Ένας αυτόπτης μάρτυρας στην εκτύπωση της Πατρικής Διδασκαλίας και οι δύο εκδόσεις της το 1798

Abstract

The pamphlet titled Διδασκαλία Πατρική, which was printed in Constantinople in 1798, was one of the documents used by the Orthodox Church to limit the influence exerted by French philosophic and political ideas within its area of jurisdiction. The article in hand aspires to shed light on some of the unrevealed aspects of the creation of the pamphlet in question. More specifically, a short –however very revealing– mention in William George Browne’s book Travels in Africa, Egypt and Syria, from the years 1792 to 1798, London 1799, is presented and analyzed; W.G. Browne was a traveller of English origin located in Constantinople and visiting the printing office of interest at the beginning of the year 1798 while the pamphlet was being printed; furthermore, it has been concluded that the pamphlet had been printed twice in Constantinople in 1798 –contrary to common belief so far– with the use of the same printing types, however different composition and page-setting. The copies of the one edition comprise 32 pages, while these of the other 24 pages, both of them in 8o and, based on the fact that according to Browne, sheets were being printed at a rate of 1,000 a day, we have reason to believe that the first edition came out in 500, while the second in approximately 660 copies a day. Based on the comparison between the text of each one of the two editions mentioned above and the same text republished by Adamantios Korais in the pamphlet Ἀδeλ- φικὴ Διδασκαλία also in 1798, we have established that the first edition was the one comprising 32 pages and assume that the second edition came to reality during the autumn of 1798, when the copies of the former ran out or were deemed insufficient for the initial propagandistic purposes given the increased demand caused by the declaration of war by the Ottomans against France. In addition, the authorship of the text is discussed and a line of arguments is presented supporting that, despite what has been written from time to time, no valid reason exists for questioning the fact that Διδασκαλία Πατρικὴ was written by Anthimos, Patriarch of Jerusalem.