Two Innovations in the Barlaam Romance Research

Abstract The Greek manuscripts of Barlaam romance, pointing out in the Lemma that the story was brought to the Holy City by the honorable man, monk Ioann of the monastery of Saint Sabas, supported establishing the name of Saint John Damascene as the author of the romance. According to this research, the bearer of this story was Iovanne- Tornike, a monk of Athos and a former Byzantine general. The monk Ioann mentioned in the Lemma was not a monk of the Laura of the Holy Sabba the Sanctified, but of the Georgian monastery of Oshki, where Saint Father Sabba was the abbot. Theological texts were copied there under Iovanne-Tornike’s guidance finding their way to Athos through his efforts. Two redactions of the Barlaam are preserved in Georgian manuscripts: The Wisdom of Balahvar and The Life of the Blessed Iodasaph. The first one is the short and original redaction. It preserves the earlier Christian reworking of this Eastern story, making it significant in studying the Arabic editions of the Balavhar and Būḏāsf.