the life path of Patriarch Nikon as a great spiritual feat, filled with trials and struggle, active deeds and the deepest humility, Christian love and tolerance, which led the parish priest, the Novgorod bishop, the Patriarch of all Russia, the sacred archimandrite of the patriarchal monasteries, monk Nikon to accept the schema. The reviewer notes the undoubted merits of the study: the detailed structuring of the book, the author's painstaking work with different types of sources, restraint and objectivity in assessing the Old Believer tradition of rejecting Nikon's personality and his deeds on the primatial throne, consistency in expressing the apologetic point of view on the person of His Holiness and a respectful attitude to the interpretations of historical events by representatives of the opposite direction, adherence to the methodology of the historical approach to assessing the complex personality of the Moscow Primate, laid down in the works of religious and secular historians of the 19th century, many of whom worked at the Moscow Theological Academy. At the same time, the reviewer notes that the author of the study underestimated a number of works by famous representatives of both directions. Foreign historiography on Patriarch Nikon is also poorly represented, and there are practically no mentions of historians of the Russian diaspora. But it was they who enriched the historiography of Patriarch Nikon with deep research, publications of materials of Nikon's "case", new ideas about liturgical reform and "book research". In conclusion, it is noted that the book is written in good literary language, beautifully illustrated. Archimandrite Macarius's research sets the task of further comprehensive understanding of materials and publications, archival searches and findings for future researchers of the personality and deeds of Patriarch Nikon. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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