The Role of Archbishop Nifont in the Novgorod Events of 1136

Abstract

The article analyzes the role of the Archbishop Nifont in the Novgorod events of 1136. The identification of the church of St. Nicholas, consecrated by him, with the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral is proved, and the significance of this act for the new Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich is estimated. The article analyzes Nifont's refusal to marry Svyatoslav, showing that the reason for this lay in canonical problems with his and/or his wife’s previous marriage, but also that the archbishop’s position was not irreconcilable, which allowed this wedding to take place. Good relations between Nifont and Svyatoslav are also confirmed by a mutually beneficial ecclesiastical charter, which is proposed to be dated March-August 1137. Finally, an indication of their mutual amiability is analyzed in the entry of the Kiev Chronicle under 1156, and it is shown that the word “not” is lost in the motivation of this affection in the expression “because Syatoslav did sit [not] without him in Novgorod,” which allows to develop the already put forward hypothesis about Nifont’s role in the invitation of Svyatoslav to Novgorod. Probably, the archbishop met him during his ambassadorial visit to Kiev and Chernigov in the winter of 1135–1136, when the discontent of the Novgorodians with their Prince Vsevolod was already clearly manifested.