Monk Barlaam (russian: Монах Варлаам;

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth an ...

Gregory Stepanovich Shyshatsky, 12 March 1750, village Krasilovka, Kozeletskyy uezd, Chernigov province - 23 July 1820,

Novgorod-Seversky Novhorod-Siverskyi ( uk, Новгород-Сіверський ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, although until 18 July 2020 it was incorporated as a city ...

) was a defrocked Archbishop of Mogilev and Vitebsk of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. During the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

he was accused of taking a loyalty oath to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, forcing junior clergymen to do the same, celebrating Napoleon's birthday and saying prayers for Napoleon instead of the

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

's family.Napoleon in Russia: Saviour or anti-christ?
''History Today'' (1991), vol. 41 After a long trial by the

Most Holy Synod The Most Holy Governing Synod (russian: Святѣйшій Правительствующій Сѵнодъ, Святейший Правительствующий Синод) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church betwee ...

, Varlaam was found guilty, stripped of the rank and confined to a monastery.

Life

Varlaam was born in

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

Guberniya in the Malorossian family and studied first in the

Pereiaslav Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (Oblast, province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta River, Alta ...

Seminary, then in the

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Church Academy. As the best alumnus of the academy he was sent to Italy, but due to military activities there returned to Kiev. In 1787 Varlaam was sent to Poland to manage the

Vilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

Monastery of the Holy Spirit. During the French invasion to the Russian Empire the Russian officials escaped, but clergymen stayed. On 25 July 1812, the

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and t ...

ordered Archbishop Varlaam to induce the population to swear an allegiance oath to Napoleon.

Yevgeny Tarle Yevgeny Viktorovich Tarle (russian: Евгений Викторович Тарле) ( – 6 January 1955) was a Soviet historian and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is known for his books about Napoleon's invasion of Russia an ...

. ''Napoleon's Invasion of Russia, 1812'', Oxford University Press, 1942 Varlaam had served a public service in the cathedral, which mentioned "the great-power sovereign, French Emperor and Italian King, the great Napoleon and his wife, the Empress and Queen

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People *Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

". The Mogilev clergy, as well as the

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

ones, were then accused of collaboration with the French. On May 1, 1813, Varlaam was deprived of his church ranks and sent to the Novgorod-Seversky Monastery of Transfiguration, where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shyshatsky 19th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church 1750 births 1820 deaths