Ipatievsky Vestnik № 3 (35), 2026

The article is devoted to the comparative philo- theological analysis of terms πρωτότοκος «original» and μονογενής «single-born», which, in their turn, are crucial to the disclosure of the Christological teaching in the texts of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Noting the semantic peculiarity of usage and the interpretation in the Epistle to the Colossians and the Gospels from John and Luke, it should be noted that the terminology with strong roots in the Old Testament and ancient culture, especially in the context of family relations, was reinterpreted in the early Christian tradition and came into use to express the exceptional superiority and divine dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of the comparative analysis, two interrelated logical trajectories are identified. The term πρωτότοκος in Colossians, not losing its primacy, is filled with cosmological and encyclopaedic content, while μονογενής in John becomes an absolute expression of uniqueness, singularity and sonship of Christ. In contrast to the use in Luke, where these terms are used in the ordinary anthropological context, it highlights the depth of their theological perception and transmission of the Christological teaching in the texts of the New Testament

In ancient translations into Latin and Slavic, in line 104:2, King David writes that the sky is like skin. Modern translations into new languages ​​(English, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian) use the English word “tent” and the corresponding words in other languages instead of the word “skin”, for example in French “pavillion”. The article presents scientific data on the properties of the sky (atmosphere) and the properties of the skin. It is shown that naming the sky (atmosphere) as skin is preferable, as it is based on an exact scientific analogy.

The article analyzes the missionary perspectives of improvised educational debates and conversations recorded for the purpose of teaching sectarian studies. To date, 16 such videos have been filmed and posted on various platforms, with an average duration of 1-1.5 hours each; 10 real debates with Baptists are also adjacent to them. Collectively, they cover the most important topics of the Orthodox polemic with neo-protestants: Holy Scripture and Tradition, salvation, the doctrine of the Church, glossolalia, priesthood, icon worship, certain sacraments (baptism, Eucharist, penance), veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and saints, comparison of the Symbol of Faith with the faith of neo-protestants. The selection of arguments and the rather uncompromising way of discussion on both sides allows these debates to be used as an additional tool for practical polemics, as well as for independent study by Orthodox viewers and readers of the issues discussed in the debates.

This article is devoted to a theological commentary on the stichera to Metropolitan Peter, written by one of the most discussed personalities in the history of Russia, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. His life and activities as a political and church leader continue to be of interest to researchers. In particular, there are discussions about the 16th century, an era full of dramatic events, when, on the one hand, there was an expansion and strengthening of the state, as well as the implementation of church reforms and on the other hand, there were internal conflicts, including military expeditions of the tsar against Russian cities and conspiracies against the monarch, which eventually led to the establishment of the oprichnina and terror. At the same time, few people know that the autocrat was the author of many hymnographic monuments of Old Russian literature. These texts are filled with theological meaning, often reflecting the mood of the people of the sixteenth century. Unfortunately, at present, the researchers lack theological analysis concerning hymnography of Ivan the Terrible. The purpose of the article is a consistent theological commentary using the hermeneutic method based on the doctrine of the Orthodox Church stichera to Metropolitan Peter.

Grigor Narekatsi (951-1003) was an outstanding Armenian monk, theologian, philosopher and poet. He is the author of many theological works and is considered the founder of the Armenian Renaissance. His first work was is “Commentary on the Song of Songs” (977). He is considered the creator of new poetic genres in the Armenian Apostolic Church: a collection of “Spiritual Hymns” (Taghs and Gandzs). His main work is the prayer book “The Book of Lamentations” (“Narek”, 1003), which is recognized as one of the masterpieces of world religious literature. The works of Grigor Narekatsi had a huge influence on the development of Armenian spiritual literature. The prayer book of Grigor Narekatsi “The Book of Lamentations”, being a kind of mediator between man and God, provides rich material on the sacrament of the Holy Nativity and Epiphany. Although it is impossible to single out any particular chapter devoted to this holiday, it contains a great deal of exegetical and poetic information.

Abstract. The article examines the influence of the political events that accompanied the accession of Anna Ioannovna on the order of her coronation. It is shown that the changes in the coronation of this Empress were significantly related to the attempt to limit the power of the monarch by members of the Supreme Privy Council, undertaken in 1730. The coronation rite was written by archdiocese Feofan (Prokopovich), a principal opponent of the " members of the supreme privy council". In the liturgical texts included in the order, the attempt of the "members of the supreme privy council" is interpreted as God's punishment for the sins of the people, which, however, was brief, and the accession of the Empress - as the return of Divine mercy and favor. During the subsequent coronations of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II, the new liturgical texts were left unchanged, since these empresses themselves came to power through a coup and needed additional legitimization of their power. It was only under Paul I, undoubtedly the legitimate heir to the throne, that some changes were made to these texts.

This article presents a theological and lexical-semantic analysis of the sedal of the canons of the Matins of the Week of the Holy Pentecost in the Church Slavonic language, which consists of gradual structural and semantic clarification of the text.

Materials on the history of the Church during the reign of the Imp. Nicholas I (edited by Academician N. F. Dubrovin), memoirs about St. Petersburg theological schools (D. Rostislavov, I. Chistovich, letters of St. Filaret (Drozdov) and others allowed us to structure the biography of the outstanding hierarch of the 19th century, Bishop Vitaly (Shchepetev). A graduate of the Tula Seminary, he had a long career before ascending to the Cathedra of Kostroma. In the 1820s, he became the rector of the Moscow Seminary, and later of the St. Petersburg Academy, from which he was removed by the efforts of the Chief Procurator, N.A. Protasov. Being an enemy of Protasov, Bishop Vitaly joined the circle of friends of his opponent, Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow and became a vicar. After his suspension from participating in the meetings of the Synod in 1842 in connection, among other things, with the case of the priest Pavsky and his transition, Mitr. Filaret focused on the management of the Moscow Archdiocese, and the Ep. Vitaly was transferred to the vast Kostroma diocese. However, the period of independent management was short and tragic for Bishop Vitaly: the conflict with the consistory, especially with Secretary Arkharov, undermined his spiritual and physical strength. Vitaly was dismissed and was on his way to Moscow to visit his patron (who lived in the Simonov Monastery), but before he could leave Kostroma, he died in January 1846, shortly before making his will (published for the first time in this study).

This article commemorates the 135th anniversary of Bishop Vissarion (Nechaev)'s appointment to the Kostroma Cathedra. It examines in detail the key stages of the hierarch's life journey: his education at the Moscow Theological Academy, where he was one of its finest graduates; his teaching career at the Tula, Bethany, and Moscow seminaries; his thirty-year pastoral ministry in Moscow; and his long-standing editorial work for the journal "Soul-Beneficial Reading" (Dushepoleznoe chtenie), which was founded with the blessing of Saint Philaret of Moscow. The author, referring to the memories of contemporaries, provides information about the bishop’s years of study, his relationships with fellow students and professors and the background behind the writing of his master's thesis on Saint Dimitry of Rostov under the supervision of Professor A.V. Gorsky. The circumstances surrounding his taking of monastic vows in 1889 and his consecration as Bishop of Dmitrov, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese, are described. Primary attention is given to the Kostroma period (1891–1905): his arrival at the cathedra, his care for urban and rural parishes and his efforts to improve diocesan life. The article also provides details about the passing of Bishop Vissarion and the transfer of his body for burial in Kostroma.

The article is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding Russian church scholar, publicist and preacher, Archbishop of Tver and Kashin Savva (Tikhomirov) (1819 – 1896), to the 130th anniversary of his death. The author publishes for the first time a document from his private collection, namely, the diploma of the Honorary Member of the Kazan Theological Academy (KazTA) of Archbishop Savva (Tikhomirov). The document is the original diploma of the Honorary Member of KazTA of Archbishop Savva (Tikhomirov), issued in 1889, and is a visible sign of recognition of his merits in the field of service to the Church and theological science. The diploma contains a certificate of a positive decision of the Council of the Kazan Theological Academy, which was then approved by the decision of the Holy Synod. The document contains the original autographs of the representatives of the professorial and teaching corporation of the Kazan Theological Academy as of 1889, each of which is briefly described. The data of the published diploma are provided with the necessary scientific comments. The described document is a unique example of a personal diploma of an Honorary Member of KazTA, probably existing in a single copy, which makes it a genuine rarity. The article continues a series of publications in the academic journal of the Church Research Center of the Kostroma Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Church «Ipatievsky Vestnik», dedicated to the introduction into academic circulation of descriptions of original documents on the completion of theological schools in the Russian Empire by their outstanding graduates.

The paper, written as part of the academic project “Corpus Inscriptionum Rossicarum”, is devoted to the history of the architectural ensemble of the Trinity Ipatievsky Monastery in the 17 th century. The main object of the study is the Green Tower of the New City, built in 1651–1653. Legends, that appeared in the beginning of the 19 th century, connect it with the place from where Mikhail Fedorovich, the founder of the Romanov dynasty, went to Moscow in 1613. A comprehensive analysis of written sources has shown that the main core of the architectural ensemble of the Ipatievsky Monastery in the 16 th — first half of the 17 th century was formed thanks to the contributions of the Godunovs. Construction work in the monastery in the 40s of the 17 th century and to be more exact, the construction of the walls and towers of the New City and the new Trinity Cathedral, was carried out at the expense of the Ipatievsky Monastery and was not funded by the reigning dynasty. The reports of the New Chronicler, Avraamiy Palitsyn, cartographic sources, as well as the building inscriptions on the Green Tower, showed that the latter was not connected with the place of Mikhail Fedorovich departure to Moscow, who headed for the capital from Kostroma along Long road leading to Yaroslavl.

The review examines A.A. Peshkov's monograph, which focuses on the theological heritage of three central figures of Russian religious thought in the 16th century in its relation to the Byzantine patristic tradition. The author of the review analyzes the concept proposed in the study, according to which St. Maximus the Greek appears not merely as a participant in the local polemic between the "Josephites" and the "Non-possessors," but as a transmitter of the integral Byzantine worldview and a bearer of a fundamentally different theological paradigm. The review considers Peshkov's critique of established historiographical schemes that oppose St. Nil Sorsky and St. Joseph Volotsky, as well as his thesis regarding Josephitism as an established ecclesiastical-political line inclined toward unifying the spiritual path and suppressing alternative ascetic practices. Special attention is paid to the key thematic landmarks of the work: epistemological issues (the correlation between the "simplicity" of faith and the knowledge of God), soteriology (comparison of "ritual piety" and "active faith"), ecclesiological aspects of memorial practices and monastic property. The conclusion addresses the monograph's significance for overcoming ideologized clichés in the study of the 16th century and for explicating the authentic origins of Russian theological thought, along with observations on prospects for further research of these issues.

The article explores the life and work of Lydia Alexandrovna Uspenskaya, a translator of the works of two renowned thinkers of the Russian diaspora abroad - theologian Vladimir Nikolaevich Lossky and iconographer and icon scholar Leonid Alexandrovich Uspensky, whose wife and faithful companion she was. The article was prepared to commemorate the 120th anniversary of her birth and the 20th anniversary of her death.