Joseph of Androussa (1770-1844) The first Minister of Religion and Law and first Bishop of Messinia This essay presents the edition of unpublished documents of Bishop Joseph of Messina (from Androussa), first minister of Religion and Law after the Revolution of 1821. It attempts to understand this multi-dimentional personality and the era of his active duty. -The first part consists of the biography of Joseph of Androussa. -The second part consists of the publication and transcription of 130 unpublished manuscripts of Joseph of Messina, ie a large part of the first register of the Bishop of Messina as well as other documents of correspondance belonging to Joseph, dating between the years 1834 and 1843. During the transcription process, the spelling and syntax of the manuscripts was maintained. -The third part discusses the aforementioned edited manuscripts. The Bishop of Messina (from Androussa) was a person of great significance for pre- and post-revolutionary Greece. Both historical research and study of Joseph’s personality as well as the study of the manuscripts in this specific work bring the researcher to the conclusion that Joseph: combined in excellence ecclesiastical consciousness stemming from the great Fathers of Orthodoxy with political consiousness deriving from the Ancient Greek democracy; played a great part to the preparation of the Greek Revolution of 1821; fought for the freedom of our country from the Ottoman domination ; contributed to the building of the first Greek state after 1821 and took a special interest in the education of the uneducated, at the time, Greek people. As a Minister of religion and education of the then newly founded state, he thought that teachers offer a great service to Greece. Joseph intervenes in all aspects of ecclesiastical and social activity of his time. The conclusion reached from the edition and study of the manuscripts, as well as from his biography is that: Joseph of Messina (from Androussa) was a multidimensional personality during the Greek Revolution of 1821. He is the epitome of an ecclessiastical and a political man combined. He was the first Bishop following the freedom from Ottoman hold in 1821, who served both ecclesiastical and political duties simultaneously. Above all, he fought for the Freedom of the Nation, sacrificing everything, mainly his own person in the process. He fairly carried the title of “National Martyr’
Ἰωσὴφ Ἀνδρούσης (1770-1844 ) Ὁ πρῶτος μινίστρος τῆς Θρησκείας καὶ τοῦ Δικαίου καὶ πρῶτος Ἐπίσκοπος ΜεσσηνίαςΤὸ παρὸν πόνημα παρουσιάζει τὴν ἔκδοση ἀνεκδότων ἐγγράφων τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ Ἐπισκόπου Μεσσήνης (τοῦ ἀπὸ Ἀνδρούσης) πρώτου Μινίστρου τῆς Θρησκείας καὶ τοῦ Δικαίου μετὰ τὴν Ἐπανάσταση τοῦ 1821. Ἐπιχειρεῖται προσπάθεια γιὰ τὴν κατανόηση τῆς πολυσχιδοῦς προσωπικότητάς του καὶ τῆς ἐποχῆς τῆς δράσης του.-Τὸ πρῶτο μέρος ἀποτελεῖται ἀπὸ τὴ βιογραφία τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ Ἀνδρούσης.-Τὸ δεύτερο μέρος ἀποτελεῖται ἀπὸ τὴν ἒκδοση καὶ μεταγραφὴ 130 ἀνεκδότων χειρογράφων τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ Μεσσήνης, ἤτοι μεγάλου τμήματος τοῦ πρώτου Καταστίχου τῆς Ἐπισκοπῆς Μεσσήνης, καθὼς καὶ ἄλλων ἐγγράφων τῆς ἀλληλογραφίας τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τὸ ἔτος 1834 ἓως τὸ 1843, τὰ ὁποῖα ἀνήκουν στὸ Ἀρχεῖο τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μητροπόλεως Μεσσηνίας. Κατὰ τὴν μεταγραφὴ διατηρήθηκε ἡ ὀρθογραφία καὶ ἡ σύνταξη τῶν χειρογράφων κειμένων.-Στὸ τρίτο μέρος σχολιάζονται τὰ παραπάνω ἐκδοθέντα χειρόγραφα. Ὁ ἐπίσκοπος Μεσσήνης (ὁ ἀπὸ Ἀνδρούσης) Ἰωσὴφ ὑπῆρξε μεγάλη προσωπικότητα τῆς προεπαναστατικῆς, τῆς ἐπαναστατικῆς καὶ τῆς μεταεπαναστατικῆς Ἑλλάδος.Τόσο ἀπὸ τὴν ἱστορικὴ ἔρευνα καὶ μελέτη τῆς προσωπικότητας τοῦ Ἰωσήφ, ὅσο καὶ ἀπὸ τὴν μελέτη τῶν χειρογράφων τῆς παρούσης ἐργασίας διαπιστώνεται ὅτι ὁ Ἰωσήφ: συνδύαζε ἄριστα τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴ συνείδηση, τὴν προερχόμενη ἀπὸ τοὺς μεγάλους Πατέρες τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας, μὲ τὴν πολιτικὴ συνείδηση, τὴν προερχόμενη ἀπὸ τὴν ἀρχαία ἑλληνικὴ δημοκρατία, συνέβαλε τὰ μέγιστα γιὰ τὴν προετοιμασία τῆς μεγάλης Ἐπανάστασης τοῦ 1821, ἀγωνίστηκε γιὰ τὴν ἀπελευθέρωση τῆς πατρίδος ἀπὸ τὴν τουρκικὴ κυριαρχία, συνετέλεσε στὴν ὀργάνωση τοῦ πρώτου ἑλληνικοῦ κράτους μετὰ τὸ 1821, καὶ ἐνδιαφέρθηκε ἰδιαιτέρως γιὰ τὴν παιδεία τοῦ ἀπαιδεύτου τὴν ἐποχὴ ἐκείνη ἑλληνικοῦ λαοῦ. Ὡς Μινίστρος τῆς θρησκείας καὶ τῆς παιδείας τότε τοῦ νεοσύστατου κράτους θεωροῦσε ὅτι οἱ διδάσκαλοι προσφέρουν μεγάλες ὑπηρεσίες στήν Ἑλλάδα. Ὁ Ἰωσὴφ παρεμβαίνει σὲ ὅλα τὰ ἐκκλησιαστικὰ καὶ κοινωνικὰ δρώμενα τῆς ἐποχῆς του. Ἀπὸ τὴν ἐκδοση καὶ μελέτη τῶν χειρογράφων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τὴν βιογραφία τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ διαπιστώθηκε ὅτι: Ὁ Ἰωσὴφ Μεσσήνης (ὁ ἀπὸ Ἀνδρούσης) ὑπῆρξε μία πολυσχιδὴς προσωπικότητα κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους τῆς Ἐθνικῆς Ἐπαναστάσεως τοῦ 1821. Στὸ πρόσωπό του συνδυάζεται ὁ ἐκκλησιαστικὸς καὶ πολιτικὸς ἀνήρ. Ὑπῆρξε ὁ πρῶτος Ἐπίσκοπος μετὰ τὴν ἀπελευθέρωση τοῦ 1821 ἀπὸ τὸν τουρκικὸ ζυγό, ὁ ὁποῖος ταυτοχρόνως ἀσκοῦσε ἐκκλησιαστικὰ καὶ πολιτικὰ καθήκοντα.Τὸ κυριώτερο ὅλων ὅμως εἶναι ὅτι ἀγωνίστηκε, προσφέροντας τὰ πάντα καὶ κυρίως τὸν ἑαυτὸ του γιὰ τὴν Ἐλευθερία τοῦ Ἔθνους. Δικαίως τοῦ ἀξίζει ὁ τίτλος τοῦ «Ἐθνομάρτυρα».
