Vlasios Skordelis


Vlasios Skordelis was a Greek writer and educator of the 19th century.

Biography

He was born in 1835 in Stanimaka, then Ottoman Empire. From an early age he showed a strong inclination towards letters and was went to Athens to complete his high school studies. He subsequently studied Pedagogy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, graduating as a teacher in 1857. A year later, he went to Leipzig, Germany, to pursue postgraduate studies, and then returned to Stenimaka where he became schoolmaster of the Greek school. He later settled in Filibe, taking over the Greek School and theorically controlling all the Greek schools of the province.
Skordelis assumed this position at a critical historical period. His education initiatives appear to have sought to cultivate national self-awareness and stimulate national unity in Bulgaria, in response to the challenges of Bulgarians through the provision of high quality education. One of his projects for this purpose was to enhance and enrich the Central School Library.
In 1868, following episodes between the Ottoman Empire and the Ecumenical Patriarchate over issues that satisfied the claims of the Bulgarians, the Greek community of Philippopolis decided to send Skordelis as its representative to Konstantiniyye. He remained there at least until August 1869, participating in negotiations to resolve the Bulgarian ecclesiastical issue, informing the Greek community and giving it international prominence. For this reason he worked with the several newspapers and also published his own publications and magazines.
After the negotiations were completed, Skordelis returned to Philippopolis and continued to deal with the educational issues of the province. In 1872 he founded the Philomousos Society, while he was already declared an honorary member of the Philological Association of Constantinople. At the suggestion of Georgios Zariphis, who had founded the Zariphios School in Philippopolis, Skordelis again went to Leipzig to pursue further pedagogical studies. He returned in 1875 and assumed the position of head teacher during the period 1877-1878.
In 1880 he moved to the free Greek state, initially to Tripoli, where he headed the local school, and then to Athens, where he founded a Girls' School, of which he was the head teacher until October 15, 1898, when he died.

Works