Style of Theophan the Recluse

On the features of the style of spiritual works of St. Theophan the Recluse Об особенностях стиля духовных произведений святителя Феофана Затворника print version October 17, 2019 10:12 XIII Feofanov readings devoted to the life path of Saint Theophan the Recluse were held in Moscow. The head of the Research Projects and Special Programs of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Priest Stefan Danilenko , spoke about what work is being done today to study the spiritual heritage of this Christian ascetic, “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” . - Father Stefan, what is the relevance of Theophan the Recluse's heritage to our time? - The literary works of the holy man bear the imprint of his spiritual experience. Therefore, for a Christian, the spiritual creation of saints will always be relevant. Many of the questions that worried St. Theophanes sound quite modern: free-thinking, the impoverishment of faith, the spread of non-Christian and even occult teachings, the need for spiritual enlightenment of people. Of course, Theophan the Recluse was engaged not only in thoughts about the social disorder of the 19th century. The main volume of his works is devoted to purely Christian topics - morality, Christian anthropology, the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, translations of the Holy Fathers, the edification of the Christian in spiritual life. All this vast literary heritage of St. Theophanes allows us to touch his spiritual path and feel the need for spiritual work, to which he tirelessly called. - What is the peculiarity of the style of his spiritual works? - Saint Theophanes wrote mainly spiritual and moral works. Their content is dedicated to the salvation of man and his transformation for the kingdom of God. After that, works of a polemical, accusatory character and the scientific works of the saint come to mind. It is known that in his literary activity he was guided by the principle of “what will be more useful now”, therefore all his writings in a simple and understandable form convey the truths of Christianity to their readers: they are full of images, analogies and examples from everyday life that are understandable to those who listen and read. Often the saint uses the results of the natural scientific discoveries of his time to illustrate certain laws of spiritual life. Often, he neglects the literality in his translated works in order to simplify a complex text and convey to the reader the very essence of the thought of the translated holy father. In his epistolary writings, we often find brief but concise words. For example, “soap bubbles” - this is how St. Theophanes spoke of the sectarians of his time. - What is the work of the Publishing Council for the study of Theophan the Recluse's heritage? - Every year we hold conferences and readings on his life path. And also we are preparing for the publication “Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophanes”, which contains documents related to his personality and era. "Chronicle ..." includes archival materials, letters, memoirs. Collected in chronological order, they allow you to very accurately restore the outline of the life of Vyshensky Recluse: from birth to death. Currently, the project is being implemented by the staff of the Publishing Council under the leadership of Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsky . However, at various stages in this work, scientific bishops and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, secular scholars, archival and textual groups, the genealogical group, who made a significant contribution to finding materials that make up the volume of the Chronicle, took part in this work. Considerable scientific work that helps in compiling the volumes of the Chronicle ... is being conducted at scientific forums dedicated to St. Theophanes, which take place in the Publishing Council, as well as in the Vyshensky Monastery and on Tambov Land. - What are the plans and next steps for the implementation of the Feofanovsky project? - The bulk of the work on finding materials that make up the text of the volumes of the Chronicle ... has already been done: archives and libraries have been examined, manuscripts and periodicals of the XIX-XX centuries have been reviewed. However, it is impossible to find all references to the saint, so the search and research work continues and brings certain results. For example, recently in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Mordovia the previously unknown correspondence of St. Theophanes with the builder of the Sarov Desert Hieromonk Serafim (Pestov) was discovered, the identities of many previously unknown correspondents of the saint were established. Now prepared for publication the 4th volume of the Chronicle ..., which includes documents related to the arrival of St. Theophanes at the Vyshensky Monastery and the beginning of its shutter. After the publication of the 4th volume, our group will begin to prepare for printing the remaining volumes of the "Chronicle ..." In total, this series involves the publication of 6 volumes. In addition, we are considering the possibility of publishing an additional 7th volume, which will cover the public’s reaction to the life and work of the saint after his righteous death. Theophan the Recluse (Govorov) (1815-1894) - bishop of the Russian Church, theologian, publicist, glorified in the person of saints. Since 1866 he stayed at the Vyshensky monastery. Since 1872 he was in the bolt. Author of works: “Letters on the Christian Life”, “Philosophy of Love”, “Interpretations on the Epistles of St. Apostle Paul "and others. The Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church is implementing the Feofanov project to study the works of the Vyshensky Recluse.