Karion Istomin (russian: Карион Истомин; late 1640s – no earlier than 1718) was a Russian poet, translator, and one of the first Muscovite enlighteners. He was a student of Sylvester Medvedev. Karion Istomin was born in

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

. He was a celibate priest and then a

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

at the

Chudov Monastery The Chudov Monastery (russian: Чу́дов монасты́рь; more formally known as Alexius’ Archangel Michael Monastery) was founded in the Moscow Kremlin in 1358 by Metropolitan Alexius of Moscow. The monastery was dedicated to the mi ...

. He graduated from the patriarchal school and then worked at the Print Yard from 1679 to 1701. Istomin started as a regular

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters to court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material. This usually indicated secretarial and ad ...

, then held the post of

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

, and later became the head of the yard. He is known to have authored and translated from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

historical, religious, and pedagogical works, including his ''Arithmetics'' () and the ''Book of Reasoning'' (), in which Istomin directed the 11-year-old

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

on proper manners. Also, he wrote numerous

acathistus An Akathist Hymn ( el, Ἀκάθιστος Ὕμνος, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name ...

es, prayers,

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

s, and panegyrical, congratulatory, and edifying poems. In 1690s, Istomin compiled the ''Small Alphabet Book'' () and ''Big Alphabet Book'' () for Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, in which verse facilitated learning. Istomin also wrote in verse the lives of the saints, an edifying treatise for schoolchildren called ('' Domostroy'', or 'Household Management'), and a book named ('Polis'), which was a short encyclopedia for younger readers, written in verse. It contained characteristics of twelve different sciences and most important geographical knowledge. Being an active supporter of the Petrine reforms in Moscow, Istomin was one of the first in Russia to realize the necessity of

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

of boys and girls. He elaborated methods of school education, which would be used in Muscovite schools throughout the 18th century. Istomin died in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and was buried at the cemetery of the Zaikonospassky monastery.

References

External links

Букварь By Карион Истомин
{{DEFAULTSORT:Istomin Russian educational theorists Russian Eastern Orthodox priests 17th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 18th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 17th-century Russian writers 18th-century writers from the Russian Empire 18th-century male writers