History of the Acquisition of the Sinai Bible by Russia in the Light of Recent Discoveries in Russian Archives
- Introduction
- Original Agreement
- Confrontation between Arch. Cyril and the Sinai Monastic Community
- Donation Document of the Sinai Bible
- Financial Settlement of Problems for the Sinai Monastery
- Conclusions
Financial Settlement of Problems for the Sinai Monastery,
Resulting from Archbishop Cyril's Activity
As mentioned before, between 1860 and 1865 Archbishop Cyril obtained life interest in landed estates of Mt Sinai Community in Bessarabia.72 According to the documents below, Mt Sinai Community challenged the business legality to no avail until making (apparently, in the spring 1870) an interim agreement with the former Archbishop, undertaking to pay him a large sum of money for retrieval of the land rights. Letters by N.P. Ignatyev to Archimandrite Antonin indicate that earnings from Communal estates in Bessarabia were withheld by Russian authorities from both litigants until June 1870, and only de-sequestrated when the parties came to an agreement.
N.P. Ignatyev wrote to Archim. Antonin in a letter of 4/16 March 1870:
[fol. 28v.] <…> it is now more than six weeks since the receipt of Archbishop of Sinai for money and decorations received was dispatched to Petersburg; and Father Cornelius came (to Constantinople) to thank me for delivering the compassionate benefit they never expected (nor merited) and also for saving (that is really true) Communal estates from eventual devastation and plunder. Similar events would inevitably result from the strike between the creditor and Cyril, and the inexperienced (due to characteristic ignorance of Russian legislation not necessarily associated with the Greek clergy) Community solicitor …73
In a letter of 10/22 June 1870 he wrote:
[fol. 31] <…> Solicitors of Mt Sinai Community apparently made sure, at parting, of impossibility either to come into full possession of, or to settle their business without a preliminary voluntary settlement with Right Reverend Cyril (as I advised as a military man, against the opinion of the militant monks preferring war, strife, litigation, trial, and colossal disorders to peaceful outcome). The solicitors declared officially that examination of the estates and business affairs convinced them that had we not put the estates under the (so much censured) sequester and had we not kept it until present, they would have not a sliver of the property and none of the earnings, while now the community finds everything intact. They only regret (quite reasonably) that we delayed the sequestration and the renters and Cyril's kindred had time enough to rob a little. On the instance of Community solicitors we first de-sequestrated some of the property except the main one, and since the documents held by Cyril are now handed over to the solicitors and real property is protected, the remaining property is also de-sequestrated. The solicitors and Cyril arranged a deal stipulating that the community shall pay a certain sum to their former pastor and he will return some documents and bear no grudge against them. In a word, the matter ended, without our intercession, in what (reasonable persons) should begin with …74
Yet the conflicting parties failed to make complete agreement. In June 1870, Archbishop Callistratus and the brethren appealed to N.P. Ignatyev again.75 Through his mediation, a final agreement with Archbishop Cyril76 was elaborated within months and signed at the Russian Embassy in Constantinople on 18 March 1871. Under the agreement, Cyril was to receive from the Community a large lump-sum grant and, in his turn, restore the Communal interest in the estates in Bessarabia and the valuables he had taken from the monastery between 1859 and 1866 (attached schedule listing dozens like church plate, vestments, jewelry, and records).77 (read the document …)
This was the final settlement of the conflict between Archbishop Cyril and Mt Sinai brethren.
