Gennadius II Scholarius
Encyclopedia
Gennadius II (lay name Georgios Kourtesios Scholarios, in Greek
Γεώργιος Κουρτέσιος Σχολάριος) (c. 1400 – c. 1473), Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1454 to 1464, philosopher and theologian, was one of the last representatives of Byzantine
learning, and a strong advocate of Aristotelian
philosophy in the Eastern Church.
in c.1400 and had been a teacher of philosophy before entering the service of the emperor John VIII Palaeologus as a theological advisor. Georgios first appears in history when, as judge in the civil courts under John VIII (1425–1448), he accompanied his Emperor to the Council of Basel, held in 1438-1439 in Ferrara
and Florence
. The object of this endeavor was bringing a union between the Greek
and Latin Churches
, which he supported at that time. He made four speeches at the council - all exceedingly conciliatory, and wrote a refutation of the first eighteen of Mark of Ephesus
' syllogistic chapters against the Latins.
At the same council appeared the celebrated Platonist, Gemistus Pletho
, the most powerful opponent of the then dominant Aristotelianism
, and consequently an antagonist of Georgios. In church matters, as in philosophy, the two were opposed — Pletho advocated a partial return to Greek paganism
in the form of a syncretic union between Christianity and Zoroastrianism
; while Georgios, more cautious, pressed the necessity for ecclesiastical union with Rome on doctrinal grounds, and was instrumental in drawing up a form which from its vagueness and ambiguity might be accepted by both parties. Georgios was at a serious disadvantage because, being a layman, he could not directly take part in the discussions of the council.
, like most of his countrymen, he changed his mind, apparently at the behest of his mentor Mark of Ephesus
, who converted him completely to anti-Latin Orthodoxy, and from this time till his death he was known (with Mark of Ephesus
) as the most uncompromising enemy of the union. He then wrote many works to defend his new convictions, which differ so much from the earlier conciliatory ones that Allatius
thought there must be two people of the same name (Diatriba de Georgiis in Fabricius
-Harles
Bibliotheca Græca, X, 760-786); to whom Gibbon
: "Renaudot has restored the identity of his person, and the duplicity of his character" (Decline and Fall, lxviii, note 41).
After the death of John VIII in 1448, Georgios entered the Pantokrator monastery
in Constantinople
under Constantine XI
(1448–1453) and took, according to the invariable custom, a new name: Gennadius. Before the fall of the city
he was already well known as a bitter opponent of the union. He and Eugenikos were the leaders of the anti-Latin party. In 1447, Mark of Ephesus
on his deathbed praised Gennadius's irreconcilable attitude towards the Latins and the union (P.G.
, CLX, 529). It was to Gennadius that the angry people went after seeing the Uniate services in the great church of Hagia Sophia
. It is said that he hid himself, but left a notice on the door of his cell: "O unhappy Romans [= Byzantines], why have you forsaken the truth? Why do you not trust in God, instead of in the Italians? In losing your faith you will lose your city", and so on (quoted by Gibbon, ibid., ed. Bury, VII, 176).
, Gennadius was taken prisoner by the Turks
. In administering his new conquest, 21-year old conquering Sultan Mehmed II
wished to assure the loyalty of the Greek population and above all avoid them appealing to the West for liberation, potentially sparking a new round of Crusades
. Mehmed therefore sought the most anti-Western cleric he could find as a figure of unity for the Greeks under Turkish rule - and Gennadius as leading anti-Union figure was a natural choice. On 1 June 1453, just three days after the fall of the city, the new Patriarch's procession passed through the streets where Mehmed received Gennadius graciously and himself invested him with the signs of his office – the crosier
(dikanikion) and mantle. This ceremonial investiture would be repeated by all Sultans and Patriarchs thereafter.
The city's famous patriarchal basilica, the Hagia Sophia
, had already been converted into a mosque
by the conquerors, so Gennadius established his seat at the Church of the Holy Apostles
. Eventually Mehmed had this church demolished to make way for his Fatih Mosque
, and Gennadius moved again to the Church of the Pammakaristos
.
The Ottomans divided their Empire into millets
or subject nations, of which the Greeks were the largest, known as the Millet-i Rûm. The Patriarch was appointed the official head or Ethnarch
of the Greek millet, which was used as the Ottomans as a source for imperial administrators. Gennadius became a political authority as well as a religious one, as were all his successors under the Ottomans.
As was normal when a monk or lay scholar was appointed patriarch, Gennadius was consecutively ordained
, first as a deacon, then as a priest, then finally as a bishop before being appointed patriarch.
of Heraclea Pontica
, but, since both the Church of St. Sophia and the palace of the patriarch were now in the hands of the Ottomans, he took up his residence successively in two monasteries
of the city. While holding the episcopal office Gennadius drew up, apparently for the use of Mehmed, a confession or exposition of the Christian faith, which was translated into Turkish by Ahmed, judge of Beroea (and first printed by A. Brassicanus at Vienna
in 1530).
Gennadius was unhappy as patriarch, and tried to abdicate his position at least twice, in 1456 he resigned. The full reason for this step commonly attributed to his disappointment at the sultan's treatment of Christians, though Mehmed seems to have kept the fairly tolerant conditions he had allowed to them; various writers hint darkly at other motives (see Michalcescu, op. cit. infra, 13). Eventually, he found the tensions between the Greeks
and the Ottomans overwhelming.
He was later called two times to guide the Christian community as Patriarch during the turbulent period that followed the patriarchate of Isidore II
. There is no consensus among scholars about the exact dates of his last two patriarchates: according to Kiminas (2009) he reigned again from April 1463 to c.June 1463 and from August 1464 to autumn 1465. Blanchet (2001) objects to the existence itself of these two additional terms.
Gennadius then, like so many of his successors, ended his days as an ex-patriarch and a monk
. He lived in the monastery of John the Baptist
near Serrae in Macedon
ia (north-east of Saloniki), where he wrote books until he died in about 1473.
Gennadius fills an important place in Byzantine history. He was the last of the old school of polemic
al writers and one of the greatest. Unlike most of his fellows he had an intimate acquaintance with Latin controversial literature, especially with St. Thomas Aquinas
and the Scholastics
. He was as skilful an opponent of Catholic theology as Mark of Ephesus
, and a more learned one. His writings show him to be a student not only of Western philosophy but of controversy with Jews and Muslims, of the great Hesychast question (he attacked Barlaam
and defended the monks; naturally, the Barlaamites were latinophrones, in short, of all the questions that were important in his time. He has another kind of importance as the first Patriarch of Constantinople under the Turks. From this point of view he stands at the head of a new period in the history of his Church; the principles that regulated the condition of Orthodox Christians in the Turkish Empire are the result of Mehmed II's arrangement with him.
, and others, translations of Petrus Hispanus
and Thomas Aquinas, and defenses of Aristotelianism against the recrudescence of Neoplatonism
) and theological and ecclesiastical (partly concerning the union and partly defending Christianity against Muslim
s, Jews, and pagan
s), in addition to numerous homilies
, hymn
s, and letters.
Gennadius was a prolific writer during all the periods of his life. The complete works of Gennadius were published in eight volumes by Jugie, Petit & Siderides, 1928-1930. (Note: this edition supersedes the references made below.)
, also a number of letters addressed to various friends, bishops, and statesmen, mostly unedited. An Apology for five chapters of the Council of Florence
is doubtful. A History of the Council of Florence under his name (in manuscript) is really identical with that of Syropulos.
"; various sermons and speeches; a Panegyric
of Marcus Eugenicus (in 1447), etc. Some translations of works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and polemical treatises against his theology by Gennadius are still unedited, as is also his work against the Barlaamites. There are also various philosophical treatises of which the chief is a Defence of Aristotle (antilepseis hyper Aristotelous) against the Neoplatonist, Gemistus Pletho
.
His most important work is easily his "Confession" (Ekthesis tes pisteos ton orthodoxon christianon, generally known as Homologia tou Gennadiou) addressed to Mehmed II
. It contains twenty articles, of which however only the first twelve are authentic. It was written in Greek; Achmed, Kadi
of Berrhoea, translated it into Turkish
. This is the first (in date) of the Orthodox Symbolic books. It was published first (in Greek and Latin) by Brassicanus, and again by Chytræus. Martin Crusius printed it in Greek
, Latin
, and Turkish
(in Greek and Latin script) in his Turco-Græcia. Rimmel reprinted it (Greek and Latin); and Michalcescu in Greek only. There exists an arrangement of this Confession in the form of a dialogue in which Mehmed asks questions ("What is God?" – "Why is he called theos?" – "And how many Gods are there?" and so on) and Gennadius gives suitable answers. This is called variously Gennadius's Dialogue (dialexis, διάλεξις), or Confessio prior, or De Via salutis humanæ (Peri tes hodou tes soterias anthropon). Rimmel prints it first, in Latin
only, and thinks it was the source of the Confession. It is more probably a later compilation made from the Confession by someone else. It should be noticed that Gennadius's (quasi-Platonic) philosophy is in evidence in his Confession (God cannot be interpreted, theos from theein, etc.; cf. Rimmel. Either for the same reason or to spare Muslim
susceptibility he avoids the word Prosopa in explaining the Trinity
, speaking of the three Persons as idiomata "which we call Hypostases".
letter to all Christians In defence of his resignation is unedited, as are also a Dialogue with two Turks about the divinity of Christ
, and a work about the Adoration of God. Jahn (Anecdota græca) has published a Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew and a collection of Prophecies about Christ gathered from the Old Testament
. A treatise, About our God, one in three, against Atheists and Polytheists (P.G., CLX, 667 sqq.), is chiefly directed against the theory that the world may have been formed by chance. Five books, About the Foreknowledge and Providence of God and a Treatise on the manhood of Christ
, are also in P.G., CLX. Lastly, there are many homilies by Gennadius, most of which exist in manuscript at Mount Athos
(Codd. Athous, Paris, 1289–1298).
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
Γεώργιος Κουρτέσιος Σχολάριος) (c. 1400 – c. 1473), Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1454 to 1464, philosopher and theologian, was one of the last representatives of Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
learning, and a strong advocate of Aristotelian
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
philosophy in the Eastern Church.
Council of Florence
Georgios is believed to have been born in ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in c.1400 and had been a teacher of philosophy before entering the service of the emperor John VIII Palaeologus as a theological advisor. Georgios first appears in history when, as judge in the civil courts under John VIII (1425–1448), he accompanied his Emperor to the Council of Basel, held in 1438-1439 in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. The object of this endeavor was bringing a union between the Greek
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
and Latin Churches
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, which he supported at that time. He made four speeches at the council - all exceedingly conciliatory, and wrote a refutation of the first eighteen of Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus , a 15th century Archbishop of Ephesus, is famous for his defense of Eastern Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence in spite of Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus and Pope Eugene IV...
' syllogistic chapters against the Latins.
At the same council appeared the celebrated Platonist, Gemistus Pletho
Gemistus Pletho
Georgius Gemistus — later called Plethon or Pletho — was a Greek scholar of Neoplatonic philosophy. He was one of the chief pioneers of the revival of Greek learning in Western Europe...
, the most powerful opponent of the then dominant Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
, and consequently an antagonist of Georgios. In church matters, as in philosophy, the two were opposed — Pletho advocated a partial return to Greek paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
in the form of a syncretic union between Christianity and Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
; while Georgios, more cautious, pressed the necessity for ecclesiastical union with Rome on doctrinal grounds, and was instrumental in drawing up a form which from its vagueness and ambiguity might be accepted by both parties. Georgios was at a serious disadvantage because, being a layman, he could not directly take part in the discussions of the council.
Return to Constantinople
Despite his advocating the union (and berating many of the Orthodox bishops for their lack of theological learnedness), when he came back to ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, like most of his countrymen, he changed his mind, apparently at the behest of his mentor Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus , a 15th century Archbishop of Ephesus, is famous for his defense of Eastern Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence in spite of Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus and Pope Eugene IV...
, who converted him completely to anti-Latin Orthodoxy, and from this time till his death he was known (with Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus , a 15th century Archbishop of Ephesus, is famous for his defense of Eastern Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence in spite of Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus and Pope Eugene IV...
) as the most uncompromising enemy of the union. He then wrote many works to defend his new convictions, which differ so much from the earlier conciliatory ones that Allatius
Leo Allatius
Leo Allatius was a Greek scholar, theologian and keeper of the Vatican library....
thought there must be two people of the same name (Diatriba de Georgiis in Fabricius
Johann Albert Fabricius
Johann Albert Fabricius was a German classical scholar and bibliographer.-Biography:Fabricius was born at Leipzig, son of Werner Fabricius, director of music in the church of St. Paul at Leipzig, who was the author of several works, the most important being Deliciae Harmonicae...
-Harles
Gottlieb Christoph Harless
Gottlieb Christoph Harless was a German classical scholar and bibliographer.-Biography:He was born at Culmbach in Bavaria. He studied at the universities of Halle, Erlangen and Jena...
Bibliotheca Græca, X, 760-786); to whom Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
: "Renaudot has restored the identity of his person, and the duplicity of his character" (Decline and Fall, lxviii, note 41).
After the death of John VIII in 1448, Georgios entered the Pantokrator monastery
Zeyrek Mosque
- External links :*...
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
under Constantine XI
Constantine XI
Constantine XI Palaiologos, latinized as Palaeologus , Kōnstantinos XI Dragasēs Palaiologos; February 8, 1404 – May 29, 1453) was the last reigning Byzantine Emperor from 1449 to his death as member of the Palaiologos dynasty...
(1448–1453) and took, according to the invariable custom, a new name: Gennadius. Before the fall of the city
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
he was already well known as a bitter opponent of the union. He and Eugenikos were the leaders of the anti-Latin party. In 1447, Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus , a 15th century Archbishop of Ephesus, is famous for his defense of Eastern Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence in spite of Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus and Pope Eugene IV...
on his deathbed praised Gennadius's irreconcilable attitude towards the Latins and the union (P.G.
Patrologia Graeca
The Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the ancient Koine or medieval variants of the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J. P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique...
, CLX, 529). It was to Gennadius that the angry people went after seeing the Uniate services in the great church of Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
. It is said that he hid himself, but left a notice on the door of his cell: "O unhappy Romans [= Byzantines], why have you forsaken the truth? Why do you not trust in God, instead of in the Italians? In losing your faith you will lose your city", and so on (quoted by Gibbon, ibid., ed. Bury, VII, 176).
Ottoman period
After the fall of ConstantinopleFall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
, Gennadius was taken prisoner by the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In administering his new conquest, 21-year old conquering Sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
wished to assure the loyalty of the Greek population and above all avoid them appealing to the West for liberation, potentially sparking a new round of Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. Mehmed therefore sought the most anti-Western cleric he could find as a figure of unity for the Greeks under Turkish rule - and Gennadius as leading anti-Union figure was a natural choice. On 1 June 1453, just three days after the fall of the city, the new Patriarch's procession passed through the streets where Mehmed received Gennadius graciously and himself invested him with the signs of his office – the crosier
Crosier
A crosier is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran and Pentecostal prelates...
(dikanikion) and mantle. This ceremonial investiture would be repeated by all Sultans and Patriarchs thereafter.
The city's famous patriarchal basilica, the Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
, had already been converted into a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
by the conquerors, so Gennadius established his seat at the Church of the Holy Apostles
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles , also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian church built in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom among the great churches of the capital...
. Eventually Mehmed had this church demolished to make way for his Fatih Mosque
Fatih Mosque
The Fatih Mosque or Conqueror's Mosque in English) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was one of the largest examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture in Istanbul and represented an important stage in the development of classic Turkish...
, and Gennadius moved again to the Church of the Pammakaristos
Pammakaristos Church
Pammakaristos Church, also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos , in 1591 converted into a mosque and known as Fethiye Mosque and today partly a museum, is one of the most famous Byzantine churches in Istanbul, Turkey...
.
The Ottomans divided their Empire into millets
Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
or subject nations, of which the Greeks were the largest, known as the Millet-i Rûm. The Patriarch was appointed the official head or Ethnarch
Ethnarch
Ethnarch, pronounced , the anglicized form of ethnarches refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words and ....
of the Greek millet, which was used as the Ottomans as a source for imperial administrators. Gennadius became a political authority as well as a religious one, as were all his successors under the Ottomans.
As was normal when a monk or lay scholar was appointed patriarch, Gennadius was consecutively ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
, first as a deacon, then as a priest, then finally as a bishop before being appointed patriarch.
Patriarch
In the spring of 1454 he was consecrated by the metropolitanMetropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica , an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara c.560-558 and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory .The...
, but, since both the Church of St. Sophia and the palace of the patriarch were now in the hands of the Ottomans, he took up his residence successively in two monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of the city. While holding the episcopal office Gennadius drew up, apparently for the use of Mehmed, a confession or exposition of the Christian faith, which was translated into Turkish by Ahmed, judge of Beroea (and first printed by A. Brassicanus at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1530).
Gennadius was unhappy as patriarch, and tried to abdicate his position at least twice, in 1456 he resigned. The full reason for this step commonly attributed to his disappointment at the sultan's treatment of Christians, though Mehmed seems to have kept the fairly tolerant conditions he had allowed to them; various writers hint darkly at other motives (see Michalcescu, op. cit. infra, 13). Eventually, he found the tensions between the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and the Ottomans overwhelming.
He was later called two times to guide the Christian community as Patriarch during the turbulent period that followed the patriarchate of Isidore II
Patriarch Isidore II of Constantinople
-Life:Little is known about the life and the patriarchate of Isidore. His surname derives from the Xanthopoulon monastery in Istanbul which he entered, becoming a hieromonk and later rising to be its abbot. Isidore worked alongside Gennadius Scholarius during the Council of Florence and was one of...
. There is no consensus among scholars about the exact dates of his last two patriarchates: according to Kiminas (2009) he reigned again from April 1463 to c.June 1463 and from August 1464 to autumn 1465. Blanchet (2001) objects to the existence itself of these two additional terms.
Gennadius then, like so many of his successors, ended his days as an ex-patriarch and a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
. He lived in the monastery of John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
near Serrae in Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia (north-east of Saloniki), where he wrote books until he died in about 1473.
Gennadius fills an important place in Byzantine history. He was the last of the old school of polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
al writers and one of the greatest. Unlike most of his fellows he had an intimate acquaintance with Latin controversial literature, especially with St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
and the Scholastics
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
. He was as skilful an opponent of Catholic theology as Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus
Mark of Ephesus , a 15th century Archbishop of Ephesus, is famous for his defense of Eastern Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence in spite of Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus and Pope Eugene IV...
, and a more learned one. His writings show him to be a student not only of Western philosophy but of controversy with Jews and Muslims, of the great Hesychast question (he attacked Barlaam
Barlaam
Barlaam may refer to:*Barlaam of Seminara, Italian scholar and theologian , also known as Barlaam of Calabria, whose name as a layman was Bernardo Massari, brought an accusation of heresy against Gregory Palamas for the latter's defence of Hesychasm *Saint Barlaam, eventual companion of St...
and defended the monks; naturally, the Barlaamites were latinophrones, in short, of all the questions that were important in his time. He has another kind of importance as the first Patriarch of Constantinople under the Turks. From this point of view he stands at the head of a new period in the history of his Church; the principles that regulated the condition of Orthodox Christians in the Turkish Empire are the result of Mehmed II's arrangement with him.
Writings
About 100 to 120 of his alleged writings exist, some of which remain in manuscript, and some of which are of doubtful authenticity. As far as is known, his writings may be classified into philosophical (interpretations of Aristotle, PorphyryPorphyry (philosopher)
Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
, and others, translations of Petrus Hispanus
Petrus Hispanus
Petrus Hispanus may refer to:*Pedro Cardinal Julião, later Pope John XXI* Peter of Spain, author...
and Thomas Aquinas, and defenses of Aristotelianism against the recrudescence of Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
) and theological and ecclesiastical (partly concerning the union and partly defending Christianity against Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, Jews, and pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
s), in addition to numerous homilies
Homily
A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture. In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a homily is usually given during Mass at the end of the Liturgy of the Word...
, hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, and letters.
Gennadius was a prolific writer during all the periods of his life. The complete works of Gennadius were published in eight volumes by Jugie, Petit & Siderides, 1928-1930. (Note: this edition supersedes the references made below.)
First Period (pro-Uniate)
The chief works of this time are the "speeches" made at the Council of FlorenceCouncil of Florence
The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV, to convene in 1438...
, also a number of letters addressed to various friends, bishops, and statesmen, mostly unedited. An Apology for five chapters of the Council of Florence
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV, to convene in 1438...
is doubtful. A History of the Council of Florence under his name (in manuscript) is really identical with that of Syropulos.
Second Period (anti-Uniate)
A great number of polemical works against Latins were written in this time. Two books about the Procession of the Holy Ghost; another one "against the insertion of the Filioque in the Creed"; two books and a letter about "PurgatoryPurgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
"; various sermons and speeches; a Panegyric
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
of Marcus Eugenicus (in 1447), etc. Some translations of works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and polemical treatises against his theology by Gennadius are still unedited, as is also his work against the Barlaamites. There are also various philosophical treatises of which the chief is a Defence of Aristotle (antilepseis hyper Aristotelous) against the Neoplatonist, Gemistus Pletho
Gemistus Pletho
Georgius Gemistus — later called Plethon or Pletho — was a Greek scholar of Neoplatonic philosophy. He was one of the chief pioneers of the revival of Greek learning in Western Europe...
.
His most important work is easily his "Confession" (Ekthesis tes pisteos ton orthodoxon christianon, generally known as Homologia tou Gennadiou) addressed to Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
. It contains twenty articles, of which however only the first twelve are authentic. It was written in Greek; Achmed, Kadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
of Berrhoea, translated it into Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. This is the first (in date) of the Orthodox Symbolic books. It was published first (in Greek and Latin) by Brassicanus, and again by Chytræus. Martin Crusius printed it in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
(in Greek and Latin script) in his Turco-Græcia. Rimmel reprinted it (Greek and Latin); and Michalcescu in Greek only. There exists an arrangement of this Confession in the form of a dialogue in which Mehmed asks questions ("What is God?" – "Why is he called theos?" – "And how many Gods are there?" and so on) and Gennadius gives suitable answers. This is called variously Gennadius's Dialogue (dialexis, διάλεξις), or Confessio prior, or De Via salutis humanæ (Peri tes hodou tes soterias anthropon). Rimmel prints it first, in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
only, and thinks it was the source of the Confession. It is more probably a later compilation made from the Confession by someone else. It should be noticed that Gennadius's (quasi-Platonic) philosophy is in evidence in his Confession (God cannot be interpreted, theos from theein, etc.; cf. Rimmel. Either for the same reason or to spare Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
susceptibility he avoids the word Prosopa in explaining the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, speaking of the three Persons as idiomata "which we call Hypostases".
Third Period (post-resignation)
During the third period, from his resignation to his death (1459–1468), he continued writing theological and polemical works. An encyclicalEncyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
letter to all Christians In defence of his resignation is unedited, as are also a Dialogue with two Turks about the divinity of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, and a work about the Adoration of God. Jahn (Anecdota græca) has published a Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew and a collection of Prophecies about Christ gathered from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. A treatise, About our God, one in three, against Atheists and Polytheists (P.G., CLX, 667 sqq.), is chiefly directed against the theory that the world may have been formed by chance. Five books, About the Foreknowledge and Providence of God and a Treatise on the manhood of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, are also in P.G., CLX. Lastly, there are many homilies by Gennadius, most of which exist in manuscript at Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
(Codd. Athous, Paris, 1289–1298).
Further reading
- Marie-Hélène Blanchet, Georges-Gennadios Scholarios (vers 1400-vers 1472):un intellectuel face à la disparition de l'empire byzantin, Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines, Paris, 2008.
- Joseph Gill, ‘George Scholarius’, in J. Gill, Personalities of the Council of Florence and other Essays, Oxford, 1964, pp. 79–94
- Eugenia Russell, "St Demetrius of Thessalonica; Cult and Devotion in the Middle Ages", Peter Lang, Oxford, 2010. ISBN 978 3 0343 0181 7
- C.J.G. Turner, ‘The career of Georgios Gennadios Scholarios’, Byzantion 39 (1969), 420-55
- C.J.G. Turner, ‘George Gennadius Scholarius and the Council of Florence’, Journal of Theological Studies 18 (1967), 83-103