Childhood and education Theophan (born Eleazar or Elisei) Prokopovich was born in
Kiev,
Cossack Hetmanate, a vassal state under the
Tsardom of Russia. His father, Tsereysky, was a shopkeeper from
Smolensk. After the death of his parents, Eleazar was adopted by his maternal uncle, Feofan Prokopovich. Feofan Prokopovich was the abbot of the
Kiev Brotherhood Epiphany Monastery, professor, and rector of the
Academia Mohileana. Prokopovich's uncle sent him to the monastery for primary school. After graduation, he became a student of the Academia Mohileana. In 1698, after graduating from the Academia Mohileana, Eleazar continued his education at the
Volodymyr Uniate Collegium. He lived in the
Basilian monastery and was
tonsured as a Uniate monk under the name of Elisha or Elisey. The
Uniate Bishop of
Volodymyr,
Zalensky, noticed the extraordinary abilities of the young monk and contributed to his transfer to the Catholic Academy of
St. Athanasius in
Rome, which was created by
theologians to spread
Catholicism among
Eastern Orthodox adherents. In Rome, he enjoyed access to the
Vatican Library. In addition to theology, Prokopovich also studied the works of ancient Latin and Greek philosophers, historians, attractions of old and new
Rome, and the principles of the Catholic faith and of the
Pope. Throughout his studies, he became acquainted with the works of
Tommaso Campanella,
Galileo Galilei,
Giordano Bruno, and
Nicolaus Copernicus. On 28 October 1701, Prokopovich left Rome without completing his full course at the academy. He passed through
France,
Switzerland, and
Germany, before studying in
Halle. There he became acquainted with the ideas of the
Protestant Reformation.
Return to Russia He returned to Ukraine (then part of the
Tsardom of Russia) in 1704, first to
Pochayiv Lavra, then to
Kiev, where he renounced the Catholic union as well as his
penance and
tonsure with the
Orthodox monks, taking the name Feofan in memory of his uncle. Beginning in 1705, Prokopovich taught rhetoric, poetics, and philosophy at the Kiev-Mogila Collegium. He also wrote the tragicomedy "Vladimir"(«Влади́мир»), dedicating it to
Hetman Ivan Mazepa. At the same time, he wrote the theological and philosophical sermons which were seen by the Kiev
governor-generals
Dmitry Golitsyn and
Alexander Menshikov. In 1707, he became the prefect of the Kiev Academy. In 1711, Prokopovich gave a sermon on the occasion of the anniversary of the
Battle of Poltava. The
tsar of Russia,
Peter I, was struck by the eloquence of this sermon, and upon his return to Kiev, Feofan Prokopovich was appointed as the rector of the Kiev-Mogila Academy and a professor of theology. At the same time, he also became abbot of the
Kiev Brotherhood Epiphany Monastery. He entirely reformed the teaching of
theology there, substituting the historical method of the German theologians for the Orthodox scholastic system. From that point, Prokopovich spent his time explaining the new scholastic system and justifying its most controversial innovations from the pulpit. Despite the opposition of the Russian clergy, who regarded the "Light of Kiev" as an interloper and semi-heretic, he became invaluable to the civil power. He was promoted to
bishop of
Pskov in 1718, and
archbishop of
Novgorod in 1725. He died in
Saint Petersburg. As the author of the spiritual regulation for the reform of the Russian Orthodox Church, Feofan is regarded as the creator of the spiritual department superseding the patriarchate, better known by its later name of the
Holy Governing Synod, of which he was made vice-president. A pitiless enemy of superstitions of any kind, Prokopovich continued to be a reformer even after the death of
Peter the Great. He simplified Russian preaching, introducing popular themes and a simple style into Orthodox pulpits. ==Notes==