Efrem, archimandrite: A Journey to Abyssinia

Title

Poezdka v Abissiniiu, Moskva 1901

A Journey to Abyssinia

Keywords

Summary

The book offers an account of the 1894-1895 expedition to Ethiopia led by Nikolai Leont’ev and Aleksandr Eliseev, through the eyes of the archimandrite Efrem. Not only does he provide details on the journey itself, but he also describes his fellow travellers, sharing his impressions about them. He recalls their interactions with the locals, the latters’ way of life, the nature they encounter, tackling at the same time Russo-African relations. Particular space is devoted to religion and church-related questions. Information on Menelik II and his entourage, as well as on the military system, is also provided. The volume is illustrated, mainly by portraits of notable figures.

Bio

Born into a noble family settled in Voronezh, Mikhail Tsvetaev studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Moscow, graduating in 1859. He worked for many years as a doctor in Moscow, in the Yaroslavl governorate, and for the establishments of the entrepreneur Pavel Tsurikov. He later enrolled in the Moscow Theological Academy, taking the name of Efrem (1890). He became a hieromonk of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and, since 1897, an archimandrite in Yaroslavl. He was asked by Aleksandr Eliseev to join the expedition to Ethiopia which he had organised alongside Nikolai Leont’ev (1894-1895). He was also chosen as one of the official escorts of the Ethiopian diplomatic mission, which arrived in Russia in 1895. In addition to his memoirs on the expedition, he contributed to gather knowledge on Ethiopia by collecting local artefacts, among which a “gramota” he received as a gift from Menelik II.

Sources

V. Ul’ianovskii, Efiopskaia gramota arkhimandrita Efrema i ee konteksty, in Soobshcheniia Rostovskogo muzeia, XXV, Rostov 2020, p. 125-181;

I. Baskova, Arkhimandrit Efrem (byvshii doktor M.M. Tsvetaev – Gorodovoi vrach Romanovo-Borisoglebska), “Rybnaia sloboda”, 2023, 28, p. 64-69.

A.F.