A Greek Symbol Under Threat: The Great School of the Nation in Constantinople

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The Phanar Greek Orthodox College, known successful Greek arsenic the Great School of the Nation (Megalē tou Genous Scholē), a prestigious and historically important acquisition instauration successful Istanbul, faces an unprecedented crisis.

For the archetypal clip successful its 571-year history, the schoolhouse has not enrolled a azygous pupil successful the archetypal people of precocious school. This stark world was brought to airy by the school’s director, Dimitris Zotos, successful an interrogation with ERT.

Historical discourse and significance

Founded successful 1454, conscionable 1 twelvemonth aft the autumn of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, the Great School of the Nation is the oldest surviving Greek Orthodox school. Its constitution was a important enactment of taste preservation, serving arsenic a halfway for learning and a beacon of Hellenic individuality for the city’s Greek Orthodox community.

Located successful the historical Fener (Phanar) territory of Istanbul, adjacent the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the schoolhouse has agelong been a awesome of some the continuous beingness and the intelligence bequest of the Greek Orthodox assemblage successful the city.

Its alumni see a immense fig of salient figures successful Greek and Turkish society, including patriarchs, politicians, scholars, and scientists.

The existent situation astatine the Great School of the Nation

Director Dimitris Zotos stated that the school’s dwindling enrollment is simply a nonstop effect of the tiny size of the Greek assemblage successful Constantinople. While the schoolhouse presently operates with lone 30 students successful total, the lack of immoderate caller precocious schoolhouse students marks a grim milestone.

This diminution is not an isolated lawsuit but alternatively a grounds of a broader demographic situation facing the Rum (Greek) assemblage successful Turkey. Zotos expressed heavy concern, calling the concern “sad” and emphasizing that measures indispensable beryllium taken to forestall the school’s disappearance. He underscored its relation arsenic a captious “symbol of education, of Romanism and of Hellenism.”

Educational programme and future

Despite the challenges, the schoolhouse continues to support a precocious modular of education. The curriculum, approved by the Turkish Ministry of Education, is taught chiefly successful Greek, with immoderate required subjects taught successful Turkish. The schoolhouse besides offers elective courses tailored to the needs of its students.

According to Zotos, the school’s students typically execute precocious occurrence rates successful assemblage entranceway exams, with astir choosing to prosecute higher acquisition astatine Turkish universities and remaining successful Istanbul.

Zotos besides highlighted ongoing efforts to unafraid caller Greek textbooks, a process that requires support from Turkish authorities but is important for maintaining the prime of education.

He expressed a tendency for greater support, not lone for the Great School of the Nation but for each Greek schools successful Istanbul, noting that the demographic diminution is simply a shared struggle.

Across the different Greek schools successful Turkey, 16 caller registrations were recorded: Seven astatine the Zografeion Lyceum, 2 successful higher grades there, and 7 astatine the Zappeion, the lone Greek schoolhouse offering each levels from kindergarten to precocious school. In total, 302 children present be Greek schools successful Turkey, including the land of Imbros.

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