Barsov, Alexey Kirillovich

Born in the family of Trinity Priest Cyril Alekseevich, a priest of one of the Moscow churches.

In Russian historiography, Alexey Kirillovich Barsov has been confused with the namesake for a long time since the XIX century, with Alexei Kirillov. Below are biographical information about that and about the other, obtained on the basis of a special study, in order to finally stop this confusion.

The widespread opinion that Alexey Barsov received his primary education at the Printing School , opened in Moscow in 1681, is incorrect ^[1] . At the Printing School, it was his namesake, Alexei Kirillov (born ca. 1673), who in 1685 was among the six best students at the Printing School and went to study to the Greek scientists Likhud brothers in the school at the Epiphany Monastery (1670). —1731), director of the Moscow printing house from 1708 to 1730:

And they were commanded to live in the Epiphany Monastery ... the school from the printing house was also resettled to them, and five people were given to teach typography students of the first class, namely Alexei Kirillov, Nikolai Semenov, Fyodor Polikarpov, Fedot Aggeev, Iosif Afanasyev, Iov monk Chudovsky the others are the same.

In 1687, Alexey Kirillov was transferred to the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy , established on the basis of a school at the Epiphany Monastery. The Likhud brothers became the first leaders of the academy and until 1694 were its only teachers. For nine years (1685–1694) A. Kirillov attended the following courses in Likhud: grammar and poetry in Greek, rhetoric , logic and physics in Latin, and also practiced managing disputes, writing poems, composing and delivering sermons and welcoming speeches . The students' successes were so significant that after three years of study they could speak Greek and Latin.

By the beginning of 1689, it became difficult for two teachers to study with a large number of students, so the Lancaster system of education was practiced at the academy, in which older students led the younger ones. Especially Likhud was helped by the elders, including Alexey Barsov. A.K. Barsov was also considered one of the outstanding translators of the Academy. In the top three - A. Kirillov, F. Polikarpov, N. Semenov, in 1691, the students translated the polemical work of the Likhud brothers "Akos".

In the book of expenses for the Moscow Synodal Printing House for 1688, it appears that Aleksey Kirilov, among ten other students of Likhuds, was paid salary as an employee of the printing house. Usually, the future lawyer served on the Printing House first as a book reader or clerk, and only after several years did he reach the title of lawyer.

In August 1691, Aleksey Kirillov was among the first six students of the Likhuds, who translated Enkhiridion , the work of Patriarch Dosifey , and Meletius Syriga 's Denial of Calvin Heads into the Slavic language.

After graduating from the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, Alexei Kirillov was entrusted with the task of translating the letters of the Eastern patriarchs to the king.

He died at the end of the 17th century, as indicated by the record of his fellow practitioner Nikolai Semyonov on the list of “Logic” of the Likhud brothers, stored in the NLR ^[2] .

Alexey Kirillovich Barsov's birth date is unknown. It is known that he studied at the Moscow Greek School of Sofroniy Likhud from 1708 to 1720. In 1718 he was appointed a teacher, continuing to learn logic from Sophronius Lihud.

From 1712 to 1721 A.K. Barsov took part in the correction of the Slavic translation of the Bible, and in 1717, together with Sophronius Likhud, reconsidered the translation of the “Divine Liturgy of Sts. James the Apostle.

The work of the Athenian grammar of Apollodorus “The Library, or O Gods”, emperor Peter I personally entrusts to translate A. K. Barsov. In 1725, Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich wrote a preface to the translation of Barsov.

It is documented that in 1716 A.K. Barsov was appointed reader, and in December 1720 - as a reference for the Moscow printing house. The Publishers at the Printing House made up a special commission that carried out editorial and proofreading work when publishing books.

In 1725, A. K. Barsov again switched to teaching. He is appointed teacher of the Greek school, which in the same year was connected to the academy.

From 1725 to 1731 A.K. Barsov was a teacher and inspector of the Greek school. The then rector of the academy, Gedeon Vishnevsky, said the following about him "in Latin, and more in Greek dialect, he was skilled and contained a fairly Greek school, his supervision was entrusted."

It was believed that in Moscow at that time there was no equal to A. K. Barsov a specialist in the field of Greek.

In 1731 A.K. Barsov was appointed director of the Synodal printing house to replace the deceased F. Polikarpov. In the official act, this choice is explained as follows: “Barsov is a good person at his discretion, and even now he is not suspicious of him, and the case of the printing house, which belongs to the management, can be incurred”.

In this position, A. K. Barsov did not stay long: only one year. In 1732, he was arrested on charges of intrigue against Feofan Prokopovich and spent four years in prison in St. Petersburg. On May 22, 1736, unable to withstand the torture, A.K. Barsov died in the dungeons of the Secret Chancellery .

Alexey Kirillovich, was, apparently, married three times. I. Chistovich writes:

After Barsov there were small children Anton and Elena, the stepmother, and Marya’s daughter is married.

In the investigative documents on the case of A.K. Barsov one Jonah appears, a relative of A.K. Barsov "in his first wife". Most likely, from his first marriage he had a daughter Marya, from a second marriage - children Elena and Anton. Shortly before his arrest, as Aleksey Kirillovich showed during the investigation, he had been to the house of Avramov, who had been involved in the case of Barsov for:

asking about the bride who lived next to him in the neighborhood.

His son Anton Barsov (1730–1791) was a linguist, philosopher, translator and public figure; Academician, Professor of Moscow University; grandson Alexander Barsov (d. ca. 1800) - Master of Philosophy and Free Sciences, teacher and translator of mathematics textbooks.

• Barsov, Alexey Kirillovich // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Tobolov, MP Anton Anton Barsov. - M., 1993.
• Historical news about the Moscow Academy, written in 1726 from the referee of Fyodor Polikarpov // Ancient Russian Vivliofilika. - M., 1791. Part XVI. P.298.
• I. Zabelin. First Greek-Latin and Common European Science in Moscow // Readings in Imp. Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University. M., 1886. Book 4th. C.9.
• Rogov A. I. New data on the composition of students of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy // History of the USSR. 1959. № 3. P.140.
• Smentsov M. Brothers Likhud. Spb., 1899. P.73
• S. Smirnov. History of the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. M., 1855. P.217.
• Barsov, Alexey Kirillovich // Russian biographical dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. , 1900. - V. 2: Aleksinsky - Bestuzhev-Ryumin. - p. 513-514.