Theophan Prokopovich
Ukrainian theologian, writer, poet, mathematician, and philosopher, archbishop in the Tsardom of Russia (1681-1736)
Theophan or Feofan Prokopovich (Russian: Феофан Прокопович; Ukrainian: Феофан Прокопович, romanized: Feofan Prokopovych; 18 June [O.S. 8 June] 1681 – 19 September [O.S. 8 September] 1736) was a Russian Orthodox bishop, theologian, pietist, writer, poet, mathematician, astronomer, pedagogue and philosopher of Ukrainian origin. He was the rector of the Academia Mohileana in Kiev (1711–1716), the bishop of Pskov (1718–1725), and the archbishop of Novgorod (1725–1736).
Prokopovich elaborated upon and implemented Peter the Great's reform of the Russian Orthodox Church; he served as the first vice-president of the Most Holy Synod from 1721, which replaced the office of the patriarch. He was the de facto leader of the synod (and the Russian Orthodox Church) following the death of Stefan Yavorsky in 1722. Prokopovich also wrote many religious verses and some of the most enduring sermons in the Russian language.
Biography
Childhood and education
Theophan (born Eleazar or Elisei) Prokopovich was born in Kiev, Cossack Hetmanate, a vassal state under the Tsardom of Russia. His father, Tsereysky, was a shopkeeper from Smolensk. After the death of his parents, Eleazar was adopted by his maternal uncle, Feofan Prokopovich. Feofan Prokopovich was the abbot of the Kiev Brotherhood Epiphany Monastery, professor, and rector of the Academia Mohileana.
Prokopovich's uncle sent him to the monastery for primary school.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Theophan Prokopovich” as ukrainian theologian, writer, poet, mathematician, and philosopher, archbishop in the Tsardom of Russia (1681-1736). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as ukrainian theologian, writer, poet, mathematician, and philosopher, archbishop in the Tsardom of Russia (1681-1736). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q348899. VIAF identifies the subject as 44386110. The Library of Congress control number is n80145100. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1681, 1736, 1711 and 1716.
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This entry incorporates text from “Theophan Prokopovich” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.