The dishonest gifts of the Magi

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

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In Soviet times, this issue did not cause much excitement, and in academic books devoted to the art of Byzantium, they simply and casually wrote: "… the so-called" gifts of the Magi "- scattered parts of the decoration of the traditional belt of Byzantine emperors, emphasizing their insignia - gold plates-stripes decorated with typical late Byzantine filigree, mostly made in the 15th century."

Actually, before the beginning of our current "new Middle Ages", this was how it was considered in the scientific world …

Now, suddenly, it turns out - though only from the words of officials from the Russian Orthodox Church - a completely different dating of this belt! Thanks to their efforts, he "aged" as much as 15 centuries! - i.e. until the time when not only the filigree technique was not used in court applied art, but when the Byzantine emperors themselves did not exist in nature …

Before the beginning of the Christmas service on the night of January 6-7, 2014 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) himself from the pulpit assured the flock that"

The Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church has also reproduced through official channels its "historical information" that "".

Finally, archim. Tikhon (Shevkunov) reported on his official website that "".

And the "keepers" of the relics themselves are not lagging behind. One of the members of the Greek delegation in Moscow, which accompanies the "gifts of the Magi," a resident of the monastery of St. Paul, a representative of the monastery in Sacred Kinot and one of the epistats (members of the government) of Holy Mount Athos, monk Nicodemus categorically declared: "" According to him, "".

Such eloquent assurances of the undoubted authenticity of the "gifts of the Magi", made, albeit on the principle of "here-to-the-cross", but at the highest level, in a short time flew around the entire flock of the Russian Orthodox Church, causing an unprecedented tide of suffering to touch the "shrine that the Savior touched. ".

But still, what does historical science say about this "relic"?

We will not pay attention to such "trifles" as the fact that the transfer of the "gifts of the Magi" in 400 by the Byzantine emperor Arkady (395-408) to Constantinople, allegedly "to consecrate the new capital of the empire" was out of the question, since the new capital Byzantine Empire - Constantinople - was officially and solemnly consecrated on May 11, 330 - i.e. 3 generations before Arcadia.

Let's not find fault with the fact that no church historian, contrary to the statements of archim. Tikhon (Shevkunova), does not report any gifts of the Theotokos to the Jerusalem Church (see, for example, "History of the Mother of Churches" by Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Athens and All Greece, a Russian translation of which was published in Moscow in 2003).

We will not go into unnecessary details and notice that contrary to the statements of the Synodal Information Department, Archbishop. Anthony of Novgorod (in the world - Dobrynya Yadreykovich; † October 8, 1232), who while still a layman visited Constantinople in 1200, did not see St. Sophia has no current pendants, but in her "Book of the Pilgrim" from hearsay (!) She casually mentions only some golden vessels that "".

By the way, these same vessels are also mentioned in the descriptions of Constantinople in the 11th century. in the "Tarragona Anonymous", created between 1075 and 1098. (Tarragonensis 55 (f. 50-58v); Ciggaar K. N. Une description de Constantinople dans le Tarragonensis 55 // REB 53 (1995), 117-140), and in Anonymous Mercati, which is a Latin translation of 1089-1096. from a Greek original dating from 1063-1081. (Ciggaar K. N. Une description de Constantinople traduite par un pelerin anglais // REB 34 (1976), 211-267). The "Tarragona Anonymous" informs that in the sacristy of St. Sophia is kept "". Of course, only golden vessels could be published, of which Dobrynya Yadreykovich (the future Archbishop. Novgorod Anthony), and by no means gold ingots or gold stripe plates.

But the actual historical "dirty trick" (I will not use the politically incorrect word "forgery") here is precisely in the fact that it was in the Middle Ages - and, let me remind you, we are talking about references to the 11th-13th centuries. - such vessels in the form of sea shells were fashionable among European warlocks, who, holding a shell vessel to their ear, interpreted noises as predictions of otherworldly forces …

Incidentally, there was never any liturgical veneration (τιμιτικην προσκυνησιν) of these "golden vessels" - seemingly so valuable Christian relics - never in Byzantium, i.e. if there were any vessels there, they simply were never taken out of the sacristy of St. Sofia … And, therefore, on occasion, only the workers of the temple could tell tourists about them.

By the way, until recently - until the first half of the 1980s - there were no liturgical sequences before the modern "gifts of the Magi" in the Athos monastery of St. Paul, until the cases of their export outside Athos to collect donations became more frequent. compiled "The canon of prayer before the holy and honest gifts of our Savior, gold, incense and myrrh, who are in the holy monastery of St. Paul", however, even for him the blessing is indicated "only for private reading."

And now let's move on to the primary sources concerning the fact that today travels with such fanfare in Russia.

The first historical mention of the current version of the "gifts of the magi" is contained in a document from the late 15th century, and a detailed description is found only from the middle of the 18th century (!)

In particular, they are first described by the Russian traveler Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky, who visited Athos in May-November 1744, who gives the following information: holy places in Europe, Asia and Africa, undertaken in 1723 and completed in 1747 Part 2. St. Petersburg, 1785; scientific edition: Second visit to the Holy Mount Athos by Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky, described by himself, in more detail, with 32 of his own handwritten drawings and a map of Mount Athos. SPb., RPMA, 1887, p. 398).

Mentioned by Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky "Maro, daughter of Yuri the lord of Serbia" is a historical person - Mara Brankovic, born in 1418, daughter of the Serbian despot George (Djurdja) Brankovich (who ruled Serbia from 1427 to 1456) and Irene of the Cantacusine princess (Byzantium), wife (since 1435) of the Ottoman Sultan Murat II. The fact that Mara Brankovic presented a gift to the Serbian monastery of St. Paul on Mount Athos in 1470, the late Byzantine golden belt, which consisted of 9 gold plates and 69 beads from a mixture of incense and myrrh, was documented in a Turkish firman, lost only at the beginning of the XX century. - during a fire in 1902. True, neither Mara Brankovich, nor the Turkish chroniclers yet knew that these were the very "gifts of the Magi". In the Ottoman Empire, Mara Brankovich lived until the death of her husband, until 1451. Returning to Serbia, she received two regions from her stepson Mehmed II, and after the death of her father she began to play an important role in the political life of Serbia. But due to a conflict with the pro-Hungarian brother Lazar, she returned to Sultan Mehmed II. From him she received an estate in a small town not far from Thessaloniki and quite good maintenance. Mara Brankovic, being a Christian, regularly sponsored the Serbian Athos monastery. According to the legend of the 19th century, in order to convey the "gifts of the Magi" to the Athonite monks, Mara made her way by sea from Constantinople to the shores of the Holy Mountain. But after she stepped onto dry land and approached the walls of the monastery of St. Paul, the Mother of God herself stopped her, saying that she, being a woman, had no right to go further. Mara waited for the monks and handed them "gifts" … monks who accept the "gifts of the Magi".

As you can see, in the XVIII century. The "gifts of the Magi" were also a single whole and together made up a golden belt 6 cm wide (1 finger - about 2 cm). Such golden belts were known among the Byzantine emperors as emphasizing their insignia, but, as already noted, none of the historical sources contain a word about the liturgical tradition of wearing a golden belt from the "gifts of the Magi" on Lord's feasts. By the way, the monk Nicodemus, the representative of the monastery of St. Paul in the Holy Kinot and one of the epistats (members of the government) of the Holy Mount Athos, also states that earlier "these pendants constituted a single decoration that was customary to be worn by persons of the royal family."

Himself about. Nicodemus quite rightly points out that the ornamentation of the "gifts of the Magi" allows for their scientific attribution. But the geometric patterns on the gold plates indicate not at all abstract "oriental masters", but at the typical post-Byzantine filigree, the analogies of which can be easily found on the frames of the Athos icons of the 15th-16th centuries.

Compare, for example, with Panagia from Crete (Our Lady of Hodegetria. Panagia; Greece. Crete; XVI century; location: Poland. Krakow. Czartoryski Museum. 10.8 cm; material: cypress wood, pearls, precious stones, metal silver; technique: gilding, woodcarving, openwork filigree (through).

Currently, the so-called "gifts of the Magi" on Mount Athos are kept in 10 separate arks and have 28 scattered gold plates about 5 x 7 cm in size and of various shapes (rectangular, trapezoidal, polygonal, etc.), decorated with filigree and grain, fastened silver wire with beads of a mixture of incense and myrrh, totaling 62.

Since 1744 - since the first mention and description of "gifts" - through the efforts of the "dream factory" 19 more gold plates (which were not there in 1744) were added to the belt, and 7 fragrant beads disappeared somewhere.

Thus, in the history of the "gifts of the Magi" from the monastery of St. Paul on Mount Athos, the following periods can be traced from historical sources:

1) until the XI century. there is no historical evidence or mention of the "gifts of the Magi" at all;

2) in the XI-XII centuries. some "monstrous golden vessels, which brought Christ from the gifts of magic" were allegedly kept in the sacristy of St. Sophia (but without any liturgical veneration);

3) in the period from the 12th to the 18th century, the "monstrous golden vessels" (if there were any) disappeared without a trace (since the Byzantine gold belt was mentioned instead).

4) in 1470 Mara Brankovic, daughter of the Serbian despot Georgy Brankovic and Irina Kantakuzina, wife of the Ottoman Sultan Murat II, donated St. Paul on Mount Athos, the late Byzantine gold belt, which consisted of 9 gold plates and 69 beads from a mixture of incense and myrrh, as stated by a Turkish firman lost during a fire in 1902;

5) after 1744, when the monastery of St. Paul was re-populated by the Greeks, the belt was divided into segments, and the number of plates increased to 28, and the number of beads decreased by 7;

6) in the early 1980s, the "gifts of the magi" began to be used by the Greek Church for collecting donations, and a corresponding canon was composed for them.

7) at the beginning of 2014, thousands of queues of thousands of thirsty people began to line up to the "gifts of the Magi" in Moscow and St. Petersburg to touch the "shrine" that "the Savior Himself touched."

But don't be upset! The Orthodox, in addition to the Crown of Thorns, the Gifts of the Magi, the Chiton of the Lord, the Shroud of Turin, the Plate and the Belt of the Mother of God, have one more truly priceless treasure, possibly reserved for the coming years by caring Greek monks … These are leftovers from 5 loaves of bread that Jesus fed 5000 Israeli people … Yes, yes, those leftovers! The Israelis then believed in Christ so much that they did not eat it on purpose and collected as many as 12 baskets of leftovers for future Orthodox pilgrims!

The source of the XI century "Anonymous Mercati" - well, the same one mentioned above, which also reported about the mythical "vessels that brought Christ from the gifts of magic" - in the same place reports that 12 baskets with crusts from those very breads were carefully walled up in Constantinople under the column of Constantine! Then these 12 baskets of relics in 1105.were transferred to the Grand Palace … In a word, the fox Alice and the cat Basilio, childishly divorcing the trusting Buratino for three crusts of bread, are now nervously smoking on the sidelines, realizing that the time of romantic amateurs has passed …

It is a pity that the current shepherds, unaware of the plans for further hammering the "spiritual braces", out of habit still continue to reproach their flock from the pulpit in black ingratitude, as allegedly "those who were fed 5000 were ungrateful, who threw crusts of bread and fish bones instead of to keep them reverently."

Compiled on the basis of materials from the official blog of experts of the Andrei Rublev Museum ©, 2014.