The Likhudy brothers, originating from the Greek island of Cephalonia and descendants of a Byzantine princely lineage, were Orthodox monks and graduates of the University of Padua with doctoral degrees. Ioanniky and Sofroniy became the first teachers of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, the first official higher education institution in the Russian state. They arrived in Moscow on March 6, 1685, and began teaching at the Epiphany Monastery, where they initially taught six students. In 1687, their school was transformed into the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy.

The academy was located in the Zaikonospassky Monastery on Nikolskaya Street, built by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the promise of boyar Fyodor Volkonsky in 1660. In 1701, the cathedral was rebuilt by architect Ivan Zarudny and became a three-story stone monument in the style of Peter's Baroque. Above the gates was the inscription "Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy," and above it, a painting with a burning candle and the inscription "Non mihi sed aliis" ("Not for me, but for others"). A printing house operated at the academy.

Initially, 30 people studied at the academy, but by Christmas 1687, their number had increased to 76, and by Easter 1688, to 64. Instruction was conducted in Greek and Slavic languages, covering rhetoric, dialectics, logic, physics, grammar, and poetics. The art of printing was also studied. Among the academy's graduates were notable figures such as M.V. Lomonosov, L.F. Magnitsky, V.K. Trediakovsky, and others.

In 1694, the Likhudy brothers were removed from teaching due to accusations of heresy and relocated to a Moscow printing house. From 1697, by order of Peter I, they taught the Italian language. In 1698, again accused of spreading Catholicism, they were sent to the Novospassky Monastery, and then in 1704, to the Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma.

After many years of wandering, the brothers focused on developing the Slavic-Greek-Latin school in Novgorod, where up to 153 students were enrolled. In 1707, Sofroniy returned to Moscow, while Ioanniky remained in Novgorod until 1716, after which he also returned to Moscow to work on correcting the Slavic translation of the Bible.

The Likhudy brothers made a significant contribution to the development of Russian spiritual education. They created textbooks on various subjects, wrote literary works and translations, and revised the Slavic text of the Old Testament. Among their students were future professors and heads of the academy, such as Fyodor Polykarpov, Nikolai Semyonov, and others.

On May 31, 2007, a bronze monument in honor of brothers Ioanniky and Sofroniy was erected in Moscow in Epiphany Lane, in front of the altar of the Epiphany Monastery.