History of the patriarch Nicon’s trial written by Paisius Ligarides, metropolitan of Gaza: research and translation issues

This paper is part of an ongoing research project aimed at investigating, translating into Russian, and publishing one of the most prominent pieces of Greek-Russian narrative journalism of the second part of the 17th century: “History of the Synod, held in Moscow 1666-1667” by Paisius Ligarides, metropolitan of Gaza. The main focus of the work under research is the deposition of Patriarch Nicon, the most notable event of the Great Moscow Synod. The narrative is known to persist in three Greek manuscripts that are early and late copies of the original. Also, four copies of partial translations to Russian are known (the fourth one is not currently accessible). To our knowledge, this is the first study attempting to translate the original text into Russian in its entirety. Previous fragmented translations allowed only a partial and isolated analysis of Ligarides’ account of the condemnation of Patriarch Nicon. We believe that preserving the unity of the original text will significantly improve our understanding of Ligarides’ work and personality, enabling us to study in detail the societal and political challenges of his era. This paper provides a historical and philological commentary that transcends the common perception of the Synodical trial of the disgraced patriarch. Moreover, we attempt to enrich the existing views on the Russian-Greek ties and particularly on the contribution of the Greek Church to the political and religious affairs in Russia. Finally, a full contemporary translation into Russian will provide the scholarly community with a world-class document.

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