Polemic Editions in the Romanian Principalities

Abstract

With the strong support of Patriarch Dositheos, Greek printing presses had already started to produce Orthodox editions of polemic character in Moldova (1682) and in Wallachia (1690). Almost every Orthodox edition was an answer to the activities of their Calvinist opponents. This position of the Romanian Principalities was due to the fact that they preserved their autonomy from the Ottoman Empire and became important centers of Orthodox culture. In this way at the turn of the eighteenth century the Principalities had already taken on an important role in the preservation of Orthodoxy. When the idea to publish the Panoplia Dogmatike crystallized, around 1690, on theological grounds two internal tendencies among the Orthodox were in existence. The conflict between Dositheos II and Ioannes Karyophylles over the patristic legacy attracted attention to the Panoplia. For different reasons the edition itself came eighteen years later.Keywords: orthodox culture; Ottoman empire; Panoplia Dogmatike; polemic editions; Romanian principalities