Dosoftei

Dosoftei
Metropolitan Dosoftei
BornOctober 26, 1624
Suceava
DiedDecember 13, 1693
Zhovkva, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Venerated inOctober 14, 2005
CanonizedJuly 2005 by Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church
FeastDecember 13

Dimitrie Barilă (Romanian pronunciation: [diˈmitri.e baˈrilə]), better known under his monastical name Dosoftei ([dosofˈtej]; October 26, 1624—December 13, 1693), was a Moldavian Metropolitan, scholar, poet and translator.

Born in Suceava, into a family of Greek origin,[1][2] he attended the school of the "Trei Ierarhi" Monastery of Iaşi and then at the Orthodox Brotherhood school in Lviv, where he studied humanities and learned several languages.

In 1648 he became a monk at Probota Monastery, and was later bishop of Huşi (1658–1660) and Roman (1660–1671) to become Metropolitan bishop of Moldavia (1671–1674 and again 1675-1686). In 1686 he moved to Poland where he stayed for the rest of his life.

Dosoftei's residence in Iaşi

He was one of the most important Romanian scholars of the 17th century, the first important Romanian language poet and the first translator into Romanian of epics, works on history, as well as religious scriptures Moldavia had. His most famous work is the Romanian psalter in verse.

The Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Dosoftei in July 2005, a fact that was proclaimed on October 14, 2005. His feast day is December 13.

  1. ^ Revista de istorie (in Romanian). Vol. 27. Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România. 1974. p. 1486. Profesorul Giorgie Pascu a fost mai categoric afirmînd că "marele mitropolit Dosofteiu era desigur grec". Nicolae Iorga, mai puțin categoric, a emis şi părerea că Dosoftei a fost probabil de origine greacă.
  2. ^ Țurcanu, Ion (2007). Istoria românilor: Cu o privire mai largă asupra culturii (in Romanian). Istros. p. 215. ISBN 978-973-1871-02-8. De aceea nu întîmplător la începuturile creării culturii naţionale a românilor se vor afla cărturari de origine greacă, cum fuseseră Coresi sau Dosoftei.