Once Again on the Date of the Foundation of the Archbishopric of Novgorod

Most of scholars believe that the first bishop of Novgorod to obtain the title of archbishop was Nifont (1131—1156). Aleksei Gippius recently has shown that we have no grounds not to trust the Novgorodian annals calling Nifont’s predecessors also archbishops. Gippius supposes that the Novgorodian see was archiepiscopal from its very foundation in the late 10th century, as it is presented by later Novgorodian chroniclers. However, it seems significant that the earliest extant Rus chronicle, the Synodal manuscript of the First Novgorodian Chronicle calls Feodor bishop s.a. 1069, and calls him archbishop s.a. 1077, both entries most probably going back to contemporary records. In the absence of any other contemporary evidence, it seems probable that Feodor was the first Novgorodian archbishop, and he obtained this title at some moment between 1069 and 1077. The author suggests some ideas concerning the possible circumstances of that event

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