16,951
edits
Changes
m
links
At Mount Athos, Fr. Athanasius became a leading member of the Kollyvades movement that began at Mount Athos in the mid eighteenth century. The group consisted of Athonite monks who adhered strictly to [[Holy Tradition]] and opposed unwarranted innovations. They favored frequent reception of Holy [[Communion]], unceasing [[prayer]] of the heart, and insisted memorial services not be performed on Sundays, as it was the day of the Lord's [[Resurrection]].
Between 1767 and 1770, he taught at Thessaloniki, after which he returned to the Athonias Academy to become its director. As a member of the Kollyvades movement, he came under attacks by those who opposed the movement. In 1776, Fr. Athanasius was condemned as a [[heretic]], defrocked, and [[excommunication|excommunicated ]] by Patriarch Sophronios II and the [[Holy Synod]] of Constantinople. In 1781, following his appeal to Patr. Gabriel IV, the charges against him were proven absurd and unfounded, and Patr. Gabriel IV and the Holy Synod lifted his [[suspension ]] and restored to him to his priestly rank.
In 1788, Fr. Athanasius moved to the island of Chios where he taught and served as director at the gymnasium until 1812. A leading educator and distinguished theologian, Fr. Athanasius revived the art of eloquent speech on Chios by teaching logic, rhetoric, metaphysics,and theology.
