Patmias School

In 1713, along with the spiritual growth and bloom of the letters from the Greek Orthodox of the Ottoman Empire, came the foundation of Patmias School.

Patmias School was founded by the Patmian Makarios Kalogeras, who had studied in the Great School of the Nation. Makarios found as supporters in his work influential figures of the time, such as the families of Mavrokordatos and Ypsilantis. He settled in the Holy Seat of the Sacred Revelation in Patmos, where he began his work of teaching, while the reputation and popularity of his speech spread rapidly. In a short period of time the need for expansion of the School emerged as more and more students flocked to Patmos. Since 1729 the class lectures continued in a building built by the noble of Constantinopole Manolakis Ypsilantis, an individual building next to the Revelation (“Old Patmias”).

Originally Makarios taught alone, but later contributed to his work as sub-teachers the monks Kosmas and Gerasimos Byzantios, whose efforts were determinant in the composition of the core of the library of the School in 1740. The teaching object of Makarios was interpretations of Greek writers and church fathers, grammatical classes, philosophy, rhetoric, church music and latin. Makarios continued teaching up until his death in 1737, when he was succeeded by Gerasimos Byzantios and Vasilios Proikonisios. In the years that followed, one of the most successful School managers was the Patmian Daniel Kerameus, under the authority of whom the school reached the peak of its glory, with more than 100 students and the expansion of the library with the addition of publications printed on Greek by publishing firms in Venice.

Enlightened teachers taught in the School such as Paisius Karapatas, Neophytos Byzantios, Ioannis Sakellion, Ierotheos Floridis, Alexandros Dilanas and Michael Malandrakis, while in graduates of the School are enlisted as great teachers of the Nation such as the Patriarch of Alexandria Theophilus Pagkostas, the Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V, “the founder of the Society of Friends Emmanuel Xanthos and Themelis Dimitrios.

The decline occurred in the period before and during the Greek revolution, as there was an interruption of earnings. In 1831, however, it was restored and managed to gradually recover. In the period of the Italian occupation (1912-1947) it stopped functioning. In 1947 it was reestablished as a seminary and from 1948 until today it operates as an ecclesiastic school. Today, only small and dilapidated sections from the first School – the old Patmias- are saved, while most courses are taught in the “New Patmias” building, which is located just above the Seat.