Peter Mogila - Legacy

Legacy

Mohyla’s innovative approach in reforming the education system by introducing Latin in the curriculum of schools and universities met some resistance when Russian loyalists resorted to violent acts against teachers and educational facilities where Latin was taught. However, Mohyla remained undeterred in his efforts to make the use of Latin in schools obligatory since it was an essential part in the curriculum in all European schools and universities. One of Mohyla’s main arguments in favor of Latin was that students who learn it in Ukraine would have an advantage should they decide to continue their studies in other European universities, since Latin was practically the lingua franca of the scholarly world.

Historic preservation was another aspect of Mohyla’s multifaceted career. He initiated substantial restoration projects of key historical monuments in Kiev and around the country. Among them was the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. People believed that for as long the Cathedral was standing the city would be spared from destruction. Thus by restoring St. Sophia and other monuments, Mohyla, on the one hand, strengthened the Ukrainian Church’s position, and on the other, his efforts were a morale booster for the whole country at a times when national unity and independence were at risk.

Petro Mohyla died in 1647, on the eve of the national liberation war of 1648-1654. In his testament, he instructed that all his property be given to the Mohyla collegium which for nearly two centuries remained the only higher education establishment in the Orthodox world. Just as Petro Mohyla’s envisioned, the school became an important scientific, educational, cultural, and spiritual center of Ukraine. Its graduates propagated ideas of humanism and national self-determination. Many of them pursued their careers in Western Europe but many traveled the countryside and taught in villages and towns. According to the Christian Arab scholar Paul of Aleppo, who in 1655 traveled through Ukraine to Moscow, “Even villagers in Ukraine can read and write …and village priests consider it their duty to instruct orphans and not let them run in the streets as vagabonds.”

Thus Petro Mohyla is credited with laying the foundation for a cultural epoch which historians call the Mohyla period. One of the attributes of this epoch was book publication. Despite the political instability in Ukraine in the late 1600s, it had 13 printing presses, of which 9 were Ukrainian, 3 Polish, and 1 Jewish. The output of these presses was not only of a religious nature. For example, in 1679 the press in Novhorod-Siverski put out over 3 000 copies of various textbooks for elementary schools. This was a tremendous achievement due in part to Mohyla’s efforts to spread literacy among all social groups.