CIDONE (CIDONIO, Kydones). —
I. DEMETRIO
He was a Greek politician, man of letters, and theologian of the fourteenth century, born in Thessalonica (c. 1324) to a noble family. His teacher was Nilo Cabasila. He sided with Giovanni Cantacuzeno in the civil war of 1341–47, and was appointed prime minister by him; this did not prevent Giovanni Paleologo from entrusting him with the same office, which he held for approximately thirty years.He learned Latin and discovered with amazement scholastic philosophy and theology. He translated s. Tommaso d'Aquino’s Contra Gentiles (1354) and the Summa Theologica (c. 1355–58), as well as other writings of s. Tommaso, s. Agostino, and s. Anselmo, and the Contra legem Alcorani of fra' Ricoldo da Montecroce, a Florentine.
An opponent, together with his brother Procoro C., of the doctrines of Gregorio Palama (which had triumphed in the Greek Church from 1351), he became a Catholic before 1365 and became the leader of a movement for religious union and political-military cooperation with the West against the Turkish danger. But he had to witness the Turks’ establishment in Europe (1355 ff.), the canonization of Palama, and the condemnation of his brother Procoro (April 1368). The following year he accompanied Giovanni V to Italy, where the latter professed the Catholic faith in Rome (18 October 1369). At Venice, in 1371, he witnessed the humiliation of his sovereign, an insolvent debtor who was treated almost as a prisoner by the Republic. On returning to Constantinople, although he remained in the service of the state, he was unable to prevent the policy of submission to the Turks pursued by Giovanni V until his death (1391) and continued by his son Manuele until 1394. In 1390 Demetrio went to Venice with Manuele Crisolora, his disciple. There he had Greek taught (by Crisolora?) to the Florentine Roberto Rossi, a disciple of Coluccio Salutati. This accidental instruction subsequently had extremely fruitful consequences for the revival of Greek studies in Italy. On returning to Constantinople, C. remained there until 1396, when, sensing growing hostility on account of his Catholic faith, he left his homeland forever. After a brief stay in Venice, and perhaps also in Milan, C. went to Crete, where he died in the winter of 1397–98. His disciple Manuele Caleca composed his epitaph.
In addition to the translations already mentioned, C. left political speeches and sacred sermons, a moral philosophical essay, De contumenda morte, and beautiful apologies (published by G. Mercati), some of which almost constitute a history of his own conversion. He also wrote works of theological controversy and left a voluminous correspondence of the greatest importance for the history of his time. He was one of the finest writers of the Paleologan age, if not actually the finest, and was regarded as a remarkable intellect even by opponents such as Giorgio Scolario. His religious faith was sincerely lived by him, as he professed it, despite his lay status. A friend of Manuele Paleologo, whom he had taught, and of Nicola Cabasila, although they were opposed to his religious convictions, he had as disciples Manuele Crisolora, the restorer of Greek studies in the West, Manuele Caleca, and the Crisoberga brothers. He gathered around himself a small group of Greeks who were friends of the West and who became intermediaries in relations between Italian humanism and Byzantine scholars. From that Latinophile circle came those who later promoted union at the Council of Florence.
2. PROCORO
Byzantine theologian of the fourteenth century, born in Thessalonica around 1330, died in 1368–1369, younger brother of Demetrio C. He became a monk and devoted himself to study. His knowledge of scholasticism enabled him to perceive the falsity of Palamite doctrine, of which he was a determined opponent. This in particular aroused the anger of the Palamites, and especially of the ecumenical patriarch, Filoteo Kokkinos. Having ascended the patriarchal see for the second time in 1364, he readily accepted the charges of heterodoxy brought against Procoro C., who wrote a systematic refutation of the Palamite sophisms, promising to submit if it could be shown that he was in error. Summoned before the Synod of Constantinople in 1368, where Gregorio Palamas was canonized, Procoro C. was deposed and excommunicated. He did not long survive this unjust sentence.His brother Demetrio avenged his memory in two vehement apologies, directed especially against Filoteo and published by G. Mercati (Notizie di Procoro e Demetrio C. (Studi e Testi, 56), Città del Vaticano 1931, pp. 296–338). They constitute the best source for the life of Procoro C., whose writings consist of original works and translations of Latin authors. An exact list will be found in the study by card. Mercati (op. cit., pp. 1–40). There are good reasons to believe that Procoro C. was secretly Catholic.