Greek diaspora in Moldova and Wallachia

  During the reformation of Bessarabia and its reunification with Russia, the russian admiral Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov had to take some basic principles into consideration. Like every powerful state, Russia followed policies of centralization, unification and incorporation. However, along with this incorporation of peoples and nations, these policies could not ignore local characteristics, especially those of the neighbouring states or of those countries with which Russia had previously gone to war many times. Russia aimed to reinforce its strength not only by force of weapon but also through diplomacy. An example of this is the governing of the Ionian Islands, which continued right up until the beginning of the 20th century, and was completed with the constitutional reformation in Crete. Besides external affairs, there was the domestic constitutional government. This is reflected in Finland, Poland and other areas of Russia, especially during the reign of Tsar Alexander A. Bessarabia was examined, as was the case of Southern Finland which became a northern province of the Russian Empire in only 3 years. The historian F. Vingle, who was familiar with the state of affairs in Bessarabia and who became its vice- governor in 1823, emphasized that “Bessarabia has the same right as the Kingdom of Poland and the Duchy of Finland to have its own political administration. Admiral P.V. Chichagov, on 23rd July 1812 while he was still in Bucharest, signed a document entitled “Training of the Temporary Administration of Bessarabia. However, in the bibliography concerning the first rules and regulations of the new Russian province, dated 2nd August 1812 when they were enforced. Count Ioannis Kapodistrias participated in its organization as he already had experience of reforms concerning the Ionian Islands and was also familiar with the conditions in the hegemonies in and around the Danube. I. Kapodistrias had many friends among the Boyars of Moldwallachia and he was especially close to Skarlatos Sturdza and his children Alexander and Roxandra. This familiarity must indeed be taken into consideration when studying the proposals that were developed by the Russian diplomats of Greek origin.

The administrative plan of Bessarabia

  The administrative plan for Bessarabia was developed by Ioannis Kapodistrias in the shortest possible time in July 1812, in other words two months after the Treaty of Bucharest was signed and handed over to Admiral Chichagov in St. Petersburg. The war with Napoleon was under way. The S to St. Petersburg was not on the horizon and even though a peace treaty had been signed with Turkey, a new war could not be ruled out. Kapodistrias hoped that the peace treaty would collapse as a new conflict between Russia and Turkey would be helpful in Greece’s campaign for liberation. It wаs not accidental that on 1st. February 1813 the Senate decided to create a temporary government in Bessarabia framed by public administration. This government should have been guited by the “Temporary Rules and Regulations”, a plan that had been organized by Ioannis Kapodistrias and signed by Tsar Alexander I. In the Russian state administration, including the diplomatic corps, there were approximately 150 diplomats of Greek origin who had the rank of ambassador or envoy. The most famous and shining example is Count Ioannis Kapodistrias. He was awarded the medal of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called for his honourable services to the Russian Empire, this award being the highest until 1917. Ioannis Kapodistrias was born into an aristocratic family from Corfu on 31st January 1776. Following his graduation from the philosophical department and the medical school of the University of Padova in Italy, he involved himself in the diplomatic sector of his native country. During the fight for liberation, he took part in the creation of the Septinsular Republic of the Ionian Islands, which were under the auspices of Russia. Under the treaty of Tilsit in 1807, the Septinsular administration was passed to the French. I. Kapodistrias, in order to continue his career, transferred to the Russian diplomatic corps and in 1809 he became attached to the Governing Council for Foreign Affairs of Russia. Two years later he was appointed Secretary to the Russian Embassy in Vienna, while at the same time continuing diplomatic correspondence with the Russian admiral Pavel Chichagov, a political and military leader. Following Bessarabia’s reunification with Russia, its organization was handed to the latter. In 1813 Ioannis Kapodistrias accompanied Emperor Alexander I as Chief of Staff and was then sent to Switzerland with the request to bring about an alliance against Napoleon. Alexander gave the following advice to the members accompanying such an important diplomat: “Kapodistrias is a man very capable and highly honourable with a wealth of knowledge and liberal opinions. He is from Corfu and therefore democratic and was chosen by myself because I know the principles by which he is governed”. Ioannis Kapodistrias was involved in the signing of the agreement for the Congress of Vienna in 1815 where he spoke on behalf of Switzerland. He also took part in the drawing up of the Swiss constitution…  

   The relationship of Ioannis Kapodistrias with the great Russian poet Pushkin

  Ioannis Kapodistrias played an important role in the future and fate of the young Russian national poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, who served under his orders at the College of External Affairs. This came about through the petition and mediation by Kapodistrias to Tsar Alexander A who had threatened Pushkin with exile to Siberia. This was eventually replaced by his delegation to an administrative service in Bessarabia. Ioannis Kapodistrias sent Pushkin to Kishinev, the center of the Greek revolutionary movement, where the legislative committee had sent Ioannis Kapodistrias to supervise the legal organization of Bessarabia. Later these laws became the foundation for the constitution of liberated Greece while was Prime Minister of Greece. He was beloved by Pushkin and is mentioned many times in the notes on his manuscripts. These manuscripts reveal another page in the biography of Count Ioannis Kapodistrias. Three portraits of his are found next to a portrait of Roxandra Sturdza-Edling (1786-1844). She was the beloved godmother to the Empress Elisabeth Alexeyevna and long-term friend of the post…

 The offer of the family Stourdza to Monastery of archangel Michael in Odessa

  In the surrounding area of the Monastery of the Archangel Michael in Odessa another church was added. It was built by Tsar Alexander’s secret counsel Skarlatovich-Sturdza next to the grave of Roxandra Skarlatovna-Edling, his sister. Roxandra had contributed a great deal of money to the monastery in the past. She died on 16th January 1844. An unforgettable benefactress of the monastery, she bequeathed to be buried on the shore, near Station B, at Sredny Fontan. This piece of land was later bought by Archbishop Gabriel. The brother of the deceased built the Temple of the Resurrection next to the grave as a symbol of hope to all regarding the immortality of souls. The plans for the temple were drawn up by Francesco Moranti, architect for many administrative and religious buildings in the old city of Odessa. In particular, he designed the Church of St. Nicholas at the port under the «Steps of Grigori Potemkin». The church building was based on the spirit of the West. In the beginning it did not have domes and more like a spiritual home. It could hold 500 people. On the outside it was decorated with icons of the 12 apostles, while the walls were decorated in marble. The Icon Screen comprised 11 icons, among which was a row with the images of the 6 prophets. Moranti invited the most able of artists from Northern Italy to do the internal lining of the church. So, on the recess of the sanctuary, there was a huge icon depicting the Resurrection of Christ which was painted by hagiographers from Milan, from Professor Bertini’s group. The church’s dedication was conducted by Archbishop Gabriel of Odessa himself on 4th August 1846 in the presence of the Sturdza family. The life of this eminent family, which has contributed so much not only to the monastery of the Archangel Michael but also to the whole city of Odessa, is a special story. The Sturdza family, with its high connections in state administration, contributed greatly towards the increase in donations from other donors and benefactors.Descendants of Greek origin, they linked their charitable works with the rest of the wealthy Greek community. So, the servants of God, Roxandra and Alexander, should rightly be called the founders of the monastery because they were people with rare Christian virtues who lived a difficult but honest and virtuous life, leaving behind a rich and valuable heritage; many charitable organizations, churches, monasteries, libraries with religious and philosophical works, excellent correspondence with famous people, memoirs and other texts…

The genus of Stourdza – The Greek community of Phanar in Constantinople and relationships with the High Gate

  The Sturdza family dates from the 15th century and originates from the ruler of Moldova Vlad Turzo, who became governor in 1432 as is stated in the family’s correspodence – «6940 years since the creation of man on 20th January». On 29th February 1679 the ruler of Transylvania Michael Anafi awarded the Moldavian coat-of-arms of the Great Judge (minister of justice) to Ilia Matfejevich Sturdza and his wife Softo Petrichseyida. The coatof-arms comprises 2 parts. The first is a gold cross with a crown entwined with a silver snake over a dark red background and on the second there is a golden lion holding a sword in its right leg which is covered in an olive branch. Moldova’s Vlad Turzo’s descendants were Skarlat Sturdza, Michael Sturdza and others. Roxandra Edling, of Sturdza descent, describes in her memoirs: «My mother is a descendant of the Mourouzi family; a princely family known for its influence in the Ottoman court. My grandfather, a hospodar from Moldova, married his daughter with my father. I was born in Constantinople and I was 5 years old when my parents decided to leave their country and establish themselves in Russia». The Mourouzi princes were Greeks from Phanar and held positions in the higher echelons of the Ottoman State and later in Moldwallachia. Other famous families from Phanar who later established themselves in Moldwallachia and who also held high positions in the state administration were the families of Mavrokordato, Katakouzinos and others. After the Treaty of Iasi on 29th December 1791, which provided for the return of territories of Moldwallachia to Turkey, the Skarlato-Sturdza family, which was hostile towards the Ottoman court, was forced to immigrate to Russia and lost almost all of its huge fortune? The children later occupied public positions in the service of the Empire. Roxandra became godmother to one of the Empress Elisabeth Alexejevna’s children (a child that the Empress Elisabeth Alexejevna had from an affair) and Alexander became secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the supervision of the Minister Count Ioannis Kapodistrias. Besides their intellectual abilities and multifaceted knowledge, they were both made worthy of acceptance and recognition by the emperor and therefore, in 1822, the emperor himself gave Roxandra 10,000 hectares of land in Bessarabia in order to restore her lost fortune.

Memoirs and Consingment of Roxandra Stourdza and the social contribution of the peoples of Bessarabia and Odessa

That which distinguished the Sturdza family more was its great and unlimited love towards the poor. Roxandra, together with her like-minded friend, Princess Elisabeta Vorontsova, in times of natural catastrophe and pestilence, founded the “Women’s Benevolent Community” in 1834. This was housed in the orphanage at the Monastery of the Archangel Michael and which had a separate part for the clergy’s orphans and the aged. At the monastery Roxandra helped to build and staff a school for the orphans of clergy and also the hospital. She also founded charitable institutions in the village of Manzir, her estate from the Tsar. Alexander Sturdza, after whom a street in Odessa was named, founded one of the first charitable communities which was named. “The Sturdza Workhouse Fraternity” and which had a church in the foreyard devoted to the icon “Joy of all the Grievers”. He gave the characteristic of a model hospital with a charter and rules of operation to this fraternity and he became a permanent member of the board. Next to the monastery of the Archangel Michael, at the cost of the family, a cemetery was built to house the graves of the family’s ancestors. Alexander Skarlatovich Sturdza’s daughter, Maria Alexandrovna, married Prince Gagarin and from then until the beginning of the 20th century, the Gagarin’s continued to be the guardians of the monastery. In 1829, Roxandra collected all the information needed for her memoirs, which covered the period up until 1825; in other words until the death of the Emperor of Russia Alexander I. The greater part of the contents is devoted to the life of the Tsar’s family, in particular the Emperor’s character, a description of the most important historical events and this was done under her supervision. Fine observation, genius, charm and beauty give these notes a valuable source for the study of the Tsar’s personality. However, more than that, charity was the main aim which guided the life of Roxandra…

Αλέξανδρος Σκαρλάτοβιτς Στούρτζα

Ο Αλέξανδρος Σκαρλάτοβιτς Στούρτζα, διπλωμάτης, συγγραφέας πολιτικών και θρησκευτικών θεμάτων, μυστικοσύμβουλος, γιος Μολδαβού βογιάρου, γεννήθηκε στο Ιάσι της Μολδαβίας στις 18 Νοεμβρίου 1791. Ο πατέρας του αναγκάστηκε να εγκαταλείψει την πατρίδα του, μετά την ειρήνη του Ιασίου και στις αρχές του 1792 μετακόμισε στη Ρωσία. Η γυναίκα που τον μεγάλωσε, είχε μεγάλη επιρροή στον Αλέξανδρο, γιατί του ενέπνευσε ένα υψηλό θρησκευτικό συναίσθημα από την παιδική του ακόμη ηλικία. Έλαβε την εκπαίδευσή του στο σπίτι, στη συνέχεια παρακολούθησε διαλέξεις σε πολλά γερμανικά πανεπιστήμια, ενώ στη συνέχεια έζησε για μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα στη Βιέννη και τη Φλωρεντία. Για κάποιο διάστημα μετά υπηρέτησε ως αξιωματικός υπό τον πρίγκιπα Κωνσταντίνο Μουρούζη, μετά από τον οποίο εγκαταστάθηκε στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, αλλά δεν έζησε εκεί πολύ, διότι σύντομα μετακόμισε στη Ρωσία.

Ο Νικηφόρος Θεοτόκης, ο Έλληνας επίσκοπος, είχε σημαντική επιρροή στην κοσμοθεωρία του Αλέξανδρου στη Μόσχα, αλλά και ο Ευγένιος Βούλγαρης, με τον οποίο ο πατέρας του ήταν πολύ κοντινός, στην Αγία Πετρούπολη. Το 1809, μετά από μια προκαταρκτική και μάλλον αυστηρή δοκιμασία, ο Στούρτζα εντάχθηκε στο Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, αρχικά αναγνωρισμένος ως γραμματέας. Λίγους μήνες αργότερα, ο κόμης Ρουμιάντσεφ, μέλος του Κρατικού Συμβουλίου, του έδωσε εντολή να συντάξει, με βάση αρχειακό υλικό, ένα σχόλιο για τις διπλωματικές σχέσεις της Ρωσίας με το Τάγμα της Μάλτας, ξεκινώντας το 1768 πριν ο Αλέξανδρος Α΄ ανέβει στο θρόνο. Έχοντας ολοκληρώσει με επιτυχία αυτή την εργασία, διορίστηκε υπάλληλος ειδικών αποστολών και το 1811 — δραγομάνος (μεταφραστής), καθώς μιλούσε έξι γλώσσες: ελληνικά, λατινικά, ρωσικά, γερμανικά, γαλλικά και Μολδαβικά. Μέχρι τότε, είχε καταρτίσει ένα σχέδιο για την αμοιβή των ατόμων με ειδικές ανάγκες, το οποίο δεν ήταν επιτυχές. Το 1812 διορίστηκε γραμματέας και μεταφραστής του αρχηγού του στρατού του Δούναβη, Π.Β. Τσιτσαγκόβ, και συμμετείχε στην εκστρατεία κατά του Ναπολέοντα στη Λιθουανία, που ανέλαβε αυτός ο στρατός. Μετά την επιστροφή του στην Αγία Πετρούπολη, δεν έμεινε εδώ για πολύ, καθώς το 1814 διορίστηκε στη ρωσική πρεσβεία στη Βιέννη, όπου χρειάστηκαν οι υπηρεσίες του ως εξαιρετικός ειδικός στις γλώσσες κατά τη διάρκεια των συνεδριάσεων του συνεδρίου της Βιέννης. Το 1815, ο Αλέξανδρος Σκαρλάτοβιτς, μαζί με τον Κόμη Ιωάννη Καποδίστρια, πήγαν στο Παρίσι και υπηρέτησε ως γραμματέας αυτού. Εκεί έγραψε το πρώτο του έργο για εκκλησιαστικά ζητήματα, Considérations sur la doctrine et l'esprit de l'eglise orthodoxe, που δημοσιεύθηκε στα γαλλικά στη Στουτγκάρδη το 1816. Σε αυτό, ο Στούρτζα προσπάθησε να περιγράψει εν συντομία τα θεμέλια της Ορθοδοξίας και ο ίδιος είχε τόσο υψηλή γνώμη για την εκπλήρωση αυτού του καθήκοντος που έστειλε ακόμη και αντίγραφα του βιβλίου με πρόσθετες ερμηνείες στα ελληνικά στους Πατριάρχες Κύριλλο της Κωνσταντινούπολης και Πολυκάρπου της Ιερουσαλήμ. Στο λογοτεχνικό του έργο, ο Στούρτζα προσπάθησε να διαδώσει ορθές πληροφορίες για την Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία στη Δυτική Ευρώπη και ηγήθηκε μιας συνεχούς Πολεμικής με τους υπερασπιστές άλλων χριστιανικών ομολογιών. Όταν ο Πάπας δημοσίευσε την επιστολή της Ανατολικής Εκκλησίας στα ελληνικά το 1847, ο Στούρτζα απάντησε με το φυλλάδιο "Le double parallel" (Αθήνα, 1849)*, ενώ στη συνέχεια μετέφρασε στα Ρωσικά την "Περιφερειακή επιστολή της Ανατολικής Αποστολικής Εκκλησίας" (Αγία Πετρούπολη, 1849), η οποία ήταν μια απάντηση στην παπική εγκύκλιο, και δημοσίευσε και τις δύο αυτές επιστολές με τα σχόλιά του στα Γαλλικά ("Les deux Encycliques, traduites du grec par le docteur d.Dallas et précédés d'un avertissement par A. Stourdza", Παρίσι, 1850).

Μια παραλλαγή του συνδυασμένου οικόσημου της Μολδαβίας και της Βλαχίας από την εποχή του Κωνσταντίνου Υψηλάντη (1805). [Πηγή από την έκδοση του Μ. Ντογκάρου (Ρουμανία)]

Μια παραλλαγή του ενωμένου οικόσημου της Μολδαβίας και της Βλαχίας από την εποχή του Νικόλαου Μαυροκορδάτου είναι από το εξώφυλλο του "Ιερού και θείου βιβλίου των Ψαλμών" (1723). [Πηγή από την έκδοση του Μ. Ντογκάρου (Ρουμανία)]

Ροξάνα Στούρτζα (1786-1844)

Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας (1776-1831)