Introduction to the Monastery Manuscripts

The Vatopedi collection of Greek manuscripts currently numbers approximately 2050 volumes, including those of the Skete of Saint Demetrius. Its formation began in the first years after the foundation of the Monastery and continued gradually with the addition of codices that were either written by the monks of Vatopedi (or commissioned by the Monastery), or came from personal collections of Vatopedi residents, purchases and dedications. At times, the collection suffered losses from thefts or other movements of volumes (and more rarely destruction), with the result that a number of them are now in foreign libraries. In terms of content, the majority are liturgical and theological manuscripts (a fact expected in a monastic library), but there are also quite a few manuscripts that deliver texts of ancient Greek literature.