Visiting Fellow Vladimir Latinovic Conducts Deep Research in Princeton's Georges Florovsky Papers

Jan. 9, 2025

By Catherine Curan 

The archive of Georges Florovsky (1893-1979) at Princeton University Library contains 42.6 linear feet of photos, art and memorabilia, plus documents and letters in Russian, Greek and the many other languages the eminent Orthodox Christian theologian and priest knew. 

Florovsky learned Russian and Greek – as well as English, French, German, Hebrew and Latin – as a student in Odessa, becoming an influential scholar of patristics, the study of early Christian theologians. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1948, teaching in New York and then at Harvard Divinity School. In 1964, he accepted a post as a professor and visiting fellow at the University and relocated to Princeton, where he spent the rest of his life.

Orthodox theologian Vladimir Latinovic is working on a book about Florovsky and applied for a fall 2024 visiting fellowship at the Seeger Center to read Florovsky’s correspondence, especially letters he wrote to his wife, artist and translator Xenia Ivanova Simonova, that are now housed in the Florovsky papers at Princeton University Library. Latinovic has published eleven books and teaches dogmatics, ecumenism and Orthodox theology at the Ecumenical Institute in Tübingen. He specializes in systematic theology, patristics, and ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. 

Visiting and postdoctoral fellows comprise the Center's research community. Latinovic was one of three visiting fellows at the Center last fall. The cohort included archaeologist Milena Melfi, whose research project was titled “The archaeological activity of the Greek government in the occupied territories of southern Albania (1913-1914)” and historian Luca Zavagno, who lectured on “Cities on edge: re-envisioning the history of urbanism along early medieval Mediterranean island and coastal frontiers.” 

 

A woman standing outside flanked by two men.

The fall 2024 cohort of visiting fellows at the Seeger Center: Luca Zavagno, Milena Melfi and Vladimir Latinovic. Photo by Sameer A Khan / Fotobuddy. 

A three-month visiting fellowship at the Seeger Center afforded Latinovic the opportunity to conduct extensive research in the Florovsky papers at  Princeton University Library and engage deeply with the Center’s interdisciplinary academic community. 

Upon arriving at Princeton last September, Latinovic dove into the Florovsky papers. He began with the first of 88 boxes and spent the next three months reviewing each box in the archive. Latinovic’s research was aided by his knowledge of Russian, English, Greek, French and German.

Describing his time at the Seeger Center as “incredibly productive,” Latinovic added that a thorough review of the archive yielded unexpected discoveries, including poems and paintings. During his visiting fellowship at the Seeger Center, Latinovic finished the chapter that incorporated his research in Florovsky’s correspondence. Latinovic also developed ideas for several articles about Florovsky based on material in the archive. 

Latinovic balanced intensive, solitary research with active participation in the Seeger Center’s academic community on campus. He attended many lectures and events, including a talk by Professor of History and Hellenic Studies Molly Greene about her research on the Pindus Mountains and Tatarna Monastery in Greece.

“What impressed me the most during my time at the Seeger Center is the wide approach to education, to knowledge and the idea that all these different disciplines are coming together into a dialogue,” Latinovic said, adding, “The high point of my stay at Princeton was that I had the chance to hear lectures about archeology, about literature, about law and to realize that my topic also can be done from a different perspective.” 

Latinovic presented his work at the Seeger Center last month, giving a talk titled “Orthodox Christianity and the Modern Age: Developing a New Hermeneutic of Tradition.” Seeger Center Director Dimitri Gondicas introduced Latinovic. Professor of Religion Eric Gregory served as respondent. 

Latinovic illustrated the lecture with photos he took of documents and art in the archive. One image featured a sheet of Latin words handwritten by Florovsky, complete with scribbles, which looks like he was practicing or studying the language. Latinovic noted that the document serves as a reminder that even preeminent, multilingual scholars sometimes make mistakes. 

A handwritten page of Latin words with scribbles and blotted ink.

A page of Latin written by Georges Florovsky. Georges Florovsky Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Scholars from a range of fields and disciplines, including law, archaeology, art history and literature, contributed to a wide-ranging discussion after the lecture.

“The questions after the lecture advanced my thinking in so many ways. We benefit a lot from the Seeger Center’s interdisciplinary approach,” Latinovic said.