Unknown Epistle to Tsar’ Fedor Ivanovich from Constantinople

Abstract

The paper is about a little known epistle which is kept in the unique handwritten miscellanea of the first part of 17th century. This epistle is addressed by unknown monk from Constantinople to orthodox tsar’. It contains wordy praises on tsar’ and his favors to different countries. The author asks to send a sermon about faith and two printed books into Rech’ Pospolitaya. The epistle should be brought to Moscow by Danila Ivanovich Isleniev, a Russian ambassador in Constantinople. So the epistle was a covering letter for unknown sermon. Data comparison and studying of archive documents let us to suppose that the epistle was addressed to Moscow tsar’ Fedor Ivanovich and was written in 1595–1596 before the Brest’s Union (1596). The author of the epistle was an orthodox monk, native of Rech’ Pospolitaya who was going to live in one of the Athos’ hermitages later. Probably the epistle was written by Isaakiy Boriskovich, a follower of Meletios Pigas, the Patriarch of Alexandria. Isaakiy Boriskovich departed from Constantinople before Brest’s Union. He visited Athos but later his life was completely connected with struggle of Orthodox believers against the Union in the Kyiv Metropolia. It is unknown what was the sermon about faith he asked to send to orthodox believers in Kyiv Metropolia. We can suppose that it was one of numerous sermons and epistles of orthodox Greek hierarchs (probably of Meletios Pigas). The epistle addressed to tsar’ Fedor Ivanovich is published in addition to the research.