Personality of Petro Mohyla in Antonii Radyvylovskyi’s sermons

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the presentation of Petro Mohyla’s personality in two Baroque sermons on the death anniversary of the Kyivan metropolitan by the prominent Ukrainian preacher Antonii Radyvylovskyi. Methodology. In the study, some principles of biographical and comparative-historical approaches are applied. Scientific novelty. The analyze of two insufficiently explored sermons on the death anniversary of Petro Mohyla becomes a valuable source of evidence offering information about the attitude of Kyivan orthodox clergymen of the middle of the 17th century towards the persona of Petro Mohyla. Conclusions. The article demonstrates that Antonii Radyvylovskyi represents the late metropolitan as an ideal church leader and a monk who succeeded to combine two types of services, that is through the vita contemplativa and vita active. Radyvylovskyi being Mohyla’s younger contemporary and apparently knowing him personally describes his activities on behalf of the Orthodox church. The metropolitan engaged in polemics with his religious opponents, represented the Orthodox church in Polish sejms and tribunals, rebuilt half-destroyed Old Rus temples, gave alms to the needy, created and supports Kyivan collegium named after him, and sponsored its professors as well as students. At the same time, in both sermons, the son of a Moldavian hospodar appears as a person of high moral character, a prayer and an ascetic. Thereby Radyvylovsyi combines real biographical details with the some typical features that are usually attributed to pious or even holy man. The sermons reveal the huge respect paid to Petro Mohyla by Kyivan Orthodox intellectuals years after the death of the metropolitan (the homilies are considered to be prepared in 1656 and 1658).