Patapios Monk of Kafsokalyvia, The Greek-Serbian Mount Athos monk saint Nicodemos of Tismana (1320- 1406)
One of the brightest figures of Mount Athos during the 14th century was saint Nikodemos of Tismana, a saint of Greek-Serbian origin. From the Biography of saint Nikodemos we it clearly arises once more that among the Orthodox peoples of the Balkans there were continuous ecclesiastical and spiritual relations which were shaped and maintained through the contribution of Mount Athos as well.
In the current study besides quoting the biographical chart of the saint, which is based on the sources, there is also an extensive reference to his spiritual activity in Mount Athos, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Saint Nikodemos was born in 1320 in Prilep of Byzantine Macedonia of a Greek father who was born in Kastoria and of a Serbian mother. In the Serbian hagiology he is known as saint Nikodemos Tismanski the Greek. He was the grandson of Serbian prince Lazaros and was also related to the Romanian prince Nikolaos Alexandros. After his long-lasting practice in Mount Athos (Hilandar Monastery, where he became an abbot), he leaves, after 1630, for the Orthodox countries which Danube river crosses with its turbulent waters.
Saint Nikodemos was the relocator of Athonite radiance in Vlachia and Moldavia, since he was not only a reformer of the life of monks but also one of the most significant defenders of Orthodoxy in these countries, which were urgently endangered by the extensive disposition of Roman Catholic Hungary. According to the Rubric that he established, the large commune monasteries that he founded were internally autonomous, that is they were self-ruled, which is an additional indication of 14th century monasticism.
Saint Nikodemos contributed to the difficult task of restoring the relationship between the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Serbian Patriarchate of Pekio, which had been founded by priest Stephan Dusan in 1346, participating in an athonite mission which was sent for this reason to Constantinople around 1374-1375.
In Vlachia saint Nikodemos founded around 1369 Voditsa Monastery and, before 1377, Tismana Monastery, the oldest monastery remaining in Romania which was a famous centre for calligraphy and manuscript copying. From there saint Nikodemos directed spiritually the monasteries that he had founded and was corresponding with Athonite dignitaries and spiritual figures of Serbia and Vlachia as well as the Bulgarian Patriarch of Tyrnovo saint Efthymios (c. 1375 - 1393). Two remaining apostles by Efthymios to saint Nikodemos, pertaining to theological issues, are printed here in a first Greek translation.
