He was born on the island of Chios. His parents' names were Isidoros and Stamatia. His parents were poor. He began his studies in Chios. He was very intelligent. He learned the acceptable sciences of the time. He studied physics, astronomy, and mathematics. He became an expert in the Greek language. He was ordained a priest in 1791. He continued his studies on the island of
Sifnos in 1793. He studied at the flourishing school of Misail Patmios. He was 17 years old. He continued his studies on the island of Patmos with Daniel Kerameas. He wanted to continue his studies in Pisa, Italy because he wanted to expand his knowledge base. He returned to Chios and studied with Dorotheos Proios who was an expert in mathematics. By the year 1796, he followed Proios to Constantinople. He also traveled to Bucharest and other parts of the Ottoman world. When he returned to Constantinople he became the teacher of the family of George Mavrokordatos and Konstantinos Hatzeris. Hatzeris was an interpreter for the Ottoman Fleet. Vamvas followed Proios and Hatzeris to Wallachia. By 1804, Hatzeris was beheaded and Vamvas returned to Constantinople. Vamvas began to teach the Phanariot families. Some of his students included Ephrosyne Mavrokordatos and Constantinos Soutsos. He participated in the compilation of an important Greek dictionary referred to as
Kivotos (Κιβωτού). The director of the project was Proios. Around this period he joined the museum of the
Magali Scoli tou Genous. In 1804, he took over as Headmaster of the
Magali Scoli tou Genous.{{cite web Four years later in 1808, he traveled to Paris and met the eminent
Adamantios Korais. He helped Vamvas in his advanced studies. He maintained a close relationship with
Korais. While Vamvas was in Paris he attended classes in Chemistry with
Louis Jacques Thénard. He translated his book
Treatise of Elementary Chemistry into the Greek language. He also studied the works of
Philipp Karl Buttmann and
François Thurot. In Paris, he taught Greek and traded carpets to make a living. He joined the
Filiki Eteria. He returned to Chios in 1815. He took over the direction of the high school. During this period he met
Konstantinos Negris. He was his teacher. In April 1821, he traveled to Hydra to recruit the Kountouriotis brothers to liberate the island of Chios. While he was in Hydra he followed
Demetrios Ypsilantis and became his secretary. He followed him around while he fought in battles. Vamvas inspired the rebels to fight with motivational speeches. After seeing the devastation of his home island after the
Chios massacre he dedicated himself to education. He settled on the Ionian Island of Corfu in 1828. He taught at the Ionian Academy. The islands were under English mandate.{{cite web Around 1833, Vamvas traveled to the island of
Syros. He became the director of the school. He taught philosophy, philology, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. There he met
Stamatios D. Krinos. He published several books and translated the Old Testament into the modern language. By the year 1836, he settled in
Piraeus. One year later at the recommendation of the modern Greek leadership namely because of his friendship with
Adamantios Korais and
Demetrios Ypsilantis, he was selected to become professor of philosophy at the University of Athens. He did not join the Theological school because he was considered a radical. He became the dean of the Philosophy School. He was also ordained an archimandrite. He remained a professor at the university until 1854.{{cite web ==Neophytos incident==