Metropolitan Dionisii (1581–1586) and the principles of the church elite’s formation in the 16th century

Abstract

The author has made an attempt to find out the metropolitan Dionisii’s status in the world and the place of taking him the monastic vows. Earlier he was the abbot of the Novgorod Spaso-Khutynskii monastery. On the base of some historical sources the author makes presupposition that Dionisii soon after taking the monastic vows became the abbot of the Otenskii monastery protected by the secular and the church authorities in the third quarter of the 16th century. There are data about Dionisii’s son - the priest Matfey who took the monastic vows and following the father went to the Spaso-Khutynskii monastery. The son must have inherited the father’s status in the world. Thus Dionisii was from the white clergy. This promoted his turbulent career. In the world he could already acquired many skills which were necessary for the leaders of the church. The epidemics of the 1560-70s could also play their role: a lot of elderly experienced monks who could became abbots and bishops dead. Soon after taking the monastic vows no later than the august of 1572 Dionisii became the abbot of the important Otenskii monastery. After that probably thanks to the acquaintance with Ivan IV no later than the 26th October of 1577 he became the abbot of the Spaso-Khutynskii monastery and then the metropolitan. Taking into consideration that after his dismissal in 1586 he lived for 18 years the author presupposes that he became the abbot and metropolitan in the relatively early age. The research is based on the data from the chronicles, acts, colophons and the records on the objects of church art.