Nikolaos of Otranto (ca. 1155/60 in

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

– February 9, 1235), also known as Nektarios of Casole, was a Greek abbot and author. Nikolaos was probably born around 1155/60. There is no record of where he received his considerable education, but it may have been at the

monastery of Casole A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, a very important centre of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

erudition in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

located only a few kilometres outside

. In any case he became

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 ...

of that monastery no later than 1205, after working as a lay teacher of Greek in his hometown. Due to his mastery of both Latin and Greek, he served as interpreter for Cardinal Benedict of Santa Susanna in 1205/7 and Cardinal Pelagius of Albano in 1214/5, accompanying each to the

Latin Empire of Constantinople The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzanti ...

for talks concerning ecclesiastical union. In 1223/4, he was part of a diplomatic mission sent by Emperor Frederick II to the Byzantine court at Nicaea, and in 1232 he represented the Greek churches of Apulia at the Papal Curia in 1232. Nikolaos translated several texts, mostly liturgical, from Greek into Latin and vice versa; examples include the Basileios liturgy and the explanation of the liturgy written by Patriarch

Germanos I of Constantinople Germanus I (c. 634 – 733 or 740) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730. He is regarded as a saint, by both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, with a feast day of 12 May. He had been ecumenically preceded by Patriarch Jo ...

. His other writings include original poems and letters.

Main works

* The "Art of the Chisel", a collection of texts concerning various methods of divination. Nikolaos translated a Latin version of the Arabic original into Greek, and added an introduction regarding the limits of divination in Christianity. * Three "Syntagmata" in Greek and Latin directed against the Latin church, including several supplements. In particular, Nikolaos argued against the ''

filioque ( ; ) is a Latin term ("and from the Son") added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly known as the Nicene Creed), and which has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. It is a term ...

'', the use of unleavened bread (azymes) for the Eucharist, and various other liturgical and disciplinary divergences. * The "Disputation against the Jews". This is a fictional dialogue, albeit supposedly based on real discussions between the author and a Jew. It is not only the largest and most erudite of Nikolaos' works, but also one of the most elaborate Byzantine examples of the genre.

References

* Johannes M. Hoeck & Raimund J. Loenertz: Nikolaos-Nektarios von Otranto Abt von Casole. Beiträge zur Geschichte der ost-westlichen Beziehungen unter Innozenz III. und Friedrich II. (Studia Patristica et Byzantina 11). Ettal 1965. * Michael Chronz: Νεκταρίου, ηγουμένου μονής Κασούλων (Νικολάου Υδρουντινού): «Διάλεξις κατά Ιουδαίων». Κριτική έκδοση (Abbot Nektarios of Casole (Nikolaos of Otranto): "Disputation against the Jews". Critical edition

reek Reek may refer to: Places * Reek, Netherlands, a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Croagh Patrick, a mountain in the west of Ireland nicknamed "The Reek" People * Nikolai Reek (1890-1942), Estonian military commander * Salme Reek ...

. Athens: Metropolis of Thebes und Levadeia, Byzantine monastery Hosios Loukas 2009. 60* and 303 p. (Text, critical apparatus, sources and Modern Greek introduction to the work and its author). * Lars Martin Hoffmann: Der antijüdische Dialog Kata Iudaion des Nikolaos-Nektarios von Otranto. Universitätsbibliothek Mainz 2015 (Mainz, Univ., Diss. 2008; http://d-nb.info/1073879976). * Sotirios N. Kollias, Λατίνοι και Ορθόδοξοι στη Magna Graecia του 13ου αιώνα, ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΣ, ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ, ΑΓΙΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΤΩ ΙΤΑΛΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ Ο ΒΙΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΥ ΕΞ ΥΔΡΟΥΝΤΟΣ, pub. Γρηγόρη, Athens 2017,. * Sotirios N. Kollias, Για το Δόγμα και τη Λατρεία, Μια πρωτότυπη προσέγγιση στα αντιμαχόμενα σημεία μεταξύ Ορθοδόξων και Λατίνων μέσα από ανέκδοτα χειρόγραφα , pub. Γρηγόρη, Athens 2019, {{Authority control 12th-century births 1235 deaths People from Otranto Eastern Orthodox monks Medieval Greek-language writers 13th-century Christian monks 12th-century Christian monks

Main works

References

Further reading