Savvas of Vatopaidi, hieromonk (ca 1516)
When he was a scholar he was considered by his contemporaries to be a prolific translator of ecclesiastical books from Greek to Slavonic. The place of origin and the time he lodged in the monastery is not known. We also know he has been trained and involved in the translation process. His reputation, however, as a translator, exceeded the boundaries of the world. In 1516, the great Duke of Moscovia, Basil Ivanovich, wrote with his letter to the Early Byzantine Emperor of Symeon to name the monk Savva in the book of translations in Moscow for a period of time. His ultimate mission would be to revise the Russian translations of various functionalities and, in particular, the interpreted Psalter. The request was sent to Vatopedi’s monastery, but Savva denied the suggestion, referring to his senatorial immorality and his courage, to take the long and seedy trip to the Russian north.