Trinity list of memories schemamonk Selevkiy (Trofimov) about his travels in the orthodox east

Abstract

“The story of Mount Athos schemamonk Selevkiy of himself, how he, having left the Balkan Mountains, wandered around Russia, Palestine, Athos”, written in the mid-19th century, is published for the first time on the Trinity list from the collections of the Russian State Library. The introductory article describes the distinctive features of this list in comparison with that of Mount Athos, describes the main stages in the life of the schemamonk Selevkiy (secular name — Stepan Trofimov). The memoirist sets out in detail the story of his journey to God, wandering in the holy places of Russia, Turkey, Palestine and Mount Athos. His observation was reflected in descriptions of temples, monasteries, numerous shrines, in sketches of meetings with different people; these include vivid and colourful images of representatives of different social strata of society: nobles, merchants, military men, simple monks and famous confessors, pilgrims and even robbers who would try to rob him and ruin his life. When describing the Mount Athos period of his life, Father Selevkiy opens the veil of the sacred life of the ascetics of the Holy Mountain, their spiritual exploits, mystical experience, traditions and customs of Mount Athos. The “Story” of the Schemamonk Selevkiy is of particular historical and cultural value, since much of what he had seen was not preserved to this day.