HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dimitrije Ljubavić ( -
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, January 1519 –
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
, 1564) was a Serbian Orthodox deacon,
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
,
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and printer who together with German reformer Philip Melanchthon initiated the first formal contact between the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
and the Lutherans in 1559 when Ljubavić took a copy of the
Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...
to Patriarch Joasaph II of Constantinople. He is also referred to as Demetrios Mysos or Demetrius Mysos (also Demetrius of Thessalonica) in Lutheran and other Western books.


Biography

He came from a distinguished family of early
printers Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1 ...
, scholars, diplomats, and humanists. He is best known as the founder of the second printing press in
Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...
in
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
in 1545. He had many apprentices, among whom were Romanian deacon Coresi, the Serbian monks Mojsije Dečanac, Petar, and Opar (Oprea). The Lutheran leader Philip Melanchthon entrusted him with a letter addressed to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople to join forces against the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottomans, but all came to naught. The House of Ljubavić is a great example of how printing became a family enterprise. Božidar Ljubavić (1460-1527) was the head of a printing dynasty from the city and municipality of Goražde in the Serbian land of Bosnia-Hercegovina just at the time when the Turkish invasions had taken place. He was best known for printing textbooks and biblical material in
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...
, Greek and Latin for the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Lutherans during the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. Dimitrije's grandfather was Serbian printer Božidar Ljubavić, who is better known as Božidar Goraždanin. In 1518, Božidar Ljubavić sent his sons, Đurađ and hieromonk Teodor, to Božidar Vuković in Venice to learn the art of printing before purchasing a printing press for Gorazde. The Ljubavić brothers procured a press and began printing a hieratikon (priest's service book), copies of which had been completed by 2 October 1519 either in Venice or at the Church of Saint George, built by
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (1404–1466) was a powerful Bosnian Nobility, nobleman who was politically active from 1435 to 1466; the last three decades of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Middle Ages, Bosnian medieval history. During this period, ...
, near Goražde. After Đurađ Ljubavić died in Gorazde on March 1519, it is unclear whether his brother transported the press to Goražde before or after finishing the work on the '' hieratikon''. Because members of the Ljubavić family were from
Goražde Goražde ( sr-cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Drina rive ...
, they brought the printing press to their hometown. At the Church of Saint George, Đurađ and Teodor organized the Goražde printing house, which produced, beside the '' hieratikon'', two more books in Church Slavonic of the Serbian recension: a
Psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were ...
in 1521, and a small euchologion in 1523. Books were printed by Božidar's grandson Dimitrije after being edited by hieromonk Teodor, his uncle.


Early life

When his father died on 12 March 1519, Dimitrije was taken by his mother from Venice to the Kingdom of Candia (Crete), then under Venetian rule. When still young he came to
Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...
, where he was taught Old Greek and Latin. He also received an extensive religious education while at the Academy of " Janus Lascaris" becoming initiated in the questions of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic theology. There he met Iacob Heraclid, who pretended to be the legitimate heir of Serbian despots and prince in exile of
Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
and
Paros Paros (; ; ) is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. Part of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos (island), Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Co ...
. Heraclid was a picturesque person of dubious origin, cousin of another Greek adventurer by the name of James Diassorin. (As fate would have it, Dimitrije would meet up with Heraclid many years later, then known as Despot Voda, who single-handedly attempted to impose the Reformation in the heart of Eastern Europe after becoming a self-styled despot of Romania from 1561 to 1563). After completing his studies at the Lascaris academy, Dimitrije joined hieromonk Teodor Ljubavić, his uncle in Venice, where he learned the family's printing trade.


From Goražde to Târgoviște

In 1544, the printing press was transported from Goražde to
Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...
, the capital of
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
, thus becoming the second such facility in the territory of present-day
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. Its relocation (and reactivation) was accomplished by Dimitrije Ljubavić, Božidar's grandson, who brought with him Hierodeacon Mojsije. In Târgoviște, Dimitrije printed a euchologion at the beginning of 1545, and an apostolarium in 1547. This was all done under the auspices of Serbian-born Metropolitan Anania of
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
at the time.


Travels

After Dimitrije Ljubavić and his apprentices Opar and Petar completed printing "Apostol" in Targoviste in 1547, Dimitrije left for Constantinople, where he printed books for the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...
for the next three years. From there he went to Mount Athos and printed more books at Hilandar and other island monasteries such as Docheiariou, Osiou Gregoriou monastery, Agiou Pavlou monastery,
Dionysiou Monastery Dionysiou Monastery () is an Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Monastic community of Mount Athos, Mount Athos in Greece, at the southwest part of the Athos peninsula. The monastery ranks fifth in the hier ...
, Zograf monastery, and Koutloumousiou for more than two years. On his return to Transylvania in 1552, Dimitrije Ljubavić not only took up responsibility for running a school in Brasov but also worked as a writer, printer, publisher, and illustrator of books. He also became a member of the town council. He continued to cultivate his humanist network of connections with the Lutherans and his own Orthodox faithful, preserving his good relations with leading figures at the residence of Metropolitan Anania (Branković) of Ungaro-Wallachia, who reigned as hierarch from 1544 to 1558. Ljubavić also helped Valentin Wagner compile and publish an Orthodox Catechesis in 1556. The town's judge, Johannes Benkner, and Johannes Honter's political patron before he died in 1549, also supported attempts to print text using the Cyrillic alphabet, and books were subsequently printed in both in Slavonic-Serbian and in Romanian. In 1556 a Church Slavonic printing press was established by Saxons Protestants in Şcheii Braşovului, a neighborhood of Brasov, where books were printed in Serbian (Slavonic) and Romanian in
Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
font. It was here that the new press printed ''Octotechos'' by Oprea, one of Ljubavić's early apprentices, along with Romanian deacon Coresi.


Reformation: Lutherans and Serbs

The spreading of the Reformation in Europe during the 16th century did not avoid the territory of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia (now all three part of Romania). Reformation ideas arrived in Wallachia from Hungary, Germany, Venice, Carniola, and Carinthia. German noblemen, clerks and military officers also played an important role in spreading the ideas of the Reformation at the grassroots level. Wallachia was in a very difficult situation in the 16th century. Most of the provinces were under Turkish occupation and all efforts were focused on defending the country. As a result, the Turks played a role in allowing the changes of the Reformation to take hold in most parts of Transylvania, including Brasov and Târgoviște. In spite of a large number of renowned Protestant intellectuals who came from other lands, Protestantism did not have a profound impact on the people in Wallachia, only for that moment in time. It would seem that the reform movement as understood by Dimitrije Ljubavić and his contemporaries was in the broadest sense—catholic/universal—a trend happening in Western and now Eastern Europe. His relations with the Protestant group of Urach, led by Hans von Ungnad, in 1561, for a possible printing of Protestant books in Church Slavonic (Serbian recension) may constitute a partial chapter because it is an aborted business, but whose importance for the history of the reforms among the Serbs and Romanians is nevertheless indisputable. Well-aware that the newly established South Slavic Bible Institute needed the collaboration of some Orthodox in the translation of Protestant literature, Primož Trubar and Stjepan Konzul Istranin engaged Matija Popović and Jovan Maleševac for some time in Urach. But they were very disappointed when the plan to bring to Tübingen Dimitrije Ljubavić could not be realized. Possibly for the same reasons that his countryman
Matthias Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; ) or Francovich () (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strongly with his fellow Lutherans, and as a sch ...
was prevented from joining the press at Urach, near
Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
. At this time, Dimitrije Ljubavić was the first secretary to the ''voivode'' of Wallachia Alexandru Lăpuşneanu and then spent more than three years at the Patriarchate of Constantinople as a deacon supervising the printing of books. After having probably become acquainted in Transylvania with Peter Petrovics, one of Temesvar's most influential magnates and a fervent supporter of the Reformation, he left for northern Hungary, where in Eperjes (Presov, Slovakia) he visits the governor of the city, Sigismund Tordai-Gelous (1518-1569). There, armed with a letter of introduction from Tordai-Gelous, Ljubavić leaves Presov in May 1559 for Wittenberg, where he met David Chytraeus and his teacher Philip Melanchthon and become familiar with the
Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...
in a Greek version. Melanchthon drafted a letter for Patriarch Joasaph II of Constantinople which Dimitrije translated into Greek which read as follows: "''I send you a Greek Version of the 'Augsburg Confession', which was published without my advice. However, I approve the style and have sent it to Constantinople by a man of learning, a dean of that city, who has been our guest during the whole summer. He relates that there were many churches in Asia, in Thrace and the neighboring countries but they have been gradually diminished by oppression and bondage....''" The learned Orthodox Serb cleric, who was called ''Ućeni Srb, Dimitrije Serb'' (The learned Serb, Demetrius Serb), carried Melanchthon's letter to the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...
calling for a Lutheran-Orthodox "unity of all true Christian communities." There was no response from the Patriarch whatsoever. Dimitrije wrote to Melanchthon giving him an account of his journey to Constantinople dated 15 October 1559. For a short time, Dimitrije was able to work on this plan when a friend from the past, Iacob Heraclid, suddenly became ruler of Moldavia. Heraclid, while in exile in Germany, was won over by Melanchthon to the Reformation. The Reformation had a significant impact on Brasov. During the 16th century, Brasov was divided between Hungary and Turkey. As a result of the ambiguous political situation and the territorial division of the peninsula, the Reformation came here from three different directions: Venice, which was for a short while particularly favorable toward Reformation ideas; Wittenberg, where especially German merchants were very active; and from
Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...
. Several Serbian printers remained loyal to the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
, but they collaborated with the Lutherans and Calvinists to produce more books (with the advent of the printing press). That collaboration contributed to the spreading of the Reformation in Romania, Hungary, and Austria. Dimitrije Ljubavić, therefore, took part in assisting the Protestants to print catechisms in the Romanian and Serbian languages. Iacob Heraclid made Lutheranism the state Church, offending the native Eastern Orthodox who viewed him as an iconoclast due to his rhetoric against images, even though he did not, in fact, destroy any icons. This, together with Despot's decision to marry another foreigner (a Pole), new and increased taxes and the omnipotence of his foreign retinue led to a boyar conspiracy instigated by high dignitary Ștefan Tomșa. In the meantime, Heraclid's postponement of debt payments angered Albert Łaski. Faced with a large-scale rebellion, Heraclid retreated to the fortress in
Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...
and withstood a three-month siege. At the end of it, Despot Voda was captured and was struck to death with a mace by Tomșa himself. So too, Dimitrije Ljubavić's fate was sealed when the previous monarch regained the throne and took revenge on Ljubavić for printing Protestant books, thinking that he had abandoned Orthodoxy for
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
. Dimitrije Ljubavić was eventually incarcerated and killed.


See also

* Božidar Vuković * Božidar Goraždanin * Đurađ Crnojević * Hieromonk Makarije * Hieromonk Mardarije * Hegumen Mardarije * Vićenco Vuković * Trojan Gundulić * Andrija Paltašić * Jakov of Kamena Reka * Jerolim Zagurović *Bartolomeo Ginammi who followed Zagurović's footsteps reprinting Serbian books. * Stefan Paštrović * Inok Sava


References

* Demetrius Mysos (Demetrius of Thessalonica):http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=d&word=DEMETRIUSOFTHESSALONICA * Translated and adapted from Matei Cazacu's article in French: https://www.academia.edu/13615388/Dimitrije_Ljubavic_c.1519-1564_et_limprimerie_slave_dans_lEurope_du_Sud-est_au_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle._Nouvelles_contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Ljubavic, Dimitrije 16th-century Serbian writers Serbian Orthodox clergy Serbian printers Serbian writers 1519 births 1564 deaths 16th-century printers 16th-century writers Venetian Slavs