Eufrosin Poteca
Encyclopedia
Eufrosin Poteca was a Romanian philosopher
, theologian, and translator, professor at the Saint Sava Academy of Bucharest
. Later in life he campaigned against slavery. He was the grandfather of the Romanian philosopher Constantin Rădulescu-Motru
.
, Prahova County
, in Walachia, into a family of peasants.
He began his elementary education with the priest from the village's church, and continued his studies in a Greek-language school. In order to continue his education, he first went to Căldăruşani monastery and later to Neamţ monastery, the place where Paisius Velichkovsky
had laid the basis of a strong hesychast monastic life. It is there that, in 1806, he became a monk and took the name "Eufrosin". In 1808 he moved to Bucharest. On March 28, 1809, he was ordained hierodeacon
, and on January 21, 1813, he was tonsured hieromonk
.
. In 1818, while Benjamin Lesvios was the director of the Greek-speaking Academy, Gheorghe Lazăr
began giving lectures in Romanian, at the Saint Sava monastery, thus founding a Romanian-language Academy. Eufrosin Poteca became professor of geography
at this Academy, between 1818–1820.
Eufrosin Poteca was one of four students sent abroad to study at Western universities by the Ephory (office) of the Schools, as there was a perceived need for Romanian-speaking professors at the national schools. Between 1820–1823, he studied at the University of Pisa
(Italian, Latin, philosophy, theology, history, politics, literature, experimental chemistry), and between 1823–1825 he studied at the University of Paris
.
, where he printed his translation from Johann Gottlieb Heineccius
's work, Elementa Philosophiae Rationalis et Moralis (1726), a handbook of history of philosophy, logic and ethics. At the University of Pest, he assisted at the lectures of Janos Imre, an eclectic philosopher who promoted "critical-rational synthetism", a philosophy that made metaphysics possible against Kant, arguing that most metaphysical judgements are "analytical a priori", judgements unaffected by the Kantian criticism of metaphysics.
In 1830 Poteca was forced to retire by General Kiseleff, under the pretext that he was too old. In fact, Poteca had been outspoken in his speeches that slavery should be abolished, because it contradicts both Christian religion and natural law. For Poteca the teachings of Jesus Christ were identical to those of the nature, and they could be synthesised in the Golden Rule
; or, having slaves is against this moral principle. The Walachian boyars were in opposition to his opinions, and had decided to eliminate Poteca if he continued; the Metropolitan
didn't approve of Poteca, because he resented fasting, the theology of death, and even celibacy. These were the true reasons for which Poteca was banned to the Gura Motrului monastery, in Oltenia
.
. While there, he continued his cultural activity, translating and publishing works of Western authors. He had a relationship with the wife of a local priest (Orthodox priests can marry; they are not obligated to be celibate), from which resulted a son, Radu Popescu. His son, whose identity was not made public, was employed as his private secretary. Another son, Constantin Rădulescu-Motru
, was an important Romanian philosopher. Eufrosin Poteca died at this monastery, where he is buried, on December 10, 1858.
Romanian philosophy
Romanian philosophy is a name covering either a) the philosophy done in Romania or by Romanians, or b) an ethnic philosophy, which expresses at a high level the fundamental features of the Romanian spirituality, or which elevates to a philosophical level the Weltanschauung of the Romanian people,...
, theologian, and translator, professor at the Saint Sava Academy of Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. Later in life he campaigned against slavery. He was the grandfather of the Romanian philosopher Constantin Rădulescu-Motru
Constantin Radulescu-Motru
Constantin Rădulescu-Motru was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as centre-left nationalist politician with a noted anti-fascist discourse...
.
Early life
Poteca was born Radu Poteca in 1786, in the village of NucşoaraNucsoara
Nucşoara is a commune in Argeş County, in southern central Romania. It is composed of four villages: Gruiu, Nucşoara, Sboghiţeşti and Slatina....
, Prahova County
Prahova County
Prahova is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploieşti.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 829,945 and the population density was 176/km². It is Romania's most populated county, having a population density double than the country's mean...
, in Walachia, into a family of peasants.
He began his elementary education with the priest from the village's church, and continued his studies in a Greek-language school. In order to continue his education, he first went to Căldăruşani monastery and later to Neamţ monastery, the place where Paisius Velichkovsky
Paisius Velichkovsky
Saint Paisius Velichkovsky or Wieliczkowski is the person who transmitted Eastern Orthodox staretsdom or the concept of spiritual guidance to the Slavic world.A Ukrainian by birth, Pyotr Velichkovsky was born in Poltava, where his father, Ivan, was a priest...
had laid the basis of a strong hesychast monastic life. It is there that, in 1806, he became a monk and took the name "Eufrosin". In 1808 he moved to Bucharest. On March 28, 1809, he was ordained hierodeacon
Hierodeacon
A Hierodeacon , sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a monk who has been ordained a deacon...
, and on January 21, 1813, he was tonsured hieromonk
Hieromonk
Hieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....
.
Studies
From 1813–1816 he studied under Konstantinos Vardalachos, a famous professor of the time, at the Greek-language Princely Academy of Bucharest. From 1816 until 1818 Poteca was a teacher of dogmatics at the same Academy, which was then directed by Neophytos DoukasNeophytos Doukas
Neophytos Doukas was a Greek priest and scholar, author of a large number of books and translations from ancient Greek works, and one of the most important personalities of modern Greek Enlightenment during the Ottoman occupation of Greece...
. In 1818, while Benjamin Lesvios was the director of the Greek-speaking Academy, Gheorghe Lazăr
Gheorghe Lazar
Gheorghe Lazăr , born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian-born Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school - in Bucharest, 1818.-Biography:...
began giving lectures in Romanian, at the Saint Sava monastery, thus founding a Romanian-language Academy. Eufrosin Poteca became professor of geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at this Academy, between 1818–1820.
Eufrosin Poteca was one of four students sent abroad to study at Western universities by the Ephory (office) of the Schools, as there was a perceived need for Romanian-speaking professors at the national schools. Between 1820–1823, he studied at the University of Pisa
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...
(Italian, Latin, philosophy, theology, history, politics, literature, experimental chemistry), and between 1823–1825 he studied at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
Professorship
Returning to Walachia in October 1825, he was appointed Professor of philosophy at the Saint Sava Academy, where he taught until 1828, when Bucharest was occupied by the Russian Army. In 1828–1829 he went to BudaBuda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
, where he printed his translation from Johann Gottlieb Heineccius
Johann Gottlieb Heineccius
Johann Gottlieb Heineccius was a German jurist from Eisenberg, Thuringia.He studied theology at Leipzig, and law at Halle; and at the latter university he was appointed in 1713 professor of philosophy, and in 1718 professor of jurisprudence...
's work, Elementa Philosophiae Rationalis et Moralis (1726), a handbook of history of philosophy, logic and ethics. At the University of Pest, he assisted at the lectures of Janos Imre, an eclectic philosopher who promoted "critical-rational synthetism", a philosophy that made metaphysics possible against Kant, arguing that most metaphysical judgements are "analytical a priori", judgements unaffected by the Kantian criticism of metaphysics.
In 1830 Poteca was forced to retire by General Kiseleff, under the pretext that he was too old. In fact, Poteca had been outspoken in his speeches that slavery should be abolished, because it contradicts both Christian religion and natural law. For Poteca the teachings of Jesus Christ were identical to those of the nature, and they could be synthesised in the Golden Rule
Golden Rule
Golden Rule may refer to:*The Golden Rule in ethics, morality, history and religion, also known as the ethic of reciprocity*Golden Rule savings rate, in economics, the savings rate which maximizes consumption in the Solow growth model...
; or, having slaves is against this moral principle. The Walachian boyars were in opposition to his opinions, and had decided to eliminate Poteca if he continued; the Metropolitan
Metropolitan 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...
didn't approve of Poteca, because he resented fasting, the theology of death, and even celibacy. These were the true reasons for which Poteca was banned to the Gura Motrului monastery, in Oltenia
Oltenia
Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....
.
Later days
Beginning with 1832, Eufrosin Poteca spent his life at this monastery, as its hegumenHegumen
Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...
. While there, he continued his cultural activity, translating and publishing works of Western authors. He had a relationship with the wife of a local priest (Orthodox priests can marry; they are not obligated to be celibate), from which resulted a son, Radu Popescu. His son, whose identity was not made public, was employed as his private secretary. Another son, Constantin Rădulescu-Motru
Constantin Radulescu-Motru
Constantin Rădulescu-Motru was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as centre-left nationalist politician with a noted anti-fascist discourse...
, was an important Romanian philosopher. Eufrosin Poteca died at this monastery, where he is buried, on December 10, 1858.
Original works
- Panegirical and Moral Discourses, Bucharest, 1826.
- "Meditation on the Improvement of the Orthodox Clergy" (1838), in Noua Revistă Română, vol. 3, 1901, nr. 26, pp. 99–102
- Handbook of Religious and Moral Catechism, Containing the Dogmas and the Sacraments of our Church, Buzău, 1839
- "The History of Walachia's Monasteries or Ruling Princes, Especially the Religious Issues, in Chronological Order, from Radu Negru Voievod until Our Days" (1846), in G. Dem. Teodorescu, Eufrosin Poteca Motrénul, Bucharest, Tipografia Gutenberg, Joseph Göbl, 1899
- The Small Catechism, Containing the Dogmas and the Mysteries of the Church of the Orient, for the Education of the Children, published by Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, Bucharest, 1940
- Sermons and Speeches, introductory study and notes by Archim. Vaniamin Micle, Bistriţa Monastery Printing Press, 1993
- Autobiographical Notes, edition by A. Michiduţă, Craiova, Aius, 2005
Translations and adaptations
- Prolegomena to the Knowledge of God by the Examination of what Exists, translation from a work of Dimitrios Darvaris, BudaBudaFor detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
, 1818 - Elements of Metaphysics (1826), heavily based on Francesco Soave's Istituzioni di metafisica (the PisaPisaPisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
edition, 1814), in Biserica Ortodoxă Română, XCIX, 1981,nr.5-6, pp. 675–689 - "The Philosophy of Discourse and of Morals, or the Elementary Logic and Ethics, Prefaced by the History of Philosophy", translation of Heineccius' Elementa Philosophiae Rationalis et Moralis (1726), supplemented with several original texts by Poteca, BudaBudaFor detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
, 1829; second edition 2006, Craiova, Aius, critical edition, introductory study and notes by A. Michiduţă (this edition is supplementd with letters, documents, speeches and other texts by Poteca, not appearing in the first edition). - The Habits of the Israelites and of the Christians, translation of Claude FleuryClaude FleuryClaude Fleury , was a French ecclesiastical historian.Destined for the bar, he was educated at the aristocratic College of Clermont . In 1658 he was nominated an advocate to the parlement of Paris, and for nine years followed the legal profession...
's Les moeurs des Israélites (1681) and Les moeurs des Chrétiens (1682), Bucharest, 1845 - Little Fast, or Selected Sermons, translation of Jean-Baptiste Massillon's Petit Carême (1718), Bucharest, 1846
- Discourse on the Universal History, translation of BossuetJacques-Bénigne BossuetJacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
's Discours sur l'histoire universelle (1681), Bucharest, 1855.