Orthodoxy and Science in the Greek State, 1830-1939

Abstract

Scholarship on science and religion is almost as old as modern historiography itself, being both products of the 19th century. It is thus somewhat fitting that the 19th century has prominently featured in historical scholarship on science and religion. And yet, as is generally the case for most other periods and places, historical scholarship on the relationship between science and Eastern Orthodox Christianity during the 19th century is painfully scarce. Project NARSES was launched in 2012 to address precisely the question of the relationship between the sciences and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, as exhibited in Greek texts. This paper aims to describe the findings of the project as they apply to the first century of the Greek state‘s existence, from 1832 to 1939. After a brief introduction to scientific practice and to the Greek Orthodox Church’s history during this period, the article focuses firstly at the agents of public discourse concerning science and Orthodox Christianity during the first century of the Greek state. It then discusses the various points of contact, either polemical, friendly or asymptotic, between science and Orthodoxy during the same period. Finally, the article discusses some possible ways the findings of project NARSES interact with current historiographic considerations.