books for money, and spends it all on wine. He is fat and hearty."[1]
In the 17th century the most important person was Cyril Lukaris (p. 264). After him one should mention Metrophanes Kritopulos († 1641), who was sent by Lukaris to study at Oxford and at the German universities. He became Patriarch of Alexandria in 1630, and wrote a "Confession of the Orthodox Church"[2] (p. 364). Peter Mogilas († 1647) was a Moldavian who became Metropolitan of Kiev in Russia. He wrote in Latin[3] an "Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Eastern Church," which was very soon done into Greek, was accepted by the Patriarchs as an authentic statement of their faith, and has always been one of the chief Orthodox symbolic books[4] (p. 364). Gabriel Seberos († 1616), George Koresios († 1641), Meletios Syrigos († 1662), Nektarios, Patriarch of Jerusalem († 1676), all acquired some name as theologians by writing against Latin heresies.[5]
The greatest Greek scholar of the 18th century was, without question, Eugenios Bulgaris (Εὐγένιος Βούλγαρις, † 1800). He was born in Kerkyra, and studied at Padua. Then he taught philosophy at Janina and at the new school founded at Mount Athos; eventually he was called to Russia by Catharine II (1762–1796) and made Archbishop of Cherson (not far from Odessa). Bulgaris was a philologist,[6] theologian, and especially philosopher. He was the first man who introduced modern philosophy to the Greek world, and what he taught was an eclectic combination of Descartes, Leibnitz, Locke, &c. It was because of this that he was rather persecuted. At that time to the Orthodox, as intermittently to Catholics, the only Christian philosophy was Aristotle. The Athos monks drove him out with contumely as an atheist and blasphemer. Besides
- ↑ Gerlach in Meyer, p. 162.
- ↑ Kyriakos, iii. p. 138.
- ↑ For a very long time, and even now to some extent, Latin is the learned language in Russia. See Palmer's Visit, p. 299, &c.
- ↑ Meyer in the Realenz. s.v. Mogilas (1903, vol. xiii. pp. 249–253).
- ↑ Kyriakos, iii. pp. 137–139.
- ↑ He is said to have spoken fluently Greek, Latin, German, Italian, French, Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, and Russian—which is a very good record.
