A Handwritten Greek Hagiography of Russian Saints from Mount Athos: The Life of St Mitrofan of Voronezh

A rare Greek hagiographic text from Mount Athos, part of Cod. Athos. Panteleemon. gr. 283 (1848), offers a unique window into the life of St Mitrofan of Voronezh, a Russian saint associated with Peter the Great and canonized in 1832. This text, attributed to monk Jacobos Neaksytiotes—a distinguished theologian and historian—represents an uncommon post-Byzantine translation of a Russian hagiographic work into Greek. Codicological analysis reveals Jacobos' role as both author and scribe, while his broader legacy, including his opus magnum Athonias, sheds light on his interest in Russian history. The study reconstructs Jacobos' biography and provides a Russian translation of the Greek text, contributing to our understanding of cross-cultural religious and historical exchanges during the medieval and early modern periods.

Bibikov, M. (2021). A Handwritten Greek Hagiography of Russian Saints from Mount Athos: The Life of St Mitrofan of Voronezh. Quaestio Rossica, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2021.2.600