This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. IDENTITY DISPUTES AND POLITICS AT THE END OF THE 17th CENTURY The Archbishop Meletios Typaldos and his conflicting relations with the Greek Confraternity of Venice ***** THEODORE ROUSSOPOULOS Ph.D The University of Edinburgh 2014 DECLARATION The present PhD thesis has been composed by myself alone and represents my own work, which has not been submitted for any other degree or qualification. ------------------------ Theodore Roussopoulos ABSTRACT OF THESIS This thesis takes as a focal point an important Archbishop of the Greek community in Venice, Meletios Typaldos, who lived in the turbulent era of the late seventeenth- early eighteenth century (1651-1713). An enquiry into the course of his life was deemed worthy of scholarly research: first, because he had not been till now adequately investigated; second, because he is a multi-faceted personage who is highly representative of the ambiguities of that historical period but also clearly and sophisticatedly involved in them. In addition, a study of his life and work reveals a great deal about the religious and cultural beliefs and bias of the flourishing Greek Diaspora of Venice during this historical period. The dissertation investigates initially the political background within which Venice played a crucial role. Moreover, it brings to the fore the religious conflicts of the era as well as the renewal of the theological and philosophical ideas related to scholastic Aristotelism, derived from the teachings at Padua University which spread to the territory of the city-state of Venice. The emphasis in the dissertation is to focus on the impact that these ideas had on the beliefs and views of Typaldos. Principally, the thesis disambiguates the initiatives of Meletios Typaldos who, as head of the Orthodox Church in Venice, planned to convert the Orthodox Greeks to Catholicism without taking into consideration the church body, i.e., the Greek Orthodox clergy and congregation. In contrast to the prevailing view that his ambition to become a cardinal drove him to the acceptance of the Catholic doctrine, this dissertation argues that Typaldos’ activities were inspired by his desire to play a crucial role in a Uniate Church under the Pope’s auspices, with the ultimate ambition to convert all Greeks to it. Finally, specific attention has been given to the resistance of the Greeks of Venice to Typaldos’ plans. After examining the evidence, the thesis concludes that the will of the Greek Confraternity to maintain its social independence -that was guaranteed by the Venetian state - and its passionate desire to maintain unchanged the Confraternity’s Greek ethnic and religious identity are the main causes that determined its reactions against Typaldos. The conflict between the Archbishop and leadership of the Greek community ended in Typaldos’ excommunication by the Patriarchate of Constantinople and, with the loss of his leadership, the decline of the Greek Community of Venice. Table of Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................... V INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: TYPALDOS’ BIOGRAPHY ..................................................................... 15 1.1. The years before being Archbishop (1651-1685) ......................................................... 15 1.1.1. Early years ............................................................................................................. 15 1.1.2. Relations with the Venetian Authorities ................................................................ 19 1.2. From election to dethronement ..................................................................................... 22 1.3. Typaldos’ will ............................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER TWO: POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CONTEXT OF THE AGE OF TYPALDOS ............................................................................................................................ 35 2.1. The political context ..................................................................................................... 38 2.1.1. The Sublime Porte and the West ........................................................................... 38 2.1.2. The importance of the Mediterranean ................................................................... 43 2.1.3. Greeks between Ottomans and Venetians ............................................................. 45 2.2. The era of conflicts between Christian dogmas............................................................ 50 2.3. Neo-Aristotelianism and Hellenist Humanism ............................................................. 67 2.3.1. Greek Forms of pre-Enlightenment ....................................................................... 73 2.3.2 Intellectual stance of Typaldos ............................................................................... 81 2.4 The relations between Venice and the Greek Confraternity .......................................... 84 2.4.1. The Greeks in Venice up to the time of Typaldos ................................................. 84 2.4.2. The establishment of the Metropolis of Philadelphia ............................................ 91 2.4.3. Greek followers of the two doctrines .................................................................... 95 2.4.4. The professions of the Greeks in Venice ............................................................. 100 CHAPTER THREE: THE ETHNIC IDENTITY OF THE GREEK COMMUNITY IN VENICE ................................................................................................................................ 113 3.1. Preliminary argument ................................................................................................. 113 3.1.1 The literature ........................................................................................................ 115 3.1.2 A Common Ancestry ............................................................................................ 119 3.1.3 Identity politics ..................................................................................................... 122 3.1.4 Religion ................................................................................................................ 123 3.2 The Greek ethnic identity ............................................................................................ 128 3.3. An overview of the educational system ...................................................................... 135 3.3.1. The Greek schools in East and West ................................................................... 137 3.3.2. Greek schools in Venice ...................................................................................... 141 3.4. Preserving the Greek identity in Venice ..................................................................... 146 3.4.1. The struggle for the preservation ......................................................................... 146 3.4.2. The Greek Confraternity ...................................................................................... 153 3.4.3. Maintaining the Greek language.......................................................................... 158 3.4.4. Relation of ethnic identity with social status ....................................................... 162 CHAPTER FOUR: ΤHE YEARS OF TURMOIL ................................................................ 167 4.1. The turn towards the Catholic creed ........................................................................... 167 4.2. Accusations of apostasy ............................................................................................. 184 4.3. Written documents ..................................................................................................... 190 4.3.1. The “Lettera” ....................................................................................................... 190 4.3.2. Typaldos’ apology to the Patriarch ...................................................................... 200 4.3.3 Supporters’ letter to the Patriarch ......................................................................... 202 4.3.4. Letters of Nikolaos Komninos-Papadopoulos ..................................................... 205 4.3.5. The legal dispute.................................................................................................