Epiphanius wrote at least three works: the
Life of Stephen of Perm, the
Life of Sergius of Radonezh, and the
Encomium of Sergius.
Boris Kloss argues that he is also the author of the
Trinity Chronicle. Epiphanius started to write the
Life of Sergius a year after the death of the saint according to his own memories and his recollection of the accounts of other contemporaries. He finished the writings 26 years after the death of Sergius, i.e., around 1417–1418. There was a rewriting of the work by
Pachomius the Serb (Пахомий Серб), which is usually more readily available. The
Life of Sergius follows well established hagiographical conventions, and contains a number of parallels to scriptural passages. His focus is on the saint's spiritual qualities and therefore does not dwell on his close ties to Prince
Dmitry Donskoy. Epiphanius was interested in portraying an idealized account of sanctity, and did so through lengthy
panegyrics. His literary style was given the name
pletenie sloves, or "the weaving/braiding of words", and is marked by an abundance of
neologisms, in which Epiphanius liked to form a large number of
noun or
adjective-noun combinations. The ordinary words of a common man "...are incapable of expressing the greatness of the deeds done by holy men to the glory of Christ."
Serge Zenkovsky hails Epiphanius' writings as "a new page in Russian literary history". It is often thought that Epiphanius' new style was influenced by the contemporary surge in Russian painting, and it has been noted that Epiphanius was a great admirer of
Theophanes the Greek. A 1413 letter of Epiphanius, who knew Theophanes, to
Cyril of Beloozero provides the principal source of information about the great icon painter. == References ==