Abstract: The manuscripts and handwritten notes of Saint Antim Ivireanul are direct and indisputable documentary evidence of both his theological culture and his mastery of calligraphic art, as well as of his generosity in his missionary-philanthropic gestures. The annotation on the Romanian Gospel printed in 1697 completes the list of these proofs of the beauty of Saint Antim’s soul which enriched both the life of the Orthodox Church and Romanian culture.
Manuscrisele și însemnările olografe ale Sfântului Antim Ivireanul constituie mărturii documentare directe și incontestabile atât ale culturii lui teologice, cât și ale artei caligrafice stăpânite de el, precum și ale generozității lui manifestate și în gesturile sale misionar-filantropice. Însemnarea de pe Evanghelia românească tipărită în anul 1697 completează lista cu aceste dovezi ale frumuseții sufletului Sfântului Antim care a îmbogățit atât viața Bisericii Ortodoxe, cât și a culturii românești.
Cuvinte-cheie: Sfântul Antim Ivireanul, documente istorice, manuscrise, însemnări olografe,
semnături
Summary: In the pages of the Holy and Divine Gospel, printed in Romanian at Snagov in 1697, a handwritten inscription by the printer of this book, Saint Antim Ivireanul, was discovered. Examining this inscription, both in terms of form and content, a few observations can be made: 1. the author of the annotation dated 21st January 1699 is also the printer of the book (from 1697), namely “the humble among hieromonks Anthim Ivireanul”, the signature at the end confirming this also by the resemblance with his other signatures already recognized as authentic; 2. The Holy and Divine Gospel, printed in Romanian in 1697, is an essential typographical achievement for the Romanianization of Orthodox liturgical worship, Saint Antim using the text of Șerban Cantacuzino’s Bible of 1688; 3. The fact that he gave the Holy Gospel to the Turbați Monastery as charity confirms the constant generosity of the hieromonk and scholar Antim Ivireanul and his concern for raising the ecclesial and national consciousness of the Romanians; 4. If Saint Antim donated this Gospel book to Turbați Monastery, it means that the Divine Liturgy was often celebrated there, i.e. the monastery had a large congregation and clergy ministers; 5. Thus, for 7 years, while he was abbot at Snagov Monastery (1694-1701), Antim printed and redressed the household and spiritual life of the monastery, so that Nicolae Iorga will say with regret: „And Antim was taking with his departure the most beautiful days in the history of Snagov”; 6. It can be assumed that other Romanian books of worship and teaching printed or coordinated by Saint Antim also arrived in this monastery of nuns, even if Snagov Monastery was to decline in time after the departure of the hieromonk-printer to Bucharest; 7. It can be said that Saint Antim Ivireanul showed his generosity not only as bishop and metropolitan (between 1705-1716), when he had some power of influence in the ecclesiastical world, but also earlier, when he was abbot of Snagov Monastery and head of the most fruitful printing press in Wallachia. In conclusion, through all his missionary-cultural and philanthropic works, Saint Hierarch Martyr Antim Ivireanul, Metropolitan of the Wallachia (1708-1716), adorned not only the Romanian ecclesiastical life and culture, but also the souls of the Orthodox Christian faithful who grew spiritually on the steps of the insights gathered from the books printed or coordinated by him. Thus, we, the people of these times, can also see, more than three centuries later, that for the erudite and humble hieromonk-typographer Antim „the soul of culture is the culture of the soul” and „true wealth does not consist in all that you have, but in all that you give for the benefit of others”.
Arhimandrit Mihail Stanciu – viețuitor al Mănăstirii Antim din București și doctorand al
Facultăţii de Teologie a Universităţii „Aristotel“ din Tesalonic, Grecia;
e-mail: parintele.mihail@gmail.com
