N. V. Bashnin. The Contributions of Tsar Ivan IV to the Trinity Siya Monastery and the
Canonization of Anthony of Siya // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2026, pp. 9–26.

DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2026_2_9

Abstract:

The article focuses on analysis of the financial and material contributions made by Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich, also known as Tsar Ivan the Terrible, to the Antonievsky Monastery. In the span of nine years, the monarch’s contributions to the monastery amounted to a substantial sum of 2,200 rubles, a significant amount for the 16th century. These contributions coincide with the preparations for the canonization of Anthony of Siya, a figure with whom Ivan IV was personally acquainted. The newly appointed bishops, Alexander, Archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov (a disciple of Anthony of Siya), and Bishop Varlaam of Vologda and Velikaya Perm, in whose diocese the Siya Monastery was located at that time, also assumed responsibility for this. Anthony’s biography was written in two versions, one by monk Jonah and the other by Tsarevich Ivan
Ivanovich. It is evident that the receipt of substantial financial resources, which were most likely utilised for various purposes, including the preparations for the canonization of Anthony of Siya, played a significant role in this development. This was further compounded by the political climate and the relationship between the tsar and the diocesan lords.

Key words: Tsar Ivan IV, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich, Anthony of Siya, canonization, memorial practice, Archbishop Alexander of Novgorod and Pskov, Bishop Varlaam of Vologda and Velikaya Perm, abbot of the Antoniev-Siya monastery Pitirim, abbot of the Glushitsky monastery Iona.

Author:

Bashnin, Nikita Viktorovich — Doctor of Sciences in History, Research Fellow at the North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: nvbashnin@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0003-2209-8750

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