Byzantinologist, hagiographer, teacher, spiritual censor: the life and literary legacy of bishop Arseny (Ivaschenko; 1831-1903)

The article presents a general overview of the life and literary heritage of one of the outstanding church scholars of the 19th century, Bishop Arseny (Ivaschenko; 1831-1903). A graduate of the Kyiv Theological Academy, the bishop, in the rank of archimandrite, served in the Odessa Theological School, the Volyn, Voronezh, and Polotsk Theological Seminaries for two decades as a spiritual and pedagogical minister. This was followed by a difficult service as a spiritual censor in St. Petersburg and as abbot of the Zaikonospassky Monastery in Moscow. In all his positions, Bishop Arseny was tirelessly engaged in literary work, which he did not abandon even after his ordination to the episcopal rank. The bishop was interested in a wide range of issues related to church history, from the first centuries of Christianity to the present day. Articles and translations devoted to the history of the Church in the Roman Empire, Africa, Italy, Spain, the Balkans, Byzantium, Persia, Arabia, etc. were published in various periodicals. Notes on the translations and scientific articles of the bishop, written at a high scientific level, were published in the Byzantine studies journals "Byzantinische Zeitschrift" and "Vizantinsky Vremennik".