Greek Church Research Articles

Строители Милутина и Душана как проводники имперской идеологии в Македонии

Serbian rulers in their projects were guided by the examples of the cultural and political centers of Byzantium (Constantinople, Arta, Thessaloniki, Mystra). This is why the five-domed type churches considered by customers as a concept of a metropolitan-style church are often found during this period. New political conditions and a peace treaty with Byzantium (1299) opened up opportunities for Serbian customers to use Byzantine builders in large–scale church construction and reconstruction old Greek churches. The nature of the implementation of these projects was largely determined by the configuration of the original buildings and the regional traditions of the invited architects. During this period, Byzantine forms were often combined with the architectural specifics of Raška region, which led to the creation of original solutions. Serbian architecture cannot be reduced to just coping certain Byzantine architectural paradigms of Thessaloniki or Constantinople. This research was funded by the Russian Scientific Fund, project 20-18-00294 “Artistic Traditions and Ecclesiastic-Political Ideology in the Medieval Architecture and Art of the Balkans. Macedonian Question”.

«Старания, о добровольном распространении Евангельского учения …»: миссионерская деятельность в политике российских властей на Северном Кавказе (1793–1817 гг.)

The missionary activity of the Greek Church played an important role in appeasing the peoples of the North Caucasus. It was supposed to restore among them those spiritual values that their ancestors had previously professed. For this purpose, in 1793, the post of vicar bishop of the Astrakhan diocese was established in Mozdok. This made it possible to quickly resolve issues related to the spread of the Christian faith here. Very soon Mozdok became one of the leading religious centers of the region. But the authorities had many complaints about the missionary work itself: the number of converts to the new faith did not meet expectations, and the sincerity of the neophytes’ beliefs raised serious doubts. Emperor Paul I, who replaced Catherine II on the throne, ordered the abolition of the vicariate. Nevertheless, the very idea of preaching Orthodoxy in the mountain environment was preserved and had many supporters. The question of restoring the Ossetian Commission, with the help of which it was supposed to o influence the confessional situation in the region, arose again. Projects to attract foreign missionaries for missionary work in the mountain environment arose and were tested. But the main role was assigned to Orthodox priests, for whose successful work the treasury was ready to allocate the necessary funds. The activities of the church in this case should not have contradicted the steps of the secular authorities. With the appointment of A.P. Yermolov to the Caucasus, the militarypolitical situation in the region is becoming more complicated, which marked a new stage in the missionary practice of the Orthodox clergy.

Сочинение Газского митрополита Паисия Лигарида о суде над патриархом Никоном: проблемы исследования и перевода

This paper is part of an ongoing research project aimed at investigating, translating into Russian, and publishing one of the most prominent pieces of Greek-Russian narrative journalism of the second part of the 17th century: “History of the Synod, held in Moscow 1666-1667” by Paisius Ligarides, metropolitan of Gaza. The main focus of the work under research is the deposition of Patriarch Nicon, the most notable event of the Great Moscow Synod. The narrative is known to persist in three Greek manuscripts that are early and late copies of the original. Also, four copies of partial translations to Russian are known (the fourth one is not currently accessible). To our knowledge, this is the first study attempting to translate the original text into Russian in its entirety. Previous fragmented translations allowed only a partial and isolated analysis of Ligarides’ account of the condemnation of Patriarch Nicon. We believe that preserving the unity of the original text will significantly improve our understanding of Ligarides’ work and personality, enabling us to study in detail the societal and political challenges of his era. This paper provides a historical and philological commentary that transcends the common perception of the Synodical trial of the disgraced patriarch. Moreover, we attempt to enrich the existing views on the Russian-Greek ties and particularly on the contribution of the Greek Church to the political and religious affairs in Russia. Finally, a full contemporary translation into Russian will provide the scholarly community with a world-class document.

Infant mortality in the Greek community of Odessa (1860–1920)

The article examines infant mortality – the mortality of children aged from 0 to 364 days in the Greek community of Odessa during the period from 1860 to 1920. It aims at the demographic analysis of infant mortality in the Greek population of Odessa that, in general, involves the discussion of statistical figures demonstrating the development of the phenomenon in question including trends, frequency, seasonality and social structure of infant mortality. The work is based on data derived from the records of birth registers of the Greek Church of the Holy Trinity in Odessa. It addresses a number of demographic characteristics such as the seasonality of infant deaths, times of their peaks, the causes of deaths, and the social belonging of the deceased. In particular, the highest mortality rate in the 60-year period is observed during the winter and summer months. This shows the regional urban specificity, where the peaks of the deaths clearly reflect the living conditions in Odessa. The infant mortality rate in Odessa appears not very high when compared to that in other cities of Europe and Russia. This indicates a quite favorable situation in the urban environment of the time. The prevalence of mortality among boys, both in the perinatal and postnatal ages, is indicative, and the percentage of the latter age group continued to increase at the expense of boys. The high percentage of the church funeral services for the Greek children of formally foreign subjects emphasizes the complex composition of the Greek population of Odessa and, at the same time, the economic activity of the townspeople.

Ex sanctorum patrum certissimis testimoniis: Reading the Greek Fathers in Latin in Early Medieval Monasteries

Monastic reading communities in early medieval Europe had a voracious appetite for the works of the Greek church fathers in Latin translation. This article examines the evidence for the availability of translated Greek patristics in western abbeys from the fifth to the ninth centuries through a survey of surviving manuscripts and monastic library inventories. While there was not yet a canon of officially recognized ‘fathers of the eastern church’ in early medieval Europe, this article shows how western monks favoured five of the six Greek patriarchs singled out as authoritative in the sixth-century Decretum Gelasianum. In terms of genre, they strongly preferred the homiletical writings of eastern Christian authors over their polemical works, because sermons and biblical homilies had greater utility as tools for teaching and preaching. Lastly, this article highlights the fact that the most widely copied Greek church father in early medieval Europe was also the most notorious and suspect thinker in the eastern church: Origen of Alexandria, whose skill as an author of biblical commentaries outweighed his notoriety as a condemned theologian in the eyes of western monks.

The Greek Church in Latin and Venetian Cyprus 1191–1570

The Greek Church faced considerable problems following the Latin Conquest of Cyprus and the establishment of the Lusignan dynasty. Much of its property was impounded by the new Latin rulers, in the 1220s its bishoprics were reduced to four, with each bishop subject to a Latin diocesan. Under the provisions of the Bulla Cypria of 1260 it accepted papal primacy and ceased to have its own archbishop following the death of Germanos. Limits were placed on the numbers of monks in Greek monasteries and the refusal of Greek monks to accept the validity of Latin unleavened communion bread resulted in the martyrdom of 13 of them in 1231. Despite this, however, the Greek Church overcame these challenges and even strengthened its position in the later Lusignan and Venetian periods. Several reasons explain its ability to survive and maintain the allegiance of most of the population. The small number of Latins on Cyprus, concentrated mainly in the towns of Nicosia and Famagusta, made them fear absorption into the far more numerous Greeks and so disposed to tolerate a Greek Uniate Church that formally accepted papal primacy. The great distance separating Cyprus from Rome and Avignon together with increasing absenteeism among the Latin clergy from the later fourteenth century onwards made it impossible to enforce papal directives. The growing Ottoman threat from the late fifteenth century onwards likewise made the Venetian authorities on Cyprus reluctant to implement papal rulings that would anger the Greek majority. In addition, the Greek Church of Cyprus maintained contact with the Greek patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria, all outside the areas under Latin rule, and so was not isolated from the Orthodox Christians subject to the patriarch of Constantinople.

Editorial

The cover title of the new issue, An Oriental Journey, has attracted a great deal of interest from authors of various disciplines. Scholars of both remote and recent history have passionately explored this theme. The issue section contains three articles related to the medieval Levant. Wojciech Mruk, a medievalist from the Jagiellonian University, analyses the account given by Lionardo Frescobaldi, Simone Sigoli and Giorgio Gucci, who made a peregrination to the Holy Land together between 1384 and 1385. Another article, by Christopher Schabel (Cyprus University in Nicosia), discusses the best-known medieval Cypriot village of Psimolofu and its links with the patriarchs of Jerusalem. Nicholas Coureas of the Cyprus Research Center provides a broad perspective on the presence of the Greek Church on Cyprus during the Lusignan and Venetian rule (1191–1571). The next contribution takes us back to the 20th century and even further to the East. Magdalena Filipczuk (Jesuit University Ignatianum in Cracow) reconstructs selected themes in the reflections by Lin Yutang, a Chinese thinker, translator and editor, based on his work towards explaining and popularizing Chinese culture and philosophy in the West. One more article that takes us to the Far East, but back in time, is by Małgorzata Sobczyk (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń) undertakes to characterize the image of a Japanese woman in the light of sixteenth-century European accounts. The next three studies invite us to learn more about Poles and their presence in the East. Ewa Siemieniec-Gołaś (Jagiellonian University) makes an attempt to discuss the figure of Władysław Jabłonowski, not only a physician in the Ottoman service, but also an expert and researcher of the East. Beata Gontarz (University of Silesia in Katowice) discusses the cultural experience of Jan Józef Szczepański based on his book Do raju i z powrotem [To Paradise and Back]. The last article in the issue section is a work of turkologist Sylwia Filipowska (Jagiellonian University), who discusses the circumstances of Tadeusz Kowalski’s journey to Turkey in 1927.

Παρατηρήσεις πάνω στα Πετάσματα Ωραίας Πύλης: Συμβολισμοί και Εικονογραφία στην Ελληνική Εκκλησία

Abstract: This article will discuss the different types of textiles used as curtains for the sanctuary door by the Greek Orthodox Church during the Ottoman period. For this case study, our selection of representative pieces offers a survey of the Church’s dominant textile consumption and exhibition practices, providing new insights on ecclesiastical material culture. Sanctuary doors are situated in the middle of the iconostasis, usually a wooden wall separating the naos (nave) from the sanctuary. First of all, we analyze the symbolisms of the sanctuary door and of the veil, in order to proceed with the survey of textiles used as curtains for this particularly holy location in the church. Then, our survey is divided into two different sections: one dedicated to the examples which follow the Byzantine tradition of embroidery; and another to the Ottoman and Safavid textiles used by the Greek Church as substitutes. One of this paper’s important contributions lies on the fact that it reveals a complex set of parallel usages of textiles which belong to different artistic traditions, thus, illuminating another point of contact between the enduring Byzantine tradition and the Ottoman cultural environment.

Tradition and Identity: The Architecture of Greek Churches in Cyprus (14th to 16th Centuries). By Thomas Kaffenberger. Scrinium Friburgense, vol. 46. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2020. Part I: Text. 457 pp. Part II: Catalogue. 543 pp. $297.00 cloth.

Tradition and Identity: The Architecture of Greek Churches in Cyprus (14th to 16th Centuries). By Thomas Kaffenberger. Scrinium Friburgense, vol. 46. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2020. Part I: Text. 457 pp. Part II: Catalogue. 543 pp. $297.00 cloth. - Volume 90 Issue 4

Eastern Patristics on Human’s Free Will and Divine Predestination: Conceptual Continuity in the Contemporary Russian Culture

This article deals with the most crucial philosophical and theological issue of correlation of freedom, freedom of will, and Divine predestination, which arose in shaping the Christian doctrine and remains emergent for contemporary Russian culture and society. This problem permeated all the centuries of Christianity’s formation, beginning with the period of apologetics, but it reached its climax in the classical Patristics epoch during the Byzantine Trinity and Christological theological disputes between the Western and Eastern Church Fathers. In theological discussions, they formed subtle differences, characterizing the discrepancy between Eastern and Western Patristics representatives’ views. We analyze the creative heritage of Greek-Byzantine (Eastern) Patristics, influencing the relationship between human freedom and Divine predestination, also conducting some comparative analysis with Western Patristics. The attention is also focused on the subtleties mostly of the Greek Church Fathers’ comprehension of connections between free will and freedom of choice, which correlates with human rationality, high morality, and choice of deification as a movement towards God. Philosophical reflection of described ideas of Eastern Patristics is also carried in conjunction with Christian soteriology, that is, the doctrine of spiritual salvation and eternal life. A prominent place in the article is given to some ideas of deification, the moral perfection of personality, and the Absolute spiritual ascent. The article stands on the original teachings of prominent Saints of Eastern Christianity—Maximus the Confessor, Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, John of Damascus, and Justin Martyr as a predecessor for both the Eastern and Western Patristics. This article also examines the refraction of the ideas of Church Fathers in contemporary Russian culture and philosophical studies of Patristics and Byzantine philosophy. Adhering to the Russian academic tradition of Byzantology, we present some implementations of Greek Church Fathers’ ideas, particularly on free will and Divine predestination, in the works of gifted Russian Byzantologist scholars. We try to attract the reader’s attention to the valuable Byzantine heritage in order to continue the tradition of studying the Church Father’s legacy in our country.

A “Nihilist Philosophy?”

Abstract Contrary to other European countries, where Buddhism has been studied since at least the 19th century, this paper shows that there are no known direct channels of transmission of Japanese Buddhism between Japan and Greece. Connections have, however, been made through other European countries, where, for example, Italy continues to play a major role. Moreover, these transmissions have taken a very long time to spread beyond the immediate circle of one or two key figures, because such traditions have been met with suspicion by the larger population, which remains influenced by a Christian Orthodox outlook. The establishment of Zen meditation centers in today’s urban centers, however, shows that the legal and official protections from which the Greek Church continues to benefit are not a reflection of devout sentiment among the population. This paper illustrates that under Greece’s conservative Orthodox climate, Japanese Buddhism has become simultaneously “Japanese culture” and a philosophy open to “all religions.”

Thomas Kaffenberger, Tradition and Identity. The Architecture of Greek Churches in Cyprus (14th to 16th Centuries)

Thomas Kaffenberger, Tradition and Identity. The Architecture of Greek Churches in Cyprus (14th to 16th Centuries)

The City Lament: Jerusalem Across the Medieval Mediterranean

The City Lament: Jerusalem Across the Medieval Mediterranean

Greek Churches in the Southern Ukraine in the Making (the Late Eighteenth - the First Half of the Nineteenth Century)

Greek Churches in the Southern Ukraine in the Making (the Late Eighteenth - the First Half of the Nineteenth Century)

NATALITY IN THE GREEK COMMUNITY OF ODESSA IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY: PROSPECTS FOR HISTORICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTIONS

NATALITY IN THE GREEK COMMUNITY OF ODESSA IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY: PROSPECTS FOR HISTORICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTIONS

Patriarchial ifos in the perception of Greek church chanters

The paper deals with the so-called patriarchal - Constantinople ifos in the recent church-singing tradition. Different aspects of this phenomenon are presented, about which numerous stereotypical attitudes have been expressed in different kind of narratives. In considering the phenomenon of ifos in this study, we started from the fact that it was at the center of a dispute between the reformers of the late Byzantine Neum notation - the so-called the ?old method? and the conservative among Constantinople?s renowned singers, who did not accept the ?new method? without resistance. It was also stated that the patriarchal ifos by inertia and not always justifiably attributed to the singers who were active in the Church of St. George on Fanar. Also, arguments were presented in favor of a critical review of contemporary discourses in which the ideologized belief is repeated that the Constantinople throne is the guarantee of any kind of saint church tradition, and thus the patristic Orthodox church music.

Roman and Greek Churches in the Era of the Crusades: On Some Aspects of Relationships Based on the Work of Hegumen Arseny (Ivaschenko)

Roman and Greek Churches in the Era of the Crusades: On Some Aspects of Relationships Based on the Work of Hegumen Arseny (Ivaschenko)

The Cult of St. Olaf in the Latin and Greek Churches between the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries

Abstract This study aims to investigate how the cult of St. Olaf, the most famous Nordic saint, was instrumentalized after the Great Schism. We can observe a theological tendency of the papacy to centralize and standardize the Latin rite in Scandinavia by eliminating all Orthodox influences within the Scandinavian churches. This measure would ensure the Catholicization of the cult of St. Olaf by passing over in silence any Eastern ecclesiastical connection. In what follows, we will see that as St. Olaf was increasingly assimilated by the Latin church, the Byzantines in Constantinople reduced his spiritual power within the imperial political ideology.

The preaching of the Greek church fathers

This article deals with the preaching of the Greek church fathers. Genres, themes and hermeneutics are discussed. It appears that not only the biblical text, but also historical events are considered as messages from God and have to be interpreted in order to understand their meaning. A remarkable paradigm shift occurred in the 4th century when the church became a dominant cultural and political factor. In the early period, the preaching focused on Christ, glorious in his suffering. After the transformation under Constantine, themes of worldview and even submission to the emperor became the subject of preaching. Preaching, which supported existing political powers, replaced the early Christian view of life as strangers on earth. In the last section, the relevance of this for preaching in the 21st century is discussed.

İstanbul’da Bir Bizans Kütüphanesi: Halki (Heybeliada) Aya Triada (Kutsal Teslis) Manastırı Kütüphanesi’nden Ruhban Okulu Kütüphanesi’ne

İstanbul’daki Osmanlı dönemi kütüphaneleri araştırmacıların ilgisini çekerken şehirdeBizans döneminden intikal eden kütüphaneler Osmanlı-Türk tarihçiliğinde araştırmalara fazlakonu olmamıştır. Bu makalenin amacı, Heybeliada Ruhban Okulu ve Heybeliada Aya Triada(Kutsal Teslis) Manastırı Kütüphanesi’nin iç içe geçmiş tarihini Osmanlı dönemine odaklanarak incelemektedir. Halki Aya Triada Manastır Kütüphanesi, 16. yüzyılda, Avrupa’daki din savaşları çağında, batılı ve doğulu din adamları ve entelektüeller arasında iletişim yolu açarak önemli bir rol üstlenmiştir. 19. yüzyılda Heybeliada Ruhban Okulu’nun kurulması, sonrasında Heybeliada Aya Triada Manastırı Kütüphanesi’nin bu okulun kütüphanesine dönüştürülmesine, Ortodoks Hristiyanlığın tarihî merkezinde İstanbul Ortodoks Patrikhanesi tarafından ayrı bir önem atfedilmiştir. Kütüphanelerin önemini uluslararası çerçevede inceleyen bu makale, Osmanlı kültür tarihi alanındaki çalışmalara bir katkı sağlamayı hedeflemektedir. Makalede bilimsel yöntem olarak alan çalışması, diğer bir deyişle, kütüphane kataloglarının yerinde incelenmesi ve uluslararası kaynakların değerlendirilmesi yöntemi kullanılmıştır.