Learning Outcomes
After the completion of the lectures, students will be able to:
- determine the evolution of monasticism in the Orthodox Slavic world from the period that followed its Christianization until today,
- analyze the way in which monasticism was established in the Slavic world,
- record the lives and activities of the most important representatives of monasticism in Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as the monastic centers with which they associated their activities
- evaluate the special features of the solitary tradition as it developed in the above countries
- approach the special contribution of monasticism to the spiritual and cultural identity of each people separately
- connect the special relationship of monasticism with the secret tradition and its manifestations throughout the medieval years and until modern times with special reference to the hesychastic movement in the 14th c. and the Philokalian Renaissance of the 18th c.
Course Content (Syllabus)
The history and evolution of the monasticism in the Orthodox Slavic world (Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia) from the 9th century until today is presented in the course "Monasticism in the Orthodox Slavic world. History and evolution". In particular, it is presented: a) the acquaintance of the Slavs with monasticism in the first period after their Christianization and the process of its dissemination and establishment. b) the life and activity of the main representatives of monasticism in Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia and the monastic centers with which they connected their actions. c) the particular characteristics of the lonely tradition as developed in the above countries, capturing the self-image of each people. and d) the particular contribution of monasticism to the spiritual and cultural identity of each individual people.
Also presents the history and evolution of mystical tradition in the Orthodox Slavic world from the era of its Christianization up to modern time. The following are specifically examined: the dissemination of the mystical thought that had developed earlier in the Greek world, its introduction into the Slavic world and the emergence of the first Slav mystical writers. The dissemination of Hesychasm in the 14th century, its impact on the spiritual and ecclesiastical life of the Slavs, as well as its appearance in the 18th and 19th centuries, up to the movement of Dobrotoljubie (Philokalia).
Keywords
Orthodox Slavic Monasticism, Monasticism, Orthodox Slavic, Mystical Tradition, Hesychasm, Hesychasts
Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
Συγγράμματα
Ηλ. Ευαγγέλου, Ο ησυχασμός στον κόσμο των νοτίων Σλάβων τον 14ο αιώνα. Επιδράσεις στον πνευματικό, εκκλησιαστικό και πολιτικό τους βίο, Β΄ Έκδοση, Αφοί Κυριακίδη Εκδόσεις Α.Ε., Θεσσαλονίκη 2018
Ηλ. Ευαγγέλου, Ορθόδοξος σλαβικός μοναχισμός. Τομές στην ιστορία και την εξέλιξή του, Αφοί Κυριακίδη Εκδόσεις Α.Ε., Θεσσαλονίκη, 2020
Additional bibliography for study
Από το βιβλίο του Ι. Ταρνανίδη, Σελίδες από την εκκλησιαστική γραμματεία των Σλάβων, [Εκδόσεις Αφοί Κυριακίδη] Θεσσαλονίκη 2004 τις σελ. 337-365
Obolensky D., The Byzantine Commonwealth. Eastern Europe, 500-1453, Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1971
Μeyendorff J., Byzantium and the Rise of Russia. A Study of Byzantino – Russian Relations in the Fourteenth Century, Cambridge University Press 1981