1. Life and activities until 1835

Theofilos' given name was Thomas Kairis. He was born on Andros in 1784 and came from one of the oldest families of the island. His sister Evanthia Kairi was also an important intellectual of her time. He received his first lessons while still on the island but at the age of sixteen he went to Ayvalık (Cydoniae), to his uncle Sofronios Kambanakis. There he studied literature and philosophy with Grigorios Sarafis, as well as mathematics and science with Veniamin Lesvios at the Cydoniae School. Later, he studied at the school on Patmos, headed by Daniel Kerameus. After Patmos, he went to Chios in order to follow the teachings of Athanasios Parios and Dorotheos Proios.

In 1801, he became a monk and took the name Theofilos. With the financial assistance of his uncle Sofronios and the Ayvalık community he left for Europe, where he studied philosophy, mathematics and physics until 1807, at the University of Pisa. From Pisa he went to Paris where he stayed until 1810 and continued his studies in philosophy; while there he became closely associated with Adamantios Korais. He returned to Ayvalık, where he was appointed director of the Academy of Cydoniae, but it is doubtful whether he assumed his duties there for in 1811 he was teaching at the Evangelical School in Smyrna. At the same time he also served as a preacher. He did not stay long in Smyrna; the following year he was invited to Ayvalık, where he began teaching at the Academy on a regular basis. His lessons gave this educational centre of the Greek world a new prestige and foreign scholars and students would go to listen to him. He also oversaw the running of the Academy’s printing press while, at the same time, continuing to correspond with foreign scholars, especially Adamantios Korais.

In 1819, he was initiated into the Filiki Etaireia and played an important role in the outbreak of the Revolution on Andros on 10 May, 1821. He actively participated in the Revolution on the battle field and took part in its political ferment, while in 1828, he gave a welcome speech for Kapodistrias. He avoided taking part, however, in the educational endeavours of the newly formed state. He later rejected his appointment by King Otto, as professor at the newly established University of Athens. Since 1826 he planned to establish his own orphanage-school in his birthplace, Andros.

2. The Kairis School on Andros and reactions to his teachings

The school was founded in 1835 and functioned from 1836 until 1839. There, Kairis had also set up a printing press sent by Greeks from London. The printing press, however, never functioned. Lessons were not only attended by children, boys and girls, but also by adults, laypeople and the clergy. The pupils of the orphanage lived either in the school or in the town of Andros. Moreover, the destitute were fed in the grounds of the school. Studies were triennial and included lessons in literature, philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, rhetoric, poetry, mathematics, experimental physics, ανδ astronomy. Kairis taught most of these himself and used older students as tutors. The liberal and progressive spirit of Kairis’ teaching aroused the interest of the Greek and foreign intellectual world who came to Andros in order to attend his lectures.

The establishment of the school, however, coincided with the debate on ecclesiastical issues within the late Enlightenment circles and Kairis’ liberal religious ideas came into conflict not only with the conservative world of the Church and the scholars which included former members of the Enlightenment such as Konstantinos Oikonomos, but also with Otto’s government.¹ The ecclesiastical synod asked Kairis to sign a declaration of faith but he refused. He was thus excommunicated and exiled. He retreated to a monastery on Skiathos where he suffered from the fanaticism and intolerance of the monks. His correspondence with his family during this time is not only an important source of his personal story, but also of the history of the ideas of his era. Eventually, he managed to go to London where he began teaching philosophy again.

After the Constitution of 1844 established religious tolerance, Kairis was able to return to Greece. His enemies, however, had not been pacified. In 1852 was sent to trial and was sentenced to two years imprisonment on Syros. Kairis’ weak constitution could not endure conditions in prison. He died on 9 January, 1853, and was promptly buried near the hospital of Syros, without his brother being able to pay his last respects. The day after, the Syros authorities opened up his coffin and filled the body with quicklime so as to prevent his students from giving him a proper burial in the future. A few days later, his memory was reinstated when relatives managed to get the court decision overturned by supreme court of Areios Pagos.²

Kairis' book collection is housed in the Kaireios Library in Andros.

3. Kairis’ religious teachings

Kairis established a theological system named «Theosebeia».³ This system reconsidered basic dogmas of Orthodox theology: the divinity of Christ, the Holy Trinity, the mysteries and ecclesiastical ceremonies. He composed his own hymnbook and prayer book in the Doric dialect. He also introduced a new calendar which was used by his pupils, he did away with icons in the churches and replaced them with maxims and axioms, defined new rules for the construction of churches and the establishment of charitable organizations. At the same time, he taught the principles of other religions without being critical towards them. His philosophical-theological system is based on the principles of liberal Christianity and idealistic humanism.