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[[Image:Voulgaris.jpg|right|thumb|220px| Eugenios Voulgaris, eminent 19th 18th c. theologian and scholar ("Teacher of the Nation"), and Archbishop of Cherson, Ukraine.]]
'''Eugenios Voulgaris''' (Greek: Ευγένιος Βούλγαρης, Russian: Евгений Булгарис, 1716–1806) was an eminent Greek Orthodox theologian and scholar, who spent the later part of his career in [[w:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]], where he served as the Archbishop of [[w:Kherson|Cherson]] (in today's Ukraine). He was born in the Greek island of Corfu (then a possession of Republic of Venice) in 1716 as '''Eleftherios Voulgaris''' and died at the age of ninety at the court of Alexander I in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1806.
In 1742, he became director of an important school of Ioannina, the [[w:Maroutsaia School|Maroutsaia School]]. There he was involved in a public dispute with [[w:Balanos Vasilopoulos|Balanos Vassilopoulos]], who was the director of another high level school of the district regarding the curricula of their respective schools – Voulgaris arguing for the institution of natural philosophy.
From 1753 to 1759 Voulgaris was appointed director of the [[Athonias Ecclesiastical Academy|Athonite Academy]] (''Athoniada Akademia'') at [[Vatopedi Monastery (Athos)|Vatopedi Monastery]] aiming at upgrading the level of studies. There he taught philosophy as well as mathematics. Though he was considered to be one of the most eminent teachers, his strong adherence to the new ideas of the European Enlightenment caused the negative reaction of the religious hierarchy of [[Mount Athos]], and he was forced to abandon the school in the beginning of 1759.
He then temporarily headed the ''Patriarchal Academy in Constantinople'' (known to Greeks as the "[[w:Great School of the Nation|Great School of the Nation]]"). However in 1761 he permanently abandoned his educational career. Although he was associated by his opponents with the unsuccessful attempt to found a Western-style academy on Mt. Athos and at the Patriarchal Academy, nevertheless, he was also a strong opponent of [[Uniate]] and [[Roman Catholic]] expansion, and corresponded with [[Pierre Leclerc]],<ref group="note">[[Pierre Leclerc]]: French Catholic [[w:Jansenism|Jansenist]], persecuted for his beliefs, who became an outspoken advocate of Eastern theological positions and corresponded with the Greek monk Eugene Bulgaris about the restoration of Orthodoxy to the West.</ref> the French Catholic [[w:Jansenism|Jansenist]] pro-Orthodox Western theologian.
[[Category:Athonite Fathers]]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:18th-19th-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Cherson]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
