The literary work of Theodosios of Hilandar: Chronological framework

The period in which Theodosios lived and worked has been one of the more controversial issues raised in the academic circles about this medieval author. Scientific opinions varied considerably on this matter, though in recent years a prevailing theory has been that Theodosios was an author whose literary work can almost certainly be placed in the first couple of decades of the XIV century. This paper re-examines Theodosios' chronology. The manuscripts of Theodosios' works were analyzed first, in order to identify the oldest ones and thus determine the upper time-line of his work. It was concluded that manuscript tradition, from the early decades until mid-XIV century, contained five works of Theodosios, which definitely moves the time they were written in deeper in the past. In our further research we concentrated on the works themselves and their content. A detailed analysis of some works, particularly the Life of St. Sava, resulted in identifying their historical context which, in turn, was significant for determining the time-frame of Theodosios' work. Some episodes from the works, especially the scene of the coronation of Stefan Prvovencani ('the First-Crowned') and the episode with the Hungarian king, hint at certain level of Theodosios' animosity towards the Pope and Catholicism in general. This indicates the period of the Council of Lion (1274) when Byzantium accepted not only the supremacy of the Church of Rome, but also the Roman dogma. Theodosios' discontent, to put it mildly, with Catholic Church and Rome, which is more than evident in the Life of St Sava, could have been a direct reflection of these historical events. It is this anti-Union attitude inherent to Mt. Athos and Hilandar monasticism, to which Theodosios himself belonged, that might have been the reason for writing a new biography of the founder of an independent Serbian Church who was supposed to be the embodiment of all highest spiritual qualities and values of the Orthodox Church which were truly jeopardized at the time. For additional reasons that were elaborated in detail in the article, we opted for the period of king Dragutin's reign (1276-1281) as a logical chronological framework in which the writing of Theodosios' Life of St Sava could be placed. Theodosios may have written the hymnographic works dedicated to St. Sava and Simeon in subsequent years followed by the works dedicated to St Peter of Korisha. In Theodosios' own words, two human generations were separating him from the time when St Peter of Korisha lived. It seems that Theodosios' literary work, in most part belongs to the XIII century.