book veyed to the palace in a ftate of infenfibility, he was recovered
by immediate affiftance; but, regardlefs of the imminent
danger from which he had juft efcaped, he perfifted in his
refolution, either to appeafe the tumult, or perilh in the attempt.
With this defign, as if devoting himfelf to certain
death, he confeffed and received the facrament, and repaired
to the town-houfe, where the infurgents were affembled.
He confounded them by his prefence; foftened them into
repentance by a firm, but pathetic, addrefs ; and, perfuading
them to difperfe, tranquillity was inftantly reftored to the
town, which the moment before had exhibited a fcene of
confufion and uproar.
This calm, however, was of no long duration : the fedi-
tion, which had been thus allayed by the fpirit and eloquence
of Nicon, being fomented by the ringleaders of the tumult,
broke into open rebellion; many of the inhabitants renounced
their allegiance to the tzar, and propofed to deliver
the town into the hands of the king of Poland. The prelate,
however, not daunted by this change in their fentiments,
did not difcontinue his efforts to bring them back to their
du ty: his remonftrances and exhortations were gradually
attended with fuccefs; many flocked to his palace, defiring
his interceflion with their enraged fovereign; and though
the remainder of the infurgents blocked up all the avenues
to the town, yet he contrived, at the peril of his life, to fend
information to the tzar. Being armed, by a commiffion from
Mofcow, with full authority, he, with a proper degree of
vigour, yet without the effufion of blood, finally quelled the
rebellion. To him was remitted the trial of the rebels, and
the abfolute difpofal of life and death ; an office which he
executed with as much judgement as lenity. Only the leader
o f the fedition was punifhed with death; ten of his moft
J mutinous
mutinous adherents wereknooted and banifhed : and a fetf CHAP-
others were condemned to a Ihort imprifonment. Nicon■ ■
nobly overlooked and forgave the outrage committed againft
his own perfon; and in chaftizing the public offence tempered
the feverity of juftice with the feelings of humanity.
He obtained the refpedt of the inhabitants by the unwearied
afliduity with which he performed the fundtions of his
archiepifcopal office ; and conciliated their affedtion by adts
of unbounded charity. During a dreadful famine he appropriated
the revenues of his fee to the relief of the poor;
he conftrudted alms-houfes for widows, old men, and orphans
: he was the great patron of the indigent; and the
zealous protedtor of the lower clafs of men againft the op-
preffions of the great.
He was no lefs confpicuous in the vigilant difcharge of the
high duties of his patriarchal office, to which he was appointed
in 1652, only in the 39th year of his age. He in-
ftituted feminaries for the inftrudtion of priefts in the Greek
and Latin languages; he enriched the patriarchal library
with many rare eccleliaftical and clafiical manufcripts drawn
from a convent at Mount Athros : by a diligent revifal of
the Holy Scriptures, and a collation of the various editions
of the Old and New Teftament, perceiving that many
errors had crept into the printed copies of the Bible and
Liturgy ufed for divine fervice; he prevailed upon the tzar
to fummon a general council of the Greek church at Mof-
cow, in which he prefided. By his arguments, authority,
and influence, it was determined that the moft antient Scla-
vonian verfion of the Bible was exadt, and that the errors
with which the later copies abounded ihould be corrected.
He infpedted and fuperintended the printing of a new edition
of the Sclavonian Bible, which was become fo rare as
VoL- 1- T t not