Published | Parrésia - Ročenka pro východní křesťanství

Odysea Maxima Řeka

Renesanční Itálie – Athos – Moskevská Rus

Author: Nina V. Sinicynová
Translated by Jitka Komendová from the original publication “Максим Грек”, Moscow 2008.

Maximus The Greek, alias Michael Trivolis (1475–1556), was a prominent scholar in late 15th-century and early 16th-century Europe. He was born and educated in Greece, which, though under the Ottoman yoke, continued to maintain its living heritage of Byzantine and ancient culture.  He then left for Italy, where he became a respected Greek scholar and helped make Greek literature accessible to the Italian humanists. He then went to the Vatoped monastery on Mount Athos, from whence he was called to Moscow in his capacity as an exceptionally distinguished philologist, in order to lead the efforts to correct the translations of liturgical books. However, his sojourn in Russia unfortunately led to a tragedy – he came into conflict with the church and secular authorities, was condemned, imprisoned for several years, and not even after his release was he permitted to return to Athos in his native Greece, for which he yearned. Nina V. Sinitsyna's biographical volume is the first to provide a detailed account for Czech readers of this outstandingly educated character.