Eugenios Voulgaris
Encyclopedia
Eugenios Voulgaris or Boulgaris or Vulgares was a Greek Orthodox educator, and bishop of Kherson
(in Ukraine
). Writing copiously on theology, philosophy and the sciences, he disseminated western European thought throughout the Greek and eastern Christian world, and was a leading contributor to the Modern Greek Enlightenment.
). He studied in Corfu under Vikentios Damodos, an important scholar, and continued his studies in the School of Ioannina
(in western Greece) under Athanasios Psalidas.
In 1737 or 1738 he became a monk and presbyter with the name Eugenios, and afterwards went to the University of Padua
to study theology, philosophy, European languages and natural sciences.
, the Maroutsaia
. There he was involved in a public dispute with Balanos Vasilopoulos
, who was the director of another high level school of the city, regarding the curricula of their respective schools – Voulgaris arguing for the institution of natural philosophy.
From 1753 to 1759 Voulgaris was director of the Athonite Academy
(Athoniada Akademia) at Vatopedi Monastery aiming at upgrading the level of studies. There he taught philosophy as well as mathematics. Though he was considered one of the most eminent teachers, his eagerness to communicate some of the new ideas of the western European 'Enlightenment' caused a negative reaction among some Orthodox Christian leaders on Mount Athos
, and he was forced to abandon the school in the beginning of 1759.
He then temporarily headed the Patriarchal Academy in Constantinople (known to Greeks as the "Great School of the Nation"). However in 1761 he permanently abandoned his educational career.
Although Eugenios was associated by some Orthodox Christians with the unsuccessful attempt to found a Western-style academy on Mt. Athos and at the Patriarchal Academy, he was also a strong opponent of Uniate and Roman Catholic proselytising among other Christians; and in his correspondence with Pierre Leclerc, the French Catholic Jansenist
theologian sympathetic to Orthodox Christian traditions, he stresses that since the time of the Schism Orthodox Christians have been blessed with many saints and martyrs equal to the ancients and with a bounty of miracles, so that, as he says, "Our Church is continuously glorified and made wondrous by God, no less after the Schism than before it, and up to our times" (Epistle of Eugenios Voulgaris to Pierre Leclerc, first edition, by Andreas Koromelas [Athens, 1844], p. 68).
In 1775 he was ordained archbishop, and became the first bishop of the newly-created Eparchy
(Diocese
) of Slaviansk and Cherson, in what is today south-central Ukraine. The new diocese included lands of the Novorossiya
and Azov
Governorates north of the Black Sea
, recently conquered by Russia from the Ottoman Empire
. Along with Russians and Ukrainians Orthodox Greeks were invited to settle in the region, and the Imperial Government thought it appropriate to appoint a Greek-speaking bishop to preside over the new diocese. Despite its name, the seat of the bishop was in neither Slaviansk (soon to be renamed Nikopol) nor Kherson
, but in the more centrally located city of Poltava
; where the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross became the bishop's residence. The following year (1776), Eugenios invited another Corfiot
, Nikephoros Theotokis
, to join him in Poltava, and started training the younger Greek as his successor. In 1779, Eugenios retired, although he continued to live in the same monastery in Poltava, while Nicephoros took over the diocese.
In 1787 Boulgaris was allowed to move to St. Petersburg. From 1801 until the end of his life the retired bishop lived there in Alexander Nevsky Lavra
.
He died on 12 June 1806, and was buried in the Lavra's Church of St. Theodor (Fyodorovskaya Tserkov)
with Orthodox Christians estranged from both groups of western Christians. While they remained largely uninvolved in dialogue with western Christians until the nineteenth century, they nevertheless grappled with new intellectual challenges emanating from the west in the form of secular learning. In this period Eugenios Voulgaris was one of the most influential Greek writers. Although he was strictly an Orthodox Christian, he tried to convey the ideas of this western European Enlightenment to Greek Orthodox cultural circles, through translations and teaching of the works of John Locke
, Voltaire
, and Christian Wolff
. Voulgaris' model for the revival and development of learning in Orthodox Christian society included the maintenance of training in the classics combined with an exposure to modern European philosophy.
began at the end of the 18th century. Because western Europeans were familiar with, and valued, the ancient Greek language, Eugenios Voulgaris, along with Lambros Photiades, Stephanos Commitas (1770–1832) and Neophytos Ducas, proposed that the modern Greek language should be archaised and assimilated to Ancient Greek
, while his students Iosipos Moisiodax (1725–1800) and Dimitrios Katartzis (ca. 1725-1807) preferred the use of the contemporary vernacular language as it had evolved (Dimotiki
). This discussion would become crucial when it was to be decided which form should be the official language of the modern Greek state.
The humanist scholar Adamantios Korais
(1748–1833) also influenced this discussion. While supporting the language of the people, Korais sought to 'cleanse' it from elements that he considered 'vulgar' and evolved the 'purifying' or Katharevousa
forms, which were supposedly set at some midpoint between ancient and contemporary Greek.
(δυσθανασία), etoimothanasia (ἑτοιμοθανασία) and prothanasia (προθανασία). The Treatise on Euthanasia is one of the first books, if not the very first, devoted to euthanasia in modern European thought, and a remarkable text for the study of developing attitudes towards "good death". In the Treatise 'euthanasia' is clearly meant as a spiritual preparation and reconciliation with dying rather than the physician-related mercy-killing that the term came to mean during the 19th and the 20th centuries. This text has been studied not only by the historian of medical or religious ethics, but by many trying to confront death, in private or professional settings.
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
(in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). Writing copiously on theology, philosophy and the sciences, he disseminated western European thought throughout the Greek and eastern Christian world, and was a leading contributor to the Modern Greek Enlightenment.
Youth and Education
He was born as Eleftherios Vulgares on 10 August 1716 on the Greek Island of Corfu (then ruled by the Republic of VeniceRepublic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
). He studied in Corfu under Vikentios Damodos, an important scholar, and continued his studies in the School of Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
(in western Greece) under Athanasios Psalidas.
In 1737 or 1738 he became a monk and presbyter with the name Eugenios, and afterwards went to the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
to study theology, philosophy, European languages and natural sciences.
Teacher of the Nation
In 1742, Boulgaris became director of an important school of IoanninaIoannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
, the Maroutsaia
Maroutsaia School
The Maroutsaia School or Maroutsios was a Greek educational institution that operated in Ioannina from 1742 to 1797. The school reached its peak under Eugenios Voulgaris, one of the main representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment...
. There he was involved in a public dispute with Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos was a Greek scholar, cleric and author. He made a significant contribution in the growth of Greek Enlightenment during the Ottoman occupation of the Greek world.-Life:...
, who was the director of another high level school of the city, regarding the curricula of their respective schools – Voulgaris arguing for the institution of natural philosophy.
From 1753 to 1759 Voulgaris was director of the Athonite Academy
Athonite Academy
The Athonite or Athonias Academy is a Greek Orthodox educational institution founded at 1749 in Mount Athos, then in the Ottoman Empire and now in Greece. The school offered high level education, where ancient philosophy and modern physical science were taught...
(Athoniada Akademia) at Vatopedi Monastery aiming at upgrading the level of studies. There he taught philosophy as well as mathematics. Though he was considered one of the most eminent teachers, his eagerness to communicate some of the new ideas of the western European 'Enlightenment' caused a negative reaction among some Orthodox Christian leaders on Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
, and he was forced to abandon the school in the beginning of 1759.
He then temporarily headed the Patriarchal Academy in Constantinople (known to Greeks as the "Great School of the Nation"). However in 1761 he permanently abandoned his educational career.
Although Eugenios was associated by some Orthodox Christians with the unsuccessful attempt to found a Western-style academy on Mt. Athos and at the Patriarchal Academy, he was also a strong opponent of Uniate and Roman Catholic proselytising among other Christians; and in his correspondence with Pierre Leclerc, the French Catholic Jansenist
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
theologian sympathetic to Orthodox Christian traditions, he stresses that since the time of the Schism Orthodox Christians have been blessed with many saints and martyrs equal to the ancients and with a bounty of miracles, so that, as he says, "Our Church is continuously glorified and made wondrous by God, no less after the Schism than before it, and up to our times" (Epistle of Eugenios Voulgaris to Pierre Leclerc, first edition, by Andreas Koromelas [Athens, 1844], p. 68).
In Russia
After his unsuccessful attempts to introduce Enlightenment ideas to the Athonite School and Patriarchal Academy Eugenios accepted the patronage of the Russian Empress Catherine II, and spent the rest of his career in Russia. In 1763 he went to Leipzig and Berlin at the invitation of Empress Catherine. In 1771 he arrived at St. Petersburg, and between 1772 and 1774 worked as a librarian at the court.In 1775 he was ordained archbishop, and became the first bishop of the newly-created Eparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
(Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
) of Slaviansk and Cherson, in what is today south-central Ukraine. The new diocese included lands of the Novorossiya
Novorossiya
Novorossiya is a historic area of lands which established itself solidly after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire, but was introduced with the establishment of Novorossiysk Governorate with the capital in Kremenchuk in the mid 18th century. Until that time in both Polish...
and Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
Governorates north of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, recently conquered by Russia from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Along with Russians and Ukrainians Orthodox Greeks were invited to settle in the region, and the Imperial Government thought it appropriate to appoint a Greek-speaking bishop to preside over the new diocese. Despite its name, the seat of the bishop was in neither Slaviansk (soon to be renamed Nikopol) nor Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
, but in the more centrally located city of Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
; where the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross became the bishop's residence. The following year (1776), Eugenios invited another Corfiot
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, Nikephoros Theotokis
Nikephoros Theotokis
Nikephoros Theotokis or Nikiforos Theotokis was a Greek scholar and theologian, who became an archbishop in the southern provinces of the Russian Empire...
, to join him in Poltava, and started training the younger Greek as his successor. In 1779, Eugenios retired, although he continued to live in the same monastery in Poltava, while Nicephoros took over the diocese.
In 1787 Boulgaris was allowed to move to St. Petersburg. From 1801 until the end of his life the retired bishop lived there in Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg supposing that that was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes; however, the battle...
.
He died on 12 June 1806, and was buried in the Lavra's Church of St. Theodor (Fyodorovskaya Tserkov)
Orthodox Christianity and the Enlightenment
The eighteenth century dawned in the Greek EastGreek East
"Greek East" and "Latin West" are terms used to distinguish between the two parts of the Greco-Roman world, specifically the eastern regions where Greek was the lingua franca, and the western parts where Latin filled this role...
with Orthodox Christians estranged from both groups of western Christians. While they remained largely uninvolved in dialogue with western Christians until the nineteenth century, they nevertheless grappled with new intellectual challenges emanating from the west in the form of secular learning. In this period Eugenios Voulgaris was one of the most influential Greek writers. Although he was strictly an Orthodox Christian, he tried to convey the ideas of this western European Enlightenment to Greek Orthodox cultural circles, through translations and teaching of the works of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, and Christian Wolff
Christian Wolff (philosopher)
Christian Wolff was a German philosopher.He was the most eminent German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant...
. Voulgaris' model for the revival and development of learning in Orthodox Christian society included the maintenance of training in the classics combined with an exposure to modern European philosophy.
Greek Language Question
The discussion on the Greek language questionGreek language question
The Greek language question was a dispute discussing the question whether the language of the Greek people or a cultivated imitation of Ancient Greek should be the official language of the Greek nation. It was a highly controversial topic in the 19th and 20th centuries and was finally resolved...
began at the end of the 18th century. Because western Europeans were familiar with, and valued, the ancient Greek language, Eugenios Voulgaris, along with Lambros Photiades, Stephanos Commitas (1770–1832) and Neophytos Ducas, proposed that the modern Greek language should be archaised and assimilated to Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, while his students Iosipos Moisiodax (1725–1800) and Dimitrios Katartzis (ca. 1725-1807) preferred the use of the contemporary vernacular language as it had evolved (Dimotiki
Dimotiki
Demotic Greek or dimotiki is the modern vernacular form of the Greek language. The term has been in use since 1818. Demotic refers particularly to the form of the language that evolved naturally from ancient Greek, in opposition to the artificially archaic Katharevousa, which was the official...
). This discussion would become crucial when it was to be decided which form should be the official language of the modern Greek state.
The humanist scholar Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais or Coraïs was a humanist scholar credited with laying the foundations of Modern Greek literature and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment. His activities paved the way for the Greek War of Independence and emergence of a purified form of the Greek language, known as...
(1748–1833) also influenced this discussion. While supporting the language of the people, Korais sought to 'cleanse' it from elements that he considered 'vulgar' and evolved the 'purifying' or Katharevousa
Katharevousa
Katharevousa , is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Modern Greek of the time, with a vocabulary largely based on ancient forms, but a much-simplified grammar. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official...
forms, which were supposedly set at some midpoint between ancient and contemporary Greek.
Treatise on Euthanasia
In his Treatise on Euthanasia (1804), Bishop Eugenios tried to moderate the fear of death by exalting the power of faith and trust in the divine providence, and by presenting death as a universal necessity, a curative physician and a safe harbour. He presented his views in the form of a consoling sermon, enriched with references to classical texts, the Bible and the Church Fathers, as well as to secular sources, including statistics from contemporary Britain and France. Besides euthanasia he introduced terms such as dysthanasiaDysthanasia
In medicine, dysthanasia means "bad death" and is considered a common fault of modern medicine:Technologies such as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, artificial ventilation, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can extend the dying process.Dysthanasia is a...
(δυσθανασία), etoimothanasia (ἑτοιμοθανασία) and prothanasia (προθανασία). The Treatise on Euthanasia is one of the first books, if not the very first, devoted to euthanasia in modern European thought, and a remarkable text for the study of developing attitudes towards "good death". In the Treatise 'euthanasia' is clearly meant as a spiritual preparation and reconciliation with dying rather than the physician-related mercy-killing that the term came to mean during the 19th and the 20th centuries. This text has been studied not only by the historian of medical or religious ethics, but by many trying to confront death, in private or professional settings.
Further reading
- S. K. Batalden, Catherine II's Greek Prelate: Eugenios Voulgaris in Russia, 1771-1806. (East European Monographs, 1982.) 197pp. ISBN 978-0-88033-006-0
- A. Koromelas, Epistle of Eugenios Voulgaris to Pierre Leclerc. (Athens, 1844.)
Sources
- Galanakis, E., and I.D.K. Dimoliatis. "Early European attitudes towards "good death": Eugenios Voulgaris, Treatise on euthanasia, St Petersburg, 1804." Journal of Medical Ethics. 33.6 (June 2007): S1(4).
- Eugenios Voulgaris Bibliography at 18th Century Bibliography.
- Eugene Bulgaris, Archbishop of Cherson at St. Pachomius Library.
- Towards the Revolution: Inspired Absolutism: Reforms
- Michael Angold (Ed.). Eastern Christianity. The Cambridge History of Christianity. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
- Dimitris Dialetis, Costas Gavroglu and Manolis Patiniotis (Univ. of Athens). The Sciences in the Greek Speaking Regions during the 17th and 18th Centuries, in "The Sciences at the Periphery of Europe During the 18th Century’’, Archimedes, Vol. 2, 1997, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Constantine Cavarnos. Orthodox Tradition and Modernism. Transl. from the Greek by Patrick G. Barker. Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, Etna, California, 1992.