Abstract
Andrzej Poppe
The Concern of the Igumen Daniel about the Rusian Church. The ‘Case’ of Cyprus
The Author begins with some general observations and new data about the personality of the Igumen Daniel and his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The main issue at stake in the article concerns Daniel’s stay in Cyprus, in May 1106. The Igumen became deeply concerned with the evolution of Christianization in Rus’, where the Metropolitan exerted his authority over 9 suffragans, over a space of 1.400 millions of sq km and ca 7 millions inhabitants. In Cyprus, instead, there were as much as 14 dioceses that obeyed to a unique archbishop. Daniil comments this situation in a mediate manner and with caution, but expresses fears about the danger of a division of the unique province of Rus’ in several metropolitanates. Moreover, the Author discusses extant literature (19th-20th centuries) and stresses the difficulties of reconstructing a text which may be considered Daniel’s ‘original’. The state of the art permits to state that Daniel conceived his work in two stages: a fi rst draft was written during the journey back home (may be in Constantinople?), the second text was written upon his return to his country and was adapted to the needs of the readers of Rus’.
