Cyril Lucaris
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Cyril Lucaris or Loukaris ( el, Κύριλλος Λούκαρις, 13 November 1572 – 27 June 1638), born Constantine Lucaris, was a
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 ...
prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
and theologian, and a native of Candia,
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
(then under the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
). He later became the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria as Cyril III and
Ecumenical 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 ...
as Cyril I. He has been said to have attempted a reform of the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
along Calvinist
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
lines. Attempts to bring Calvinism into the Orthodox Church were rejected, and Cyril's actions, motivations, and specific viewpoints remain a matter of debate among scholars. However, the Orthodox Church recognizes him as a hieromartyr and defender of the Orthodox faith against both the
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and Calvinist Protestants. The official glorification of Cyril Loukaris took place by decision of the Holy Synod of the
Patriarchate of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...
on 6 October 2009, and his memory is commemorated on 27 June.


Life

Cyril Lucaris was born in Candia (Heraklion),
Kingdom of Candia The Realm or Kingdom of Candia ( Venetian: ''Regno de Càndia'') or Duchy of Candia (Venetian: ''Dogado de Càndia'' ) was the official name of Crete during the island's period as an overseas colony of the Republic of Venice, from the initial Ve ...
on 13 November 1572, when the island was part of the
Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
's maritime empire. In his youth he travelled through Europe, studying at
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and 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 ...
, and at
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
where he came under the influence of
Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
and the Reformed faith. Lucaris pursued theological studies in Venice and
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
,
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
and Geneva where he developed greater antipathy for Roman Catholicism. Probably, during that time he was the Rector of Ostroh Academy. While the exact date is unknown, Lucaris was ordained in Constantinople. In 1596 Lucaris was sent to the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
by
Meletius Pegas Meletius I Pegas (; 1549 – 12 September 1601) served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria between 1590 and 1601. Simultaneously from 1597 to 1598 he served also as locum tenens of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He is honoured as a ...
, Patriarch of Alexandria, to lead the Orthodox opposition to the Union of Brest-Litovsk, which proposed a union of
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 ...
with Rome. For six years Lucaris served as professor of the Orthodox academy in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
(now in
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
). In 1601, Lucaris was installed as the Patriarch of Alexandria at the age of twenty-nine. He would continue to hold this office for twenty years, until his elevation to the See of Constantinople. During these years, Lucaris adopted a theology which was heavily influenced by Protestant Reformation doctrine. On 6 September, he wrote a letter to Mark Antonio de Dominis, a former Roman Catholic Archbishop, writing: Due to Turkish oppression combined with the proselytization of the Orthodox faithful by
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missionaries, there was a shortage of schools which taught the Orthodox Faith and the
Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...
. Roman Catholic schools were set up and Catholic churches were built next to Orthodox ones, and since Orthodox priests were in short supply something had to be done. His first act was to found a theological seminary in
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
, the ''Athoniada'' school. In 1627, he authorized the establishment of a Greek language printing press in Istanbul, the first of its kind. However, the French government lodged an official protest with Ottoman authorities once the press began to publish anti-Catholic polemics, and as a result, Ottoman authorities ordered its closure one year later. He sponsored
Maximos of Gallipoli Maximos of Gallipoli ( el, Μάξιμος Καλλιπολίτης; la, Maximus Callipolites; died 1633) was a hieromonk who made the first translation of the New Testament into modern Greek after 1629. This was at the initiative of the reforming ...
to produce the first translation of the New Testament in
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
.


Calvinism

Cyril's aim was to reform the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
along Calvinistic lines, and to this end he sent many young Greek theologians to the universities of
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the northern
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and England. In 1629 he published his famous ''Confessio'' (Calvinistic doctrine), but as far as possible accommodated to the language and creeds of the Orthodox Church. It appeared the same year in two Latin editions, four French, one German and one English, and in the Eastern Church it started a controversy which brought critics at several synods, in 1638 at Constantinople, in 1642 at the
Synod of Iași The Synod of Jassy or Synod of Iași (also referred to as the Council of Jassy or the Council of Iași), was convened in Iași in Moldavia (present-day Romania) between 15 September and 27 October 1642 by the List of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Const ...
, and culminated in 1672 with the convocation by Dositheos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, of the Synod of Jerusalem, by which the Calvinistic doctrines were condemned. Cyril was also particularly well disposed towards the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, and corresponded with the
Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. It was in his time that Metrophanes Kritopoulos – later to become Patriarch of Alexandria (1636–39) – was sent to England to study. Both Lucaris and Kritopoulos were lovers of books and manuscripts, and many of the items in the collections of books and these two
Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
s acquired manuscripts that today adorn the Patriarchal Library. In 1629 in Geneva the ''Eastern Confession of the Christian faith'' was published in Latin, containing the Calvinist doctrine. In 1633 it was published in Greek. The Council of Constantinople in 1638 anathematized both Cyril and the ''Eastern Confession of the Christian faith'', but the Council of Jerusalem in 1672, specially engaged in the case of Cyril, completely acquitted him, testified that the Council of Constantinople cursed Cyril not because they thought he was the author of the confession, but for the fact that Cyril hadn't written a rebuttal to this essay attributed to him. However, Western scholars continue to insist on the Calvinism of Cyril, referring not only to a confession, but also in his extensive correspondence with Protestant scholars (especially the letters of 1618–20 to the Dutchman's Velgelmu). The Orthodox historian Bishop Arseny (Bryantsev) challenged the authenticity of the correspondence and, incidentally, points to the 50 letters of Cyril of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and Moscow Patriarch Philaret, stored in a Moscow archive of the main Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the evidence of Cyril's commitment to Orthodoxy, as well as in his 1622 letter in which he speaks of Protestantism as a blasphemous doctrine.


Politics and death

Lucaris was several times temporarily
deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...
and
banished Banished may refer to: * ''Banished'' (TV series), a 2015 drama television series * ''Banished'' (film), a 2007 documentary * ''Banished'' (video game), a city-building strategy game by Shining Rock Software * Banished (Halo), an alien faction ...
at the instigation of both his Orthodox opponents and the Catholic French and
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ambassadors, while he was supported by the Protestant
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and
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ambassadors to the Ottoman capital. Finally, when the Ottoman
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...
was about to set out for the Persian War, the Patriarch was accused of a design to stir up the
Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
, and to avoid trouble during his absence the Sultan had him strangled by the
Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
on 27 June 1638 aboard a ship in the
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. His body was thrown into the sea, but it was recovered and buried at a distance from the capital by his friends, and only brought back to Constantinople after many years. Lucaris was honoured as a saint and martyr shortly after his death, and Eugenios of Aitolia compiled an ''
akolouthia Acolouthia ( el, ἀκολουθία, "a following"; cu, последование, posledovanie) in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, signifies the arrangement of the Divine Services (Canonical Hours or Divine Office), perhaps bec ...
'' (service) to celebrate his memory. According to a 1659 letter to Thomas Greaves from
Edward Pococke Edward Pococke (baptised 8 November 160410 September 1691) was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar. Early life The son of Edward Pococke (died 1636), vicar of Chieveley in Berkshire, he was brought up at Chieveley and educated from a y ...
(who, on his book-hunting travels for archbishop
William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...
, had met Lucaris) many of the choicest manuscripts from Lucaris' library were saved by the Dutch ambassador who sent them by ship to Holland. Although the ship arrived safely, it sank the next day in a violent storm along with its cargo.


References


Citations


Sources

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Further reading

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External links

* – article from an Orthodox standpoint claiming Lucaris was not a Calvinist. * . * . * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucaris, Cyril 1572 births 1638 deaths Cyril 03 of Alexandria Greek saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Greek theologians 17th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople 17th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Kingdom of Candia Executed priests People executed by strangulation 17th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Greek people 17th-century Greek politicians 17th-century Greek writers 17th-century Greek educators 17th-century Greek philosophers