In the Memory of Constantinos Pitsakis
When, in mid-July, we were dinning in Athens in the company of Professor
Constantinos Pitsakis, he shared with us his plan to speak at the SIHDA in
Oxford about reception of law at the creation of the modern Greek state in the
19th century, a “reception” that in fact did never really occur, Roman law never
ceased to be applied among Greeks for the last two millennia. I could not have
imagined that, three weeks later, he would have left us. His sudden and
unexpected loss, from a disease unknown even to himself, was a shock to his
family and all his friends and colleagues. He was 68 years old, and just one
year had elapsed since he had retired from teaching as Professor of Legal
History at the Faculty of Law of the Democritus University of Thrace in
Komotini.
Professor Pitsakis, you all remember him as the organizer of the 6Oth session
of the SIHDA in 2006 in Komotini. One of the most brilliant scholars in
Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Law in Greece, his opus magnum, a commented
edition of the Exabiblos of Armenopoulos, remains an oeuvre de référence. He
has published extensively, articles covering wide areas of Byzantine and PostByzantine law, politics, society and Canon Law and contributed many articles
in major lexica and encyclopedias. He had collaborated with Professor Dieter
Simon at the Max-Plank Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte, on the
critical edition of several other Byzantine manuscripts.
He was an active member of SIHDA, never missing any of its meetings, and of
many other scientific societies in Greece and abroad. Only to name a few, the
Greek Society of Byzantine Studies, the Greek Historical Society, the
International Society for the Law of Eastern Churches (President), who
dedicated last week its congress in Vienna to his memory. He was a founding
member and, at his death, President of the Society of Greek Legal Historians.
He had taught in many seminars and courses in Universities and Academies in
Greece and abroad, among which the University La Sapienza in Rome and the
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.
He had served as President of the Editions’ Committee of the National Bank of
Greece, as member of the committees of the Greek Institute in Venice, the
National Library of Greece, the Greek State Archives, and of the Cultural
Foundation of the Greek Parliament. Among his most important current works
was his contribution to the drafting of the Charter of the Orthodox Church of
Cyprus. Most honorable among his titles, he had been named Mέγας Άρχων
Νομοφύλαξ of the Oecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.
Overflowing with energy, good humor, sharp wit and a conversation both
entertaining and educational, with a never ending flow of interesting topics,
his company was always a pleasure for all those who had the privilege to know
him. He had a deep erudition, not only mastering historical topics of a much
broader scope than Byzantine Law, but being knowledgeable in all matters of
culture.
With an incessant intellectual curiosity, he was an avid collector of books,
always finding his way in a labyrinth of bibliography. He was, first and
primarily, a devoted researcher, always looking for new and original topics. In
his remarks on different historical subjects, he showed historical common
sense, always asking the right questions. In his papers he had the ability to
uncover a wholly different perspective in well-known subjects.
He had this wisdom and sense of perspective that gives you a deep knowledge
of history. Lately he used to tell me that, his fellow historians abroad, seeing
things “sub specie aeternitatis”, understood that the current financial crisis is
not the worse crisis Greece been through during its history and that we would
eventually overcome this too.
Having also pursued an active career in the banking sector, as Director of the
Shipping Department of the National Bank of Greece, he combined
successfully an experience of the world of today, in the fields of law and
business, with the study of their history in the past. This gave him a rare
realistic insight in the grasp of ancient legal realities. He used to say, when a
discussion on a point of detail went too far, “Imagine if in 2.000 years from
now, historians try to make literal sense of our newspapers` headlines.”
As a Professor of Legal History in the Faculty of Law of Komotini, he was a
legendary teacher, both for his `performance` on the classroom `stage`, as for
demanding the best out of his students.
He was a traveler like no other, never refusing an invitation to participate in a
congress or to give a lecture, no matter how far and no matter how heavy his
schedule was.
He had a most valuable quality: humility. He was devoid of any spite, rivalry
and jealousy, was happy to see fellow professors progress, always supportive,
offering generously his time and assistance whenever asked. As a younger
colleague, I had the privilege to experience how he managed, in spite of his
professorship and seniority, never to show superiority and make me feel like
the equal I was not. He had a rare kindness of heart, an open mind and
strongly believed in what he called our `legal civilization`. He was himself a
highly civilized man and scholar, much in the Byzantine tradition, which he
served so well.
He was a good friend and the best of colleagues. We shall all miss him very
much.
It was read in the 66th Session of SIHDA, Oxford, 18-22 September 2012