Notitiae Episcopatuum of the Metropolis of Rhosia

Introduction. For the first time, the author provides a comprehensive analysis of ancient lists of bishoprics that were part of the Metropolis of Rhosia, allowing a preliminary reconstruction of their genesis and evolution. Analysis and results. The earliest list, in Notitia episcopatuum 13 (1170s), was formed gradually in three steps, from 1026 onwards. But already in the middle or second half of the 12th century, the same list acquired a different order of sees in the Early Variant of the Novgorod Recension (before 1157–1165 or 1198). In connection with the creation of the Metropolis of Mikra Rhosia by the Patriarch in 1304, Notitia episcopatuum 17 arose, where the Russian bishoprics were divided, respectively, between Megale and Mikra Rhosia. The bishoprics of the latter were inserted in blocks into the old list of the Novgorod Recension in its Late Variant (probably around 1420). In another way, they were united at the same time with the bishoprics of Megale Rhosia in the Nikonovskaya Variant of the Moscovite Recension (probably around 1398). The Prosopographical Recension, which divided these bishoprics again but in a different way, probably arose in connection with the election of Gregory Tsamblak in 1415. Finally, in the Isidoros Variant of the Moscovite Recension, created probably around 1437, the list of the Nikonovskaya Variant was edited, primarily by excluding the non-existing “Dnieper” bishoprics. When the new list was created, the order of the bishoprics changed depending on the church and political situation. Funding. The article is written within the framework of the research project “Authority and Sacrament: The Antimension as a Legal Document and a Reflection of Church–State Relations in the 12th – 19th Centuries” with the support of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s University for Humanities and the Living Tradition Foundation.