Maxim the Greek: Was he a Greek Litterateur or an Expert in Muscovite Writings?

Abstract

Among the main discoveries concerning the literary activity of Maxim the Greek is the identification of the series of items written by him in Greek. By now we can be quite sure that our Hagiorite even during his sojourn in Muscovy composed a great number of his works simultaneously in Greek and in Church Slavonic. Basing on the newly discovered facts several specialists have made an ill-founded conclusion that the total corpus of Maxim’s writings should be considered as the phenomenon of post-Byzantine literary activity. However during the years the Hagiorite was kept in Muscovy the self-identification of the writer changed considerably. By the end of the 1530th when Maxim the Greek was allowed to continue his literary work his purpose was to declare his orthodoxy in every possible way. Therefore he started to compose one after another the volumes of his selected works. Doing it he tried to imitate the patristic tradition and at the same time he tried to be in the mainstream of the Muscovite ideology of his time. The popularity of the manuscripts composed of his writings and the authority of his personality prove Maxim’s opera were considered to be the natural part of Muscovite literary tradition.