From the Byzantine St Nephon to the Russian St Nifont: A Breath-Taking Career of a Saint

Nowhere else in the Byzantine hagiography do we find a character like Nephon, who (according to his 10th-century Life) became a saint through sins and repentance, doubts and relapses, gay sex, and atheism. Even many years after his spiritual awakening, Nephon remained a reviler and was universally hated as an impostor. He himself constantly oscillated between equating himself to God — and giving himself a thousand blows daily.The official Byzantine church did not recognize Nephon as a saint, but his Life was widely read. Yet, his fame among the Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs is incomparable to his universal acclaim in Rus’, where his Life was not only copied, retranslated, reedited, richly illuminated, and excerpted but also used for independent remodeling. The Byzantine semi-legal visionary Nephon evolved into the omnipotent and recognized Russian saint Nifont, an indispensable companion at the moment of death, a protector from bad spells, demonic possession, lightning strike, alcoholism, rabies, and hiccups.

Speaker: Sergey Ivanov, Visiting Professor, Classic, Northwestern University

Sponsors: Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Department of Ancient Greek & Romans Studies, Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, Department of History, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

Admission: Admission is free and open to students, faculty, and the community.

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