The Kollyvades Movement and its significance

  1. Lemma
  2. Τὸ κίνημα τῶν Κολλυβάδων καὶ ἡ προσφορά του
  3. Greek, Modern (1453-)
  4. Koutalis, Vangelis
  5. Conflict - Orthodox theological tradition and practice > Premodern _modern_ postmodern - Ecumenism and dialogue > Westernism and anti-westernism - Culture and national identities
  6. 26-02-2017
  7. Zisis, Theodoros [Author]. The Kollyvades Movement and its significance
  8. Θεοδρομία - Ιερόν Ησυχαστήριον Παντοκράτορος Μελισσοχωρίου - Πεμπτουσία
  9. Kollyvades movement - Kaphsokalyvites, Neophytos - St. Makarios Notaras - St. Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain - St. Athanasius of Paros - Western culture - Philokalic Renaissance
  10. Ιερόν Ησυχαστήριον Παντοκράτορος Μελισσοχωρίου - Πεμπτουσία
    1. <p>Zisis, (Protopresbyter) T. [Ζήσης, (Πρωτοπρεσβύτερος) Θ.] (2000). Τὸ κίνημα τῶν Κολλυβάδων καὶ ἡ προσφορά του. <em>Θεοδρομία</em>, <em>7</em>, 13-18.</p>
    2. <p>Zisis, (Protopresbyter) T. [Ζήσης, (Πρωτοπρεσβύτερος) Θ.] (n.d.). <em>Το κίνημα των Κολλυβάδων και η προσφορά του</em>. Retrieved from http://www.impantokratoros.gr/kinhma-kollybadon.el.aspx.</p>
    3. <p>Zisis, (Protopresbyter) T. (2011, November 10). <em>The Kollyvades Movement and its significance</em>. Retrieved from http://pemptousia.com/2011/11/the-kollyvades-movement-and-its-significance/.</p>
    1. This article provides an assessment of the significance of the Kollyvades Movement. Neophytos Kaphsokalyvites, Makarios Notaras, Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and Athanasius of Paros were its initiators and they were  ironically called ‘Kollyvades’, by their opponents, because they reacted against the transfer of the memorial services for the dead from Sunday to Saturday. According to the author, however, they inaugurated a much broader Philokalic Renaissance, something that has only recently begun to be appreciated in Greek historiography and theological studies.

      The ‘Kollyvades’ strived to preserve the self-consciousness and to strengthen the education of the Orthodox communities under Ottoman domination, actively encountering the threats to their cultural continuity posed both by the assimilative influences of Islam and those of the West.  They were opponents of the Enlightenment and its new deities, such as rationalism, science, knowledge and freedom, because they prioritized instead the survival of the Byzantine cultural synthesis, wherein the healthy elements of the Greek spirit were combined with the divine message of love and the Created did not overshadow and displace the Uncreated.

      The author is of the opinion that after the Greek Revolution and the establishment of the Greek state, the influence of modern Western culture actually prevailed. Yet, the teachings of the so-called ‘Kollyvades’ seem to regain its importance for present-day believers.