With a rare image of the Athonite school. This could be the ruins of the Athonite Academy near Vatopedi. The school started roundabout 1750 and had in the early years students from the neigbouring countries, Italy and Russia. It counted up till 200 students. The decline came fast (1759) because monks who regarded the teaching in the academy ‘as novel, dangerous and incompatible with their own monastic traditions’ (G. Speak page 137). After that there were several attempts to start again but not very succesfull and the school closed for the last time in 1809.

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