Theophan Prokopovich

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Theophan Prokopovich
Metropolitan and archbishop of Moscow
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire

Theophan or Feofan Prokopovich (

pedagogue and philosopher of Ukrainian origin. He was the rector of the Academia Mohileana in Kiev (1711–1716),[4] the bishop of Pskov (1718–1725), and the archbishop of Novgorod (1725–1736).[5]

Prokopovich elaborated upon and implemented Peter the Great's reform of the Russian Orthodox Church;[6] he served as the first vice-president of the Most Holy Synod from 1721, which replaced the office of the patriarch.[4] Prokopovich also wrote many religious verses and some of the most enduring sermons in the Russian language.

Biography

Childhood and education

Theophan (born Eleazar or Elisei) Prokopovich was born in

Kiev, Cossack Hetmanate, a vassal state under the Tsardom of Russia. His father, Tsereysky, was a shopkeeper from Smolensk.[7] After the death of his parents, Eleazar was adopted by his maternal uncle, Feofan Prokopovich.[8] Feofan Prokopovich was the abbot of the Kiev Brotherhood Epiphany Monastery, professor, and rector of the Academia Mohileana.[9]

Prokopovich's uncle sent him to the monastery for primary school.[10] After graduation, he became a student of the Academia Mohileana.

In 1698, after graduating from the Academia Mohileana, Eleazar continued his education at the

Catholicism among Eastern Orthodox
adherents.

In Rome, he enjoyed access to the Vatican Library.[12] In addition to theology, Prokopovich also studied the works of ancient Latin and Greek philosophers, historians, attractions of old and new Rome, and the principles of the Catholic faith and of the Pope. Throughout his studies, he became acquainted with the works of Tommaso Campanella, Galileo Galilei, Giordano Bruno, and Nicolaus Copernicus.

In October 28, 1701, Prokopovich left Rome without completing his full course at the academy.

Protestant Reformation
.

Return to Russia

He returned to Ukraine (then part of the

Kiev, where he renounced the Catholic union as well as his penance and tonsure with the Orthodox monks
, taking the name Feofan in memory of his uncle.

Beginning in 1705, Prokopovich taught rhetoric, poetics, and philosophy at the Kiev-Mogila Collegium. He also wrote the tragicomedy "Vladimir"(«Влади́мир»), dedicating it to Hetman Ivan Mazepa.[14] At the same time, he wrote the theological and philosophical sermons which were seen by the Kiev governor-generals Dmitry Golitsyn and Alexander Menshikov.

In 1707, he became the prefect of the Kiev Academy. In 1711, Prokopovich gave a sermon on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. The tsar of Russia, Peter I, was struck by the eloquence of this sermon,[3] and upon his return to Kiev, Feofan Prokopovich was appointed as the rector of the Kiev-Mogila Academy[15][16][17] and a professor of theology.[18] At the same time, he also became abbot of the Kiev Brotherhood Epiphany Monastery.[citation needed] He entirely reformed the teaching of theology there, substituting the historical method of the German theologians for the Orthodox scholastic system.[3]

In 1716, he went to

Novgorod in 1725.[3] He died in Saint Petersburg.[a]

As the author of the spiritual regulation for the reform of the Russian Orthodox Church, Feofan is regarded as the creator of the spiritual department superseding the patriarchate, better known by its later name of the

Holy Governing Synod, of which he was made vice-president. A pitiless enemy of superstitions of any kind, Prokopovich continued to be a reformer even after the death of Peter the Great. He simplified Russian preaching, introducing popular themes and a simple style into Orthodox pulpits.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ He had served as vicar to the previous Archbishop of Novgorod since the early 18th century. See Pavel Tikhomirov, Kafedra Novgorodskikh Sviatitelei (Novgorod, 1895–1899).

References

  1. ISBN 978-5-289-01736-9
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  2. ^ Petrov, Lev Aleksandrovich (1974). Общественно-политическая и философская мысль России первой половины XVIII века: lekt︠s︡ii po spet︠s︡kursu "Istorii︠a︡ russkoĭ filosofii" (in Russian). Иркутский государственный университет им. А.А. Жданова. p. 45. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Prokopovich, Theofan". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 434.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-7936-4184-7
    .
  5. ISBN 978-1-4422-0253-5
    .
  6. ^ The Petrine Instauration: Religion, Esotericism and Science at the Court of Peter the Great, 1689-1725 by Robert Collis, p. 362
  7. ^ Theophan Prokopovich (Great Russian Encyclopaedia)
  8. ^ "До 340-ї річниці від дня народження видатного українського церковного і громадського діяча Феофана Прокоповича". cdiak.archives.gov.ua. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Феофан Прокопович – визначний діяч епохи бароко. (Видання після смерті архієпископа з фондів відділу бібліотечних зібрань та історичних колекцій НБУВ) | Національна бібліотека України імені В. І. Вернадського". www.nbuv.gov.ua. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Прокопович Феофан: Біографія на УкрЛібі". www.ukrlib.com.ua. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  11. ISBN 978-5-300-01215-1
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  12. ^ Санников, И. А. "Риторическое начало в творчестве Феофана Прокоповича (на примере трагедокомедии "Владимир" и "Слова на погребение Петра Великого")" (PDF). elar.urfu.ru. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Феофан Прокопович как просветитель и человек" (PDF). herzenlib.ru. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Prokopovych, Teofan". www.encyclopediaofukraine.com. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  15. ^ "UKRAINIAN EDUCATIONAL BAROQUE MAN: THEOPHAN PROKOPOVICH AND EDUCATION" (PDF). pedagogicaljournal.lugniv.edu.ua. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  16. ISBN 978-90-04-21567-2
    .
  17. ISBN 978-1-108-47934-9
    .
  18. S2CID 153363456
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  19. ^ Перевощиков, В.М. "Материалы для Истории Российской словесности. Феофан Прокопович 1 (1822)" (PDF). kpfu.ru. Retrieved 11 March 2024.

Sources

  • I. Chistovitch, Theofan Prokopovich and his Times (Russian; Petersburg, 1868)
  • P. Morozov, Theophan Prokopovich as a Writer (Russian; Petersburg, 1880)

External links

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