Chetyrina Natalia

Hieromonk Arseny, the first researcher of the history of Sergievski Posad. Reconstruction of biography

Abstract

Hieromonk Arseny, laic name Alexei Ivanov Lobovikov (1830–1907), was the author of scientifi c publications on the history of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Sergievski Posad. His works are widely used by present-day historians, but almost nothing is known about his life. Using archival sources has helped to reconstruct the biography of this learned monk. A. Lobovikov comes from the rural clergy of Vyatka diocese, received a systematic spiritual education and at the age of 23 decided to devote himself to the “vows of monastic life” in Trinity-Sergius monastery. From that moment on, his obedience was determined, this was work with manuscripts at the library of the Lavra. For several years, he successively passed through several stages of the monastic hierarchy: he was enrolled as a novice (1854), tonsured a monk (1856), ordained a hierodeacon (1858), and then a hieromonk (1860). In 1897, he was awarded a silver medal on the Alexander Ribbon to be worn on his chest in memory of the late Emperor Alexander III. The initial direction of the study of the history of the famous monastery was by the 1880s transformed into a study of Sergievski posad settlement that emerged from the villages and settlements surrounding the monastery. Until that moment, its history was in the shadow of the grandiose history of the Lavra and did not attract the attention of researchers. The articles of Hieromonk Arseny about the four parishes of the city were written with the involvement of a large number of sources, starting with legislative acts and princely charters, and ending with monastic clerical documentation and documents of the church population registration. They passed serious scientifi c testing in the Society of Russian History and Antiquities at the Moscow Imperial University and were published in its periodical, Readings. Hieromonk Arseny, born in the time of Emperor Nicholas I, lived during the reign of four monarchs and died in the time of Emperor Nicholas II. Before his death, he confessed and received communion, and after his death was buried in the monastery cemetery in the Lavra. His works are still in demand today.

Keywords

historiography, sources, historical science, local lore, learned monasticism, Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Sergievski posad, Hieromonk Arseny

References

1. Baldin V. (1968) “Arkhitektura” [Architecture], in Troitse-Sergiieva lavra. Khudozhestvennye pamiatniki [Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Monuments of art], Moscow, pp. 15–71 (in Russian).
2. Belobrova O. (1968) “Zhivopis′ XVI–XVII vekov” [Painting of the 16th — 17th centuries], in Troitse-Sergiieva lavra. Khudozhestvennye pamiatniki [Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Monuments of art], Moscow, pp. 94–107 (in Russian).
3. Chetyrina N. (2006) Sergievskii posad v kontse XVIII — nachale XIX vv. (Posad kak tip gorodskogo poseleniia) [Sergievski Posad in the late 18th — early 19th centuries (Posad as a type of urban settlement)]. Moscow; St. Petersburg (in Russian).
4. Kurbatova Zh. (2015) “Biblioteka Troitse-Sergievoi lavry v XIX stoletii” [Library of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the 19th century]. Moskovskie Eparkhialnye Vedomosti, 2015, vol. 12, pp. 182–184 (in Russian).
5. Nikolaeva S. (2009) Troitse-Sergiev monastyr′ v XVI — nachale XVIII v. Vklady, vkladchiki, sostav monasheskoi bratii [Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the 16th — early 18th century. Contributions, contributors, members of the monastic brethren]. Sergiev Posad (in Russian).
6. Nikolaeva T. (1968) “Prikladnoe iskusstvo” [Applied arts], in Troitse-Sergiieva lavra. Khudozhestvennye pamiatniki [Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Monuments of art], Moscow, pp. 140–166 (in Russian).
7. Nikolaeva T. (1968) “Sobranie drevnikh rukopisey” [Collection of ancient manuscripts], in Troitse-Sergiieva lavra. Khudozhestvennye pamiatniki [Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Monuments of art], Moscow, pp. 167–175 (in Russian).

Information about the author

Chetyrina Natalia

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in History;
Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in History;
Academic Rank: Associate Professor;
Place of work: Lomonosov Moscow State University; 27/4 Lomonosovskii prospekt, Moscow 119192, Russian Federation;
Post: researcher of the Department of history and theory of politics;
ORCID: 0000-0002-4274-2710;
Email: nchetyrina@yandex.ru.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.