Filaret Scriban (; born Vasile Scriban ; 1811–March 23, 1873) was a

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

n and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n theologian within the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

. Born in Burdujeni,

Botoșani County Botoșani County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani. De ...

, then a village near

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...

, his father was a priest. Leaving for

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, the capital of

, he studied at the

Vasilian College The Vasilian College or Vasilian Academy ( ro, Academia Vasiliană) was an institution of higher learning in Iași, the Principality of Moldavia, founded by Prince Vasile Lupu in 1640. Established in the capital of Moldavia as a "higher school for ...

and at ''

Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institut ...

'' between 1830 and 1837. Meanwhile, between 1834 and 1837, he taught at the normal school associated with

Trei Ierarhi Monastery Mănăstirea Trei Ierarhi (Monastery of the Three Hierarchs) is a seventeenth-century monastery located in Iași, Romania. The monastery is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments and included on the tentative list of UNESCO World H ...

and was a part-time teacher at ''Academia Mihăileană'' from 1837 to 1839. He was sent to study at Kiev Theological Academy, where he remained from 1839 to 1842 and obtained a master's degree in theology. He entered

Kiev Pechersk Lavra Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Mon ...

, taking the name Filaret, and was ordained a

hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

in 1842. From that time until 1860, he taught at the

Socola Monastery Socola Monastery or ''Schimbarea la Față'' (" Transfiguration") was a Romanian Orthodox establishment located in the eponymous quarter of southern Iaşi, Romania. Founded during Moldavia's existence as a state, it was erected and dedicated by ...

, eventually becoming rector, as well as abbot of the monastery. He attained the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

in 1843, and was styled

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Stavropoleos in 1852. In the 1850s, he actively promoted the

Union of the Principalities The unification of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Unirea Moldovei și Țării Românești), also known as the unification of the Romanian Principalities ( ro, Unirea Principatelor Române, link=no) or as the Little Union ( ro, Mica Unire, link=no) ...

, and was a member of the ''ad hoc'' Divan in 1857. When the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

opened in 1860, he taught at the new theology faculty from that time until 1863. He served as the university's rector from 1861 to 1862."Rectorii Universității din 1860 până în prezent"
at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University site Following his retirement from teaching, he lived at Socola Monastery. Beginning in 1865, together with his brother Neofit, he was at the forefront of the campaign to obtain

autocephaly Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

for his church from the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

. He was the ''

ktitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

'' of several churches in Burdujeni, and was a member of the

Romanian Senate ) is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 136 seats (before the 2016 Romanian legislative election the total number of elected representatives was 176), to which members are elected by direct popular vote using party-list ...

from 1867 to 1869. He authored a number of textbooks, both for secular and theological education, as well as poems and speeches."Scriban, Filaret"
, entry in

Mircea Păcurariu Mircea Păcurariu (30 July 1932 – 13 January 2021) was a Romanian theologian, historian and priest in the Romanian Orthodox Church. Biography Born in Ruși, Hunedoara County, he was the son of the village priest. He enrolled in the History ...

, ''Dicționarul Teologilor Români'', Editura Univers Enciclopedic, Bucharest, 1996

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scriban, Filaret 1811 births 1873 deaths People from Suceava Romanian theologians Romanian abbots Romanian Orthodox monks Romanian textbook writers Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Rectors of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Members of the Ad hoc Divans Members of the Senate of Romania Kiev Theological Academy alumni