Bishop Porphyrius (russian: Епи́скоп Порфи́рий, secular name Konstantin Aleksandrovich Uspensky, russian: Константи́н Алекса́ндрович Успе́нский; 8 September 1804 - 19 April 1885), was a Russian Empire traveller, theologian, orientalist,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and byzantinologist, founder of the

Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem The Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (russian: Русская духовная миссия в Иерусалиме, , Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem) was founded in the 19th century to serve as a representation of ...

and also discovered several ancient

codices The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

. In latter year he was auxiliary bishop of

Chigirin Chyhyryn ( uk, Чигирин, ) is a city and historic site located in Cherkasy Raion of Cherkasy Oblast of central Ukraine. From 1648 to 1669 the city was a Hetman residence. After a forced relocation of the Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan see ...

Life

Konstantin Uspensky was born on 8 September 1804 in

Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popu ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. He finished religious school in 1818 and four years after, he finished his studies at the Theological Seminary in Kostroma. In 1829, he finished studies at

Saint Petersburg Theological Academy The Saint Petersburg Theological Academy (russian: Санкт-Петербургская духовная академия) is a theological seminary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy grants master and doctorate degrees preparing theologi ...

. That same year, he became a priest and received the name of ''Porphyrius''. In 1834, he became an

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. It was in Odessa where he became interested in

Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

, learnt

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. He travelled to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in 1842 and became head of the newly established Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem in 1847, which he headed until 1854. In 1845 and 1846, he travelled to

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He saw the

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

in 1844 (one year after

Constantin von Tischendorf Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (18 January 18157 December 1874) was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the world's oldest and most complete Bible dated to around the mid-4th century and called Codex Sinaiticus a ...

's first visit). After a visit to the monastery of

Mar Saba The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas, known in Arabic and Syriac as Mar Saba ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܣܒܐ, ar, دير مار سابا; he, מנזר מר סבא; el, Ἱερὰ Λαύρα τοῦ Ὁσίου Σάββα τοῦ Ἡγιασμέ� ...

, he took a codex, which was later named after him (the

Uspenski Gospels The Uspenski Gospels, ''Minuscule 461'' (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 92 ( Soden), are a New Testament minuscule manuscript written in Greek, dated at 835 AD, and now in St Petersburg in Russia. They are the oldest known dated manuscript ...

), and he brought it together with other manuscripts such as the Codex Porphyrianus to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

.Uspensky brought to Russia manuscripts from Mount Athos (f.e.

Codex Coislinianus Codex Coislinianus designated by Hp or 015 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1022 ( Soden), was named also as ''Codex Euthalianus''. It is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Pauline epistles, dated palaeographically to the 6th century. The t ...

), Sinai Peninsula (f.e.

Uncial 080 Uncial 080 (in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 20 (Biblical manuscript#Von Soden, Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated Palaeography, paleographically to the 6th century. Descripti ...

, 087) and Mar Saba. Four pre-Iconoclast encaustic icons brought by Uspensky from

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

are still preserved in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Ukraine. In 1869, he received a doctoral degree in Greek Philosophy. Uspensky died on 19 April 1885 and was buried in the

Novospassky Monastery Novospassky Monastery (''New Monastery of the Savior'', russian: Новоспасский монастырь) is one of the fortified monasteries surrounding Moscow from the south-east. Like all medieval Russian monasteries, it was built by the Ru ...

in Moscow.

Works

* ''Путешествие по Египту и в монастыри Святого Антония Великого и Преподобного Павла Фивейского'', в 1850 году. Petersburg, 1856. * ''Путешествие по Египту и в монастыри Святого Антония Великого и Преподобного Павла Фивейского'', в 1850 году. СПб., 1856. * 'Christian East: Egypt and Sinai' (Восток христианский: Египет и Синай), Petersburg, 1857. * Мнение о синайской Библии (полемика с Тишендорфом, 1862). (About Codex Sinaiticus, polemic with Tischendorf). * "Восток христианский. Абиссиния", in: "Труды Киевской Академии", 1866. * 'History of Athos' (История Афона), Two volumes, 1871. * Второе путешествие в афонские монастыри, (Москва, 1880). * Дионисий Ареопагит и его творения, в: "Чтения Московского Общества Любителей Духовного Просвещения", 1885.

Citations

General bibliography

* Порфирий Успенский, ''Первое путешествие в Синайский монастырь в 1845 году'', Petersburg 1856. * А. Дмитриевский, ''Еп. Порфирий Успенский, как инициатор и организатор первой рус. дух. миссии в Иерусалиме'', Petersburg, 1906. * А. Дмитриевский, ''Порфирий (Успенский) по поводу 100-летия со дня его рождения'', Petersburg, 1906. * П. Сырку, ''Описание бумаг еп. Порфирия (Успенского), пожертвованных имп. акад. наук по завещанию'', Petersburg, 1891.

External links

Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky) and his Collection

Открытая Православная Энциклопедия

Biography of Uspiensky

* http://www.rulex.ru/01160490.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Uspensky, Porphyrius 1804 births 1885 deaths People from Kostroma Writers from Kostroma Oblast People from Kostromskoy Uyezd Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Byzantinists from the Russian Empire Book and manuscript collectors Bishops in the Russian Empire Theologians from the Russian Empire Holy Land travellers 19th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians 19th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Writers from the Russian Empire Historians from the Russian Empire Expatriates from the Russian Empire in the Ottoman Empire