Aristotle in Church Literature from the Period of Ottoman Occupation: The Cases of the Aristotelian Scholars Georgios Koressios and Nectarius, Patriarch of Jerusalem

The philosophical debate that took place during Renaissance regarding Plato’s or Aristotle’s superiority eventually became part of late Byzantine theology. Consequently, this issue also became an integral part of post-Byzantine theology, either as an integral and independent theme, or as an adjunct issue to the broader discussion for the preservation of tradition in the face of modernity, as well as the relationship between philosophy and theology. The scholars of the time display extreme concern for Aristotelian philosophy, and this constitutes an interesting issue for further investigation. Their expressed opinions affected not only the monastic circles, but also the design of the curricula aimed to be used by educational institutions of the time. It is difficult to trace scholars from the Ottoman period who were not involved, either directly or indirectly, with Aristotle’s philosophy. This presentation constitutes an introductory preamble of a broader scholarly theological investigation of the presence of Aristotelian elements in church literature from the Ottoman period. The choice of the cases to be investigated, Georgios Koressios and Nectarius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, is based upon the following main reasons: The medical philosopher and theologian Georgios Koressios, displaying a great variety of knowledge on several issues, preserves throughout his work a scholastic methodology while citing an impressive number of quotes both from Greek Church Fathers and from Aristotle’s complete works, preserving at the same time a stable adherence to the Orthodox faith. He gained the special admiration of Nectarius and Dositheos, Patriarchs of Jerusalem. Nectarius and his work have been and still are the object of our thorough theological research. We have traced an extensive and remarkable presence of Aristotelian influence in his works, which we will present.