Donka Petkanova

The author disusses the possible sources of the the sermon On Cheesefare Saturday. A Sermon by the Humble Monk and Presbyter Gregory Dedicated to the Reverend Fathers who shined in Lent, and more precisely she seeks sources of Gregory Tsamblak’s mentioning of ancient philosophers, authorities, stories, aphorisms, images, motifs. She finds parallels in Suidas and in the so-called Serbian Alexandria. Donka Petkanova concludes that Gregory Tsamblak borrowed mostly facts and images from the ancient sources but interpreted them in his own way demonstrating the superiority of Christian spirituality and Christian holy men.

The studies of the life and writings of Gregory Camblak are numerous: they started 200 years ago. Still, there are many controversial issues that await further research. This article suggests answers concerning the following two questions: 1. What is the origin of Camblak's name and family? and 2. Did he witness the fall of Tarnovo under the Ottomans? The author of the paper put forward the following hypotheses: the name of Camblak is of Proto-Bulgarian origin; his family was Bulgarian by origin although some of his relatives lived in Byzantium; Gregory Camblak was born between 1356-1359 (most probably in 1357) and during the Council of Konstanz he was 60-62 years old; Camblak left Tarnovo before its fall under the Ottomans and he never came back: his mastery in the depiction of the enslaved Tarnovo cannot be used as a sound argument that he witnessed the fall.