Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-3-138-157 Research Article Articles Syrophoenician: The History of a Pseudonym Shcherbakova Marina I. red@rusklassika.ru 25 09 2026 8 3 138 157 spiritual poetry S. N. Sleptsova St. Theofan Leonid (Krasnopevkov) Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 This article presents materials about Sofia Nikolaevna Sleptsova, a spiritual writer who corresponded with prominent hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church: St. Theophan the Recluse, Archbishops Leonid (Krasnopevkov) and Nikon (Rozhdestvensky). The literary pseudonym “Syrophoenician,” suggested by Bishop Theophan when publishing her poems in “Athon Leaflets” and the journal “Soul- Beneficial Reading,” concealed the author’s name for many years. It became possible to establish the authorship of the works by S. N. Sleptsova through an analysis of surviving letters from St. Theophan. Individual episodes of Sleptsova’s biographical background have been reconstructed from previously unpublished archival documents, including those from the Kugushev family archive, close relatives of Sleptsova. A true discovery was a description in the unpublished 1874 diary of Bishop Leonid (Krasnopevkov) of his meeting with Sleptsova. The recollections presented in this article paint a picture of the life of a gifted woman, a suffering mother, who remained faithful to spiritual and moral traditions and religious values. 1. Shcherbakova, M. I. “Korrespondent sviatitelia Feofana ʽg-zha N. N.’.” [“Saint Theophan’s Correspondent, ʽMrs. N. N.’.”]. Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 3, no. 1, 2021, pp. 262–283. https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2021-3-1-262-283 (In Russ.) 2. Shcherbakova, M. I. Pis’ma s Vyshi. Sviatitel’ Feofan i ego korrespondenty Kugushevy [Letters from Vysha. Saint Theophan and His Correspondents, the Kugushevs]. Moscow, Redaktsionno-izdatel’skii dom “Rossiiskii pisatel’” Publ., 2018. 160 p. (In Russ.)