The article is devoted to the Narrative on the Sign of the Cross by Maximus the Greek. The text belongs to the first half of the 16th century, a period when Muscovy definitively asserted itself on the European and Mediterranean chessboard as the third and last surviving Christian world power. The construction of the Russian Empire rested on the definition of Russian Christianity. The contribution Maximus made to this process consisted of revised translations and new translations of sacred texts, of religious essays, as well as of his engagement in the interconfessional and intercultural debates of the times. In all these fields, Maximus applied the tools and methods that he had acquired in Italy under the influence of Humanism. The Narrative offers a good example of Maximus’ approach: Therein he defends the most ancient sign of the cross with two fingers by means of the medieval doctrine of the four senses of the Holy Scriptures. In this way, Maximus not only participated in the definition of Russian Orthodoxy, safeguarding the local tradition, but also sought to raise Muscovy to a higher level of cultural and theological competence, creating the condition for its actual ecclesiastical autonomy.
University of Pisa, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-4994-7062
Chapter Title
La «Narrazione sul segno della croce» di Massimo il Greco: esegesi delle Scritture e prassi ortodossa nella Moscovia cinquecentesca
Authors
Francesca Romoli
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0646-4.15
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Cristiani orientali e Repubblica delle Lettere (XVI-XVIII sec.) / Chrétiens orientaux et République des Lettres (16e-18e s.) / Östliche Christen und die Gelehrtenrepublik (16.-18. Jh.)
Editors
Marcello Garzaniti, Vassa Kontouma, Vasilios N. Makrides
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
510
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0646-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0645-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0646-4
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0647-1
Series Title
Europe in between. Histories, cultures and languages from Central Europe to the Eurasian Steppes
Series ISSN
2975-0318
Series E-ISSN
2975-0326