Gregory of Durrës ( sq, Gregori i Durrësit; el, Γρηγόριος ο Δυρραχίου, Grêgorios ho Dyrrakhíu; la, Gregorius Dyrrhachii; Gregory of Dyrrachium)Grigori is also recorded as Grigori Voskopojari ( Eng: Gregory of Voskopoja) (); Gregory the Printer; or Gregory Constantinidhi (

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 ...

: Gregorios Typografos) (). He has been confused with Gregory of Durrës throughout history, and may indeed be the same person. (or Gregory the Printer) (c. 1701–1772) was an Albanian scholar, printer,

typographer Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), an ...

, and teacher, and an Eastern Orthodox Christian monk and cleric of

Ottoman Albania Albania under the Ottoman Empire refers to a period in History of Albania, Albanian history from the Ottoman conquest in the late 15th century to the Albanian Declaration of Independence, Albanian declaration of Independence and official secessi ...

who is thought to have invented a particular Albanian alphabetic script, the

Elbasan script The Elbasan script is a mid 18th-century alphabetic script created for the Albanian language ''Elbasan Gospel Manuscript'', also known as the ''Anonimi i Elbasanit'' ("the Anonymous of Elbasan"), which is the only document written in it. The doc ...

, used to write the Elbasan Gospel Manuscript. The manuscript is one of the oldest known pieces of Albanian Orthodox literature, as well as the oldest known

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Bible translation into Albanian.

Early life

Gregory was born around the end of the 17th century. He is firstly mentioned in 1720 when he is noted to have met a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n illuminist in Ottoman Berat. Gregory is reported to have been a student of the Aromanian philosopher Ioannis Chalkeus, a significant figure in the

Greek Enlightenment The Modern Greek Enlightenment ( el, Διαφωτισμός, ''Diafotismos'', "enlightenment," "illumination"; also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment) was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment. Origins The Greek Enlightenment w ...

. Before moving to Voskopojë, he worked as a teacher in Berat.

Academic career

As a budding scholar, Gregory first arrived in

Voskopoja Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...

some time before 1730, according to historical author Robert Elsie.According to Robert Elsie, after his move to Voskopoja Gregory the cleric became confused with another, different Gregory—that being "Gregory the Printer"—and both were at times referred to as "Gregory of Voskopoja". Most other scholars, including Maximilian Peyfuss, think that Gregory of Durrës and Gregory of Voskopoja are one and the same person. Gregory was a teacher for a while at the New Academy of Voskopoja. Before 1731 he became a monk, during which time he most probably learned the art of printing. It is not proven where he did his training for printing, though the Venetian printmaker Nikolaos Glykys in Venice is sometimes mentioned in this regard.

Career in printing

Around 1730 Gregory founded the printing press of Voskopoja. The printing equipment were brought from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. In the printing establishment of Voskopoja are known at least 14 acolytes published, mostly portraying local saints, used for liturgical purposes. In general there are 20 different publications having the name of Moscopolis printed in them between 1731 and 1760. An edition from 1769, though considered by most scholars to be from Moscopolis, it lack the name of the city, thus can not be attributed with certainty. Gregory oversaw the printing press at the earliest until 1744, as can be seen from his name on the colophons. After this date his name does not appear in any Moschopole publications. The last work printed at the Moscopol workshop is a school grammar from Theodore Kavalliotis. After 1744, Gregory is thought to have taken up residence at Saint Gjon Vladimir's Church,

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

. Gregory was the first to translate the Old and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

into Albanian, using an original alphabet he had invented sometime around 1761.According to Elsie, the alphabet was invented in 1761. After moving to Elbasan, he might have introduced the famous Elbasan Gospel Manuscript in 1761.

Later life and death

According to Dhimitër Shuteriqi, around 1748 he became Archbishop of the Archbishopric of Durrës for the first time. At least in 1761 this position was held by a different orthodox leader. Only afer the abolition of the Ohrid Patriarchate in 1768, Gregory was reappointed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as Metropolitan of Durrës. Later in life, Gregory donated books to the local library, which was most probably destroyed in 1769 when Voskopoja was sacked. His last signature was 1772 as Metropolitan of Durrës, most probably in Shen Gjon Vladimir, Shijon in

. This is the year when he is considered to have died.Evlogio Kurilas (1930). ''Gregorios Argirokastritis'', Athens, Theologia, p. 263-266

Works

Gregory published his first work, "Life of Saint Nikodemos" in 1741, and in 1744 he was chosen as deputy rector of the New Academy. Other original works include: *Akoluthia of Saint Theodora (1731) *Akoluthia of St. Harallamb (1734) *Akoluthia of Saint Seraphim (1735) *Akoluthia of St. Naum (1740) *Akoluthia of the Fifteen Martyrs (1741) *Akoluthia of St. Clement (1741) *Akoluthia of St. John Vladimir (1742) *Akoluthia of the Seven Saints (1742) *Pastoral Letter of Patriarch Joasaf of Ohrid (1742) *Akoluthia of Saint Vision (1744) *Akoluthia of Saint Vision (1744) *Akoluthia of Saint Anthony (1746) *Catechism (1746) *Leonardo Lombardi 749*Oktaikos (1750) *Grammar by Kavalliotis (1760)

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory of Durrës Eastern Orthodoxy in Albania Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania 18th-century Albanian people Creators of writing systems Albanian non-fiction writers 1700 births Albanian clergy Typography