Nikolas Farmakidis - 1841 trip of Michael Fotiadis and Simonides to Constantius, correspondence - family and scholarship connection - Isabells Tsaveri

[Steven Avery]

At the end of 1841, Michael Fotiadis went to Constantinople, where he knew many people because of his long teaching activity312, to settle the issues of Panormitis. That is, he recommended its transformation into a "Crusader's House313". He also went to deliver the books written by his brother to the Holy Synod. He apparently took his nephew Constantine with him, for it appears that both of them were at this time going to Constantinople to see the Patriarch on different business each.

 

[Steven Avery]

Need to find the Greek and inquire!

p. 64

Symi received great support from Patriarch Constantius I. He had studied at the Kiev Academy and in 1795 he was elected Archbishop of Sinai, when the School of St. Marina had close relations with Sinai. In the last years before the Revolution he resided in Constantinople, where he wrote and printed works with anti-Turkish overtones. He had contacts with the Phanariots and merchants and was a member of the pro-progressive and moderate part of the patriarchal environment165.

1. Triantafyllos Sklavenitis "Notes on the Enlightenment in Constantinople in 1821", Proceedings of the International Conference dedicated to the memory of C. T. Dimaras, Hellenic Enlightenment Study Group, Athens 1995, p. 259.

Constantine 1ο s would subsequently become associated with Constantine Simonides and dedicate several books to him. He was a very good connoisseur of palaeography, perhaps one of the best in the Greek world. Constantine never ceased to correspond and have contacts with him. Constantius 1ο s (Simonides says that) also studied at Agia Marina in Symi. He will be one of those who will introduce him to Countess Roxandra Sturtza.

Η Σύμη έτυχε μεγάλης υποστήριξης από τον Πατριάρχη Κωνστάντιο Α\
Είχε σπουδάσει στην Ακαδημία του Κιέβου και το 1795 εξελέγη αρχιεπί-
σκοπος Σινά, όταν η Σχολή της Αγίας Μαρίνας είχε στενές σχέσεις με το
Σινά. Τα τελευταία χρόνια πριν την Επανάσταση διέμενε στην Κωνσταντι-
νούπολη. όπου έγραψε και τύπωσε έργα με αντιτουρκικές αιχμές. Είχε επα-
φές με τους Φαναριώτες και με τους εμπόρους και κατατασσόταν στην προ-
οδευτική και μετριοπαθή μερίδα του πατριαρχικού περιβάλλοντος165. Ο
Κωνστάντιος 1"- στη συνέχεια Οα συνδεθεί με τον Κωνσταντίνο Σιμωνίδη
και Οα του αφιερώσει αρκετά βιβλία του. Ήταν πολύ καλός γνώστης της πα-
λαιογραφίας, ίσως από τους καλύτερους στον ελληνικό χώρο. Ο Κωνσταντί-
νος δεν έπαψε ποτέ να έχει αλληλογραφία και επαφές μαζί του. Ο Κωνστά-
ντιος l‘s (λέει ο Σιμωνίδης πως) σπούδασε και στη Αγία Μαρίνα στη Σύμη.
Θα είναι ένας από αυτούς που θα τον συστήσουν στην Κόμισσα Ρωξάνδρα
Στονρτζα.

Η Σύμη έτυχε μεγάλης υποστήριξης από τον Πατριάρχη Κωνστάντιο Α'. Είχε σπουδάσει στην Ακαδημία του Κιέβου και το 1795 εξελέγη αρχιεπίσκοπος Σινά, όταν η Σχολή της Αγίας Μαρίνας είχε στενές σχέσεις με το Σινά. Τα τελευταία χρόνια πριν την Επανάσταση διέμενε στην Κωνσταντινούπολη. όπου έγραψε και τύπωσε έργα με αντιτουρκικές αιχμές. Είχε επαφές με τους Φαναριώτες και με τους εμπόρους και κατατασσόταν στην προοδευτική και μετριοπαθή μερίδα του πατριαρχικού περιβάλλοντος165. Ο Κωνστάντιος 1st- στη συνέχεια Οα συνδεθεί με τον Κωνσταντίνο Σιμωνίδη και Οα του αφιερώσει αρκετά βιβλία του. Ήταν πολύ καλός γνώστης της παλαιογραφίας, ίσως από τους καλύτερους στον ελληνικό χώρο. Ο Κωνσταντίνος δεν έπαψε ποτέ να έχει αλληλογραφία και επαφές μαζί του. Ο Κωνστάντιος l‘s (λέει ο Σιμωνίδης πως) σπούδασε και στη Αγία Μαρίνα στη Σύμη. Θα είναι ένας από αυτούς που θα τον συστήσουν στην Κόμισσα Ρωξάνδρα Στονρτζα.

Symi received great support from Patriarch Constantios I. He had studied at the Kiev Academy and in 1795 was elected archbishop of Sinai, when the School of Saint Marina had close relations with Sinai. In the last years before the Revolution, he lived in Constantinople. where he wrote and printed anti-Turkish works. He had contacts with the Phanariotes and with the merchants and was classified in the progressive and moderate part of the patriarchal environment165. Constantius 1st- then connected with Constantinos Simonides and dedicated several of his books to him. He was a very good connoisseur of paleography, perhaps one of the best in the Greek area. Konstantinos never stopped having correspondence and contacts with him. Constantios l's (says Simonides) also studied at Agia Marina in Symi. He will be one of those who introduce him to Countess Roxandra Strontza.

 

[Steven Avery]

IV. 5. THE STUDY TOURS OF CONSTANTINE
Simonides describes his tours in his Autographs. He passed through the cities of the Black Sea, Chalkidona (Skoutari) and Heraclea. Then he toured the cities of Thrace. He arrived in Lysimachia, Evros and then in the ancient cities of Pieria and the region of Strimonas. Finally he goes to Stagira, where he says his ancestors originated from. He visits the islands around Athos and some of the Sporades, as well as the coasts of Caria and Lycia. let. From Lycia he went to Cyprus and from there to Alexandria, Cairo and Sinai, where he arrived in January 1845. He left for a while in Cairo and returned to Sinai in March. He visited all the region around the Mount and the Red Sea, and then e-turned back to Alexandria. He went to Syria, Mesopotamia, Petra Arabia and Lebanon. Then to Pamphylia and Cilicia, and he went as far as Babylon. From there to Russia. In 1846 he returned to Byzantium, Bithynia and Lycia. He then went to Constantinople and then to Athens. His uncle Michael Fotiadis must have already left for Symi to help his brother John in 1846. So Constantine had none of his own in Constantinople. The only one he visited was Fr. Patriarch Constantine. (Constantius)

 

[Steven Avery]

Benedict, while staying on Mount Athos and having relations with scholars such as Economou, Sturtzas, Constantius (former Patriarch), etc., engaged in the study of manuscripts and assisted them in the writing of their works. Benedict, moreover, wrote several works. He had his nephew as his assistant, because of an inflammation in his eyes, and thus introduced him to the art of palaeography. If Benedict had sent him away, as the monks say, who taught him all that he de facto knew?

 

[Steven Avery]

At the same time, Prokopios Dendrinos promotes him. Constantine will say that he first went to Constantinople, but then went to Mount Athos for a few months, apparently to see Procopius, who would have given him a letter of recommendation for Roxandra Sturza E-dling, because in the meantime Patriarch Anthimos V had died. For her, he would also be given a letter of recommendation by Constantius, the former Patriarch, who was then residing on the island of Antigonus (Prigiponissa), as he wrote in a letter to The Athenaeum.

So the monks of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos are wondering, without reason, how he knows the Patriarch. But perhaps they are confused with the Patriarchs. The one who is friendly to the family is Anthimos V. Anthimos IV, who was restored to the throne in 1852, does not like Constantine's uncles, perhaps because he considers them people of Anthimos V. Anthimos V replaced D in mid or late 1841 with the intervention of Sultan Abdul Majid I.

 

[Steven Avery]

This teacher and disciple of all cunning and wickedness, German Tischendorf, unexpectedly fell into your net: having found in the common library (where I found him some time ago, and where your spiritual father Callistratus put him when he went to Alexandria) the Codex, which you wrote on Athos twenty-two years ago as a gift to the late Emperor of Russia, Nicholas I, at the request of your wise and distinguished uncle Benedict, and then going to Constantinople, after his death, you gave it unfinished to your blessed patriarch Constantius, who sent it to Mount Sinai with the monk Germanos of Sinai, whom you know, and which was then given to Hieromonk Callistratus to be compared with the three old Codes of sacred writings (which you know and which are kept in the treasury) and then ignored because you did not appear in time on Mount Sinai to transcribe it, in accordance with the original wish of the patriarch, has declared it to be genuine and the oldest of all known codices in Europe of the Old and New Testament.

 

[Steven Avery]

Photiadis knew many of the scholars of the time, such as Economou, Sinadon Benjamin (who was a student of Photiadis), Patriarch Anthimos V, and many others. All of these, Jerome, Michael's a-brother, Benedict, Dendrinos, etc., were Constantine's entourage, and it was through them that he met the high-ranking officials in Greece, in Constantinople, Alexandria, Russia, and other regions of "Orthodox Greece". Of course, all of them had enemies, which Constantine also inherited.

 

[Steven Avery]

As Constantine himself says, he went to Symi (1841) for a while. After recommendations from prominent persons of Mount Athos and especially from Prokopios Dendrinos, he visited Anthimos V, the Patriarch of Constantinople (October 1841). Patriarch Anthimos V (1841-1842) was in this position for only 13 months. He died and his place was taken by Germanos IV (1842-1845). Some letters from his uncle Michael Fotiadis indicate that he probably also introduced him to the circle of Patriarch Anthimos V.

 

[Steven Avery]

I could write many pages about Nikolo Farmakidis. I will limit myself to a few lines, mainly emphasizing that one hardly suspects the exhaustive and painstaking research that is hidden behind the author's smooth style, research that concerns every aspect of life at that time in Symi and in Greece. His style, simple and unpretentious, without unnecessary decorative verbal elements, is distinguished by its precision and clarity. The narrative, which flows effortlessly, is often in the first person, and ensures immediacy. Nikolos, an expert on Modern Greek History over a long period of time and a sharp analyst of historical events, stood with particular sensitivity and love on all the necessary points and added beyond the historical and a lyrical approach. The book, unique for us Symia and a brilliant acquisition for our island, has scientific perfection, i.e. it is an inductive book, comprehensible and at the same time scientifically complete and bibliographically documented, with quotes from villages and a rich bibliography. I am sure that this very important contribution by the author will provide knowledge and pleasure not only to Symians everywhere but also to all those who are moved by both the human adventure and the recent history of Symi, which is inextricably linked with the history of Greece. In closing, I would like to add that I am personally grateful to Nikolos Farmakidis for his creativity, effort and dedication regarding the history of our island, our Symi. Isabella Tsavari

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Για το Νικολό Φαρμακίδη θα μπορούσα να γράψω πολλές σελίδες. Θα περιοριστώ σε λίγες γραμμές τονίζοντας κυρίως το ότι δύσκολα υποψιάζε-ται κανείς την εξαντλητική και επίπονη έρευνα που κρύβεται πίσω από το γλαφυρό ύφος του συγγραφέα, έρευνα που αφορά κάθε πτυχή της ζωής εκείνης της εποχής στη Σύμη και στην Ελλάδα. Το ύφος του, απλό και α-νεπιτήδευτο, χωρίς περιττά διακοσμητικά λεκτικά στοιχεία, διακρίνεται για την ακρίβεια και τη σαφήνειά του. Η αφήγηση, που ρέει αβίαστα, γίνεται συχνά σε πρώτο πρόσωπο, και εξασφαλίζει αμεσότητα. Ο Νικολός, γνώ-στης της Νεοελληνικής Ιστορίας σε βάθος χρόνου και οξύς αναλυτής των ιστορικών γεγονότων, στάθηκε με ιδιαίτερη ευαισθησία και αγάπη σε όσα σημεία χρειαζόταν και πρόσθεσε πέρα από την ιστορική και μια λυρική προσέγγιση. Το βιβλίο, μοναδικό για μας τους Συμιακούς και λαμπρό απόκτημα για το νησί μας, έχει επιστημονική αρτιότητα, είναι δηλαδή βιβλίο επαγωγικό, κατανοητό και συγχρόνως επιστημονικά πλήρες και βιβλιογραφικά τεκμη-ριωμένο, με παραθέσεις χωρίων και πλούσια βιβλιογραφία. Είμαι σίγουρη ότι αυτή η τόσο σημαντική συνεισφορά του συγγραφέα θα προσφέρει γνώ-ση και ευχαρίστηση όχι μόνο στους απανταχού Συμιακούς αλλά και σε ό-λους εκείνους που συγκινούνται τόσο από την ανθρώπινη περιπέτεια όσο και από την πρόσφατη ιστορία της Σύμης, που είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με την ιστορία της Ελλάδας. Τελειώνοντας θα ήθελα να προσθέσω ότι είμαι προσωπικά ευγνώμων στο Νικολό Φαρμακίδη για τη δημιουργικότητα, την προσπάθεια και την αφοσίωσή του σε ότι αφορά στην ιστορία του νησιού μας, της Σύμης μας. Ισαβέλλα Τσαβαρή - Isabella Tsaveri