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Metochia and Schools of the Holy Sepulcher in Macedonia

• Σκρέτας, Δημήτριος

Relying upon historical documents, the author presents a list of “Metochia”, i.e. church-owned lands belonging to the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulcher, in Macedonia. By means of these “metochia”, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem ensured its financial survival, threatened as it was by the pressure exercised by Moslem rulers, despite the relative religious freedom bestowed by the latter to the Patriarchate. In the 18th century the need for educating the Greek inhabitants of Macedonia, still under Ottoman rule, led to the foundation of the ecclesiastical School of Kastoria, which depended on the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, thus strengthening further the ties of Hellenism with the religious institutions of the Holy Land.

• Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

• Church history