The program of Konstantin's classes was extensive and, according to the testimony of the Housing Code, he completed successfully. Although the range of sciences that he studied is quite traditional and, moreover, is known from a number of lives of other saints of that time (for example, from the Life of Patriarch Nicephorus; however, not all the lives show an approving attitude towards secular education, cf. the Life of John the Psychaite), the corresponding fragment of the ZhK deserves to be reproduced, in particular because it contains not only the sciences studied by Constantine, but also about him in connection with the sciences:

"When I came to Tsarigrad, I was also a teacher, and I taught him, and at the age of 3 months I learned all the literacy, and after I learned it. Thou shalt learn Omirus, and geomitry, and from Leo, and from Fota, and in all the philosophic teachings, and in rhetoric, and arithmetics, and astronomy, and music, and all the rest of the Hellenic teachings. In the same way I am accustomed, as not a single one of them is accustomed. Speed is taken with diligence, and each other is ready to learn, and art and craftsmanship. More than that, he showed a quiet image on himself, conversing with them, with whom it was more useful, bowing down from those who bowed down in the ranks, and thinking how on earth you would fly out of this body and with God" [it is worth adding that the "Legend of St. Ludmila" ("Czech Legend") says that Constantine studied Greek and Latin literature, translated the Old and New Testaments and many other writings from Greek or Latin into the Slavonic dialect, cf. "sanctus Cyrillus, graecis et latinis apicibus sufficientissime instructus [...] vetus et novum testamentum, pluraque alia de graeco sive latino sermone in Sclavonicum transtulit idioma…»].

This fragment of the GC produces a somewhat ambiguous impression: is it about success in the sciences, about superiority in learning over others, or about something else, still emerging, but more important and having to push aside the fruits of learning, or at least assign them a slightly different role? It seems that the compiler of the ZhK has lost control over the text for a while and does not notice that the glory of Constantine the scientist, erudite, intellectual in the first part of the fragment, if not fading, then becomes somewhat aimless against the background of what is said in the second half of the fragment. In fact, is "academic" knowledge really necessary for a gentle disposition and for soul-saving conversations? Especially if it is immediately announced that something more important has arisen than the teaching – "More than the teaching is quiet, manifesting a quiet image on itself." And even more: having mastered the sciences, Constantine was already thinking about (only that? or, at least, first of all) as if, having exchanged the earthly (and the sciences, of course, are "earthly" things) for the heavenly ("as if the earthly heavens were less..."), he would fly out of this body and live with God.

It is obvious that here Konstantin reaches a certain important milestone, having early felt that the direction of the path of life must change, since the entire system of values is also changing. The problems of cognition, learning, and science begin to recede, disappearing from the foreground, the intellectual "greed" and a kind of "predatoriness" of the gaze, which examines everything around it, from the point of view of the possibilities of cognition of this as well, are softened, because there seems to be a presentiment that in the pursuit of "intellectual" knowledge something more important and useful can be missed (cf. "with them it is more useful"; as can be seen from the context, it is not just a question of utility, but of spiritual utility, and the emergence of this concept as a reflection of a special category diagnostically accurately fixes the change in the system of values for Constantine). Entry into this new circle of thoughts, feelings, and moods was also rapid and organic, and this circle can only be called new in the sense in which one speaks of the flower as something new in relation to the stem, root, or seed: "novelty" in this case describes only phenomena of the phenomenal level, but noumenally, just as the flower is already present in the seed, so Constantine's new aspirations were already hidden in his childish openness to the impressions of existence and in his intellectual thirst for knowledge. He did not renounce anything previously achieved in various fields of knowledge or in the sphere of artistic imagination, he apparently did not subject anything to revision, but the very changes that took place in the structure of the whole contributed to the fact that the specific weight of previous acquisitions was determined in a new way, they were arranged in this whole in a new way and they were used in a new way in connection with problems. arising as part of the whole. In other words, Constantine the Philosopher remained a philosopher, but he saw in philosophy a deeper aspect that he had not previously known, although this does not mean that he did not deserve some more "intensely precise" epithet: Constantine's position was broad and free enough not to argue about particulars, but to focus on the whole.

A typical example related to the topic of philosophy, reports JK. On one occasion Constantine's benefactor in Constantinople gave him "power" over his house ("give him power over his house", an obvious mistake of the compiler of the ZhK who failed to translate the Greek διδόναι έζουσίαν, literally, "gave permission" (to enter his house), see A. Vaillant, Textes vieux–slaves. Paris, vol. II, 27) and permission "to enter the king's palace with the dwelling," i.e., boldly, without fear, he asked Constantine what philosophy was. Constantine, with a humble mind, answered: "God and the prophetic mind, if a man can draw near to God, as a child to teach a man in the image and likeness of Him who created him." Constantine can hardly be reproached for not knowing what else philosophy does when he reduced its task to determining how far man can "draw nearer to God," but for him at this new stage in the development of his thought, philosophy was needed first of all, and precisely for him personally and right now, precisely for what he indicated in the definition of philosophy. that, according to one opinion (Grivec), this definition of philosophy was borrowed from Gregory of Nazianzus, which, however, needs a more correct textual proof, cf. Vavrinek 1963, 107–108. Others (Ševčenko 1956) believe that it goes back to the eclectic definitions of philosophy (the Stoic "knowledge of things divine and human" and Plato's idea of approaching God with the help of philosophical knowledge), more or less common in the works of the sixth and seventh centuries in Byzantium; cf., however, "in the image and likeness", which refers to the book of Genesis; it is believed that such a Christianized definition of philosophy could have been worked out in the circle of Leo the Mathematician and Photius; It is also noted that this definition differs from the definitions of philosophy that arose in the monastic milieu at the same time or close to it].

It is possible that the changes in Constantine's position during his stay in Constantinople, most likely after he had completed the course of study, are also connected with something that, it seems, researchers have not paid attention to until now. It was at this time, as it is described in the Communal Communal Complex and which, apparently, reflects the situation of Constantine himself, that the leading theme of the initial parts of the Communal Complex – Sophia-Wisdom – completely disappeared (only the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia is mentioned) and the teaching of the Holy Trinity appeared, more and more coming forward as the main confessional principle, the attention and special interest to which was also confirmed by the then disputes on religious topics. reflected in the text of the Housing Code. Thus, the Caesar, sending Constantine to the Hagarian Saracens, admonishes him: "Hear the philosopher what the Hagarians say about our faith. Yes, as the Holy Trinity is a servant and a disciple" [an important indication that Constantine was sent to the Hagarites not just as a talented theologian and preacher, capable of clarifying any religious question, but because even before this "Hagarian" complication he had already declared himself as a faithful servant and disciple of the Holy Trinity. — V.T.], "going to resist them, and God, the Creator of all things, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, glorified in the Trinity, that thou mayest bestow grace and power in words, and as another new David, shall manifest thee upon Goliad [...] and bring thee back to us, vouchsafed the kingdom of heaven." The Philosopher's answer only confirms the consideration expressed that he is now a servant and disciple of the Holy Trinity: "I am glad to go for the Christian faith. For what are I who are happy in this world, (but) for the Holy Trinity to die and live?" The Hagarians considered this position to be the most vulnerable point of Christian teaching, and its weakness seemed obvious to them. Therefore, the attack was launched in this direction, with the confidence in one's rightness, which allows one to be ironic in relation to one's opponent. They began with the question: "How can you praise God alone, and tell me, if you do? for you call the Father, both the Son and the Spirit. If you say so, then you will give him a wife, so that you will have many children." The philosopher answered: "Do not speak such blasphemies without rank. For we have learned well from the father, and from the prophet, and from the teacher, to glorify the trinity, for the father is both the word and the spirit, three hypostases in one being. And the Word was incarnated in a virgin, and was born for our salvation [...] From this and I will make a statement to you about the Trinity." And when later it was necessary to send Constantine to the Khazars in response to the Khazar embassy, the Caesar said to him almost the same as when he went to the Hagarites: "Go, philosopher, to these people, make them an answer and a word about the Holy Trinity, with its help." And this mission was completed successfully. The final words addressed by Constantine to the Khazars sounded as follows: "Brothers, fathers, friends, and people, behold, God will give every reason and an answer is worthy. If there be any who resist, let him come and pregnant, or he will be pregnant. Whoever hears this, let him baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity" [...]. This was, perhaps, the most convincing lesson to the Khazars, taught to them by Constantine. In any case, this is exactly what the Khazar kagan reported in his letter to the Caesar, after two hundred people had converted to Christianity: "For Thou hast sent, O Lord, such a man, who told us the Christian faith in word and in things, the Holy Trinity, and led us away, that is, the true faith, and commanded us to be crushed by our own will, hoping that we too might achieve the same" [...] (On the victory over Arius and the curse of his heresy, "which was raised against the Holy Trinity," at the Council of Nicaea, see JM).

This change of religious accents is undoubtedly significant, and in general it is correlated with what took place in Christian theology in Russia: the very beginning (the turn of the 10th-11th centuries) was marked by a special interest in religious ideas associated with Sophia-Wisdom, and in her very image; in the "Sergius" era, the emphasis shifted to the Trinitarian idea, about which Florensky wrote more than once.

Be that as it may, this first stay of Constantine in Constantinople confronted him with a new problem – how to live further – which indirectly reflected a premonition of a certain crisis.

It seems that at this time Constantine was not particularly willing to enter into philosophical conversations and, consequently, was at least partially burdened by what was supposed to be his main profession: In any case, even the love of the logothete for him could become burdensome or perceived as such, especially since the logothete apparently involved him more and more often in conversations on philosophical topics. Constantine "made him the teaching of Philosophism, in a little word having spoken a great mind." The following phrase in the JK hints at a certain "adversarial" meaning, at that "ideal" that does not coincide with the realities of life at that time, in particular, with philosophical conversations: "In purity you abide and worship God, only more loving to you, [as many people have come and desire to appropriate love for him, and to be zealous to the end against your own power according to God, the virtue of that being, For his understanding was simply loved by all."] "Pleasing" God was an internal, more and more urgent need of Constantine, which required time and concentration, but people, seeing this holiness of the Philosopher, his life in God, were drawn to him and more and more involved him in their life, which he apparently began to fear: it stood more and more firmly between him and God.

And the impetus that upset the balance and put Konstantin before the need for an immediate choice was the offer made to him by his benefactor, a man who sincerely and deeply loved the Philosopher, the logothete (he, according to the ZhK Zhk, gave him "the honor of doing him a lot of gold, he did not accept it"). The logothete had a spiritual daughter, whom he baptized. She was beautiful, from a good family, rich. "If you wish," the logothete suggested to Constantine, "I will give you this friendship. O Tsar now I have great honor and great honor, and great tea, for soon you will be a strategist." Constantine probably felt that life, but not the one he was looking for, was laying claim to him, and he had to make some energetic decision and do it at once. Apparently being a sensitive and delicate person, he tried to soften the refusal, but, as it happens with such people, the desire not to offend with his refusal turned into a certain shift in emphasis and a dangerous proximity to indelicacy ("and I don't need this at all, I have my own business", so one could translate Konstantin's refusal into the more frank language of this day): "For the gift is great to those who require this, but I have no greater learning, to whom I desire to seek understanding before honor and riches." It seems that in this answer Constantine, finding himself in a difficult position, is in a hurry to express his decision, to force a situation which, had it not been for this proposal of the logothete, would not have required an immediate way out of it, "Great-Father's Honor and Wealth" – of course, that sinlessness of the forefather Adam, which Constantine is now going to seek as a part due to him as an heir, if only he embarks on the path of overcoming his sinful nature. More specifically, Constantine in this case somewhat floridly informs the logothete of his intention to take the monastic order, and the logothete correctly understands what is behind this figurative answer. In this case, the question arises, what kind of teaching ("and I have no greater learning than this") Constantine is now talking about. If he was talking about what he had been indulging in before, about philosophy and dialectics, geometry and arithmetic, and so on, then Constantine could have been suspected of an excessive shift in emphasis and even insincerity: it is unlikely that all these sciences and knowledge are necessary for a monk. If by teaching he means theology and even, more specifically, the knowledge of "how man can draw near to God," then perhaps this is too broad an interpretation of the teaching, which has hitherto been understood in a different sense. Finally, it is worth recalling that, having emerged from his difficult situation thanks to his answer, Constantine did not accept monasticism for many years and took on the holy monastic image already hopelessly ill, fifty days before his death.

The refusal did not offend the logothete, and he continued to do good to Constantine. Coming to the Caesar (var. - queen) and not wishing, on the one hand, to hinder Constantine in his choice, and on the other, wishing to keep him in Constantinople, he expresses his proposal, casually formulating the main feature of Constantine's current internal state: "Young philosophist does not love this life, let us not let him go, let us not let him go, let us give him to the priesthood and service, let the Vivliotikar be with the Patriarch in St. Sophia, and we will not eat for him." And so it was done. It remains only unclear whether Constantine became a "vivlioticar" – a chartophylax (χαρτοφυλαξ), the first secretary of the patriarch, who was in charge (at least in the ninth century) of the office work of the chancellery and the patriarchal archive (see Dvornik 1933, 49–56), or whether he became a "vivlioticar" – a bibliophylax (βιβλιοφυλαξ), i.e. simply the keeper of the books of the patriarchal library (the assumption that Constantine, then still a very young cleric, held this more modest position, was expressed in the book: Darrouzes J. Recherches sur le οφφικια de l'église byzantine. Paris 1970, 431–432).

Logothete was not only a benevolent man (at least in relation to the young Constantine), but also a shrewd man, and he correctly noted the "dislike of this life," which most of all determined Constantine's state of mind at that time, perhaps even more than the desire to "draw near to God," because the impressions of life experience were unfavorable or burdensome and hindered this longed-for approach. It is well known that the holy ascetics (and not only they) were often burdened by life in this sinful world, so much so that this very flight from this world became a typical and widespread hagiographic cliché, often, apparently, used even more widely than the range of real life situations that gave grounds for turning to clichés of this type. In the life of Constantine the Philosopher, as it is described in the ZhK and as one can guess it from implicit hints, the reflection of this experience of relations with life in this world as difficult, burdensome, hindering the implementation of some significant plan looks not like a tribute to hagiographic fashion, cast in the typical form of a cliché, but as a purely concrete, individual trait, in this form inherent in Constantine and characterizing precisely his mental situation.