Chrysanthus Notaras ( el, Χρύσανθος Νοταράς; 1655/1660 – February 7, 1731), also known as Chrysanthus of Jerusalem, was
(February 19, 1707 – February 7, 1731) and a scholar in
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first m ...
. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, and author. He is known for creating modern maps in the Greek language. He was one of
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Giovanni Domenico Cassini, also known as Jean-Dominique Cassini (8 June 1625 – 14 September 1712) was an Italian (naturalised French) mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the C ...
's students. He also built astronomical equipment.
[
]
Biography
He was born in
Arachova
Arachova ( el, Αράχωβα, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. ...
,
Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
. He was a member of the same family as his predecessor,
Dositheos II Notaras and
Macarius of Corinth
Macarius of Corinth ( el, Μακάριος Κορίνθου. birth name: Michael Notaras) was born in Corinth in 1731 and died in Chios in April 1805. Macarius as Metropolitan bishop of Corinth, was a mystic and spiritual writer who worked to rev ...
,
Metropolitan of Corinth
The Metropolis of Corinth, Sicyon, Zemenon, Tarsos and Polyphengos ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Κορίνθου, Σικυώνος, Ζεμενού, Ταρσού και Πολυφέγγους) is a metropolitan see of the Church of Greece in ...
. He is known for spreading Astronomy in the early eighteenth century. Chysanthos Notaras was Patriarch of Jerusalem (1707-1731). He was one of the most educated Greeks of his time. He was educated in the traditional Orthodox dogma. He learned natural philosophy, mathematics, and theology at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...
. He continued his education in Paris. While in Paris he met liberal theologians, such as
Louis Ellies Dupin Louis Ellies du Pin or Dupin (17 June 1657 – 6 June 1719) was a French ecclesiastical historian, who was responsible for the ''Nouvelle bibliothèque des auteurs ecclésiastiques''.
Childhood and education
Dupin was born at Paris, coming from a ...
,
Noël Alexandre, and
Michel Le Quien
Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his pro ...
. He also met astronomer
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Giovanni Domenico Cassini, also known as Jean-Dominique Cassini (8 June 1625 – 14 September 1712) was an Italian (naturalised French) mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the C ...
. He became his student. He studied Astronomy, Geodesy, and Geography (1700). Cassini was the Director of Paris Observatory. Chrysanthus served as an observer. He also built astronomical instruments, under Cassini's supervision.
Notaras's interests in the mathematical sciences continued throughout his life. His main interests were astronomy and geodesy. He helped create new schools. He believed scientific teaching was important. He promoted formal scientific education. He printed a book called ''Introduction to Geometry and Spherics''. The book did not feature the heliocentric system. He introduced new methods of accuracy in measurement. He was aware of the
heliocentric system
Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...
, although he himself wrote about the
geocentric
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...
Ptolemaic system following
Korydalism. In its opposition to the Copernican system, it does not use theological objections and arguments, but the most substantial objection adopted by scientists during the 16th century. It exposes objectively and over time other views of ancient and modern astronomers as to which system is most suitable for explaining the motions of the planets. He mentions that the Pythagoreans suggested the movement of the Earth and makes special mention of Aristarchus the Samian. Chrysanthos Notaras included an astronomy curriculum at the schools of the Holy Sepulchre.
In 1892, the professor of Mathematics G.A. Arvanitakis, in the olive mill of the monastery where the Theological School of the Cross in Jerusalem was housed discovered a double astrolabe that bore the inscription:
''This instrument was made by the monk Chrysanthos under the direction of Cassini for his brothers in Jerusalem, in order to worship God in his works .''
Chrysanthos was particularly interested in astronomy and astronomical instruments. He procured several astronomical instruments and telescopes from European cities and even built some of them himself.
Both Greek and Italian education was very strict at the time. Korydalism was the only approved education.
Heliocentrism
Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...
was illegal.
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
's books were on the forbidden list by the
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...
. The
Galileo affair
The Galileo affair ( it, il processo a Galileo Galilei) began around 1610 and culminated with the trial and condemnation of Galileo Galilei by the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was prosecuted for his support of heliocentrism, the ...
and the Greek equivalent, the
Methodios Affair were both indications that the church was not ready to accept new ideas. Notaras took many risks but due to his hi-level in the church, he was able to explore scientific advancement much further than
Methodios Anthrakites
Methodios Anthrakites ( el, Μεθόδιος Ανθρακίτης; 1660–1736) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher.
He directed the Gioumeios and Epiphaneios Schools in Ioannina. ...
. He did not formally publish a book about the
heliocentric system
Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...
. His book featured diagrams following the
heliocentric
Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...
model. Although the 1758 edition of the Index removed the general prohibition of works advocating heliocentrism, the system did not become accepted in academia until the 19th century.
[ Fehige 2016, pp. 221-225]
Literary Works
See also
*
Theophilos Corydalleus
Theophilos Corydalleus (; el, Θεόφιλος Κορυδαλλεύς, Theofilos Korydallefs; 1563–1646) was a Greek Neo-Aristotelian philosopher who initiated the philosophical movement known as Korydalism or Corydalism. He was also an East ...
References
{{authority control
17th-century births
1731 deaths
18th-century Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem
Greek theologians
17th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians
18th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians
People from Achaea
17th-century Greek scientists
17th-century Greek writers
17th-century Greek educators
18th-century Greek scientists
18th-century Greek writers
18th-century Greek educators
17th-century Greek astronomers
18th-century Greek astronomers
18th-century Greek physicists
17th-century Greek physicists