Nektarios Terpos
Nektarios Terpos was a Greek religious scholar and monk from Moscopole, which was first published in 1732. Terpos, together with Cosmas of Aetolia, was one of the major contributors of the religious and national awakening of the Greek people under the Ottoman rule.Life
Terpos came from a wealthy family and spend his childhood in Moscopole. As a missionary he travelled in Epirus, covering vast areas from Arta to Berat in a period of increasing islamization.
Terpos will also be remembered for his work in the Ardenica Monastery where in 1731 he wrote a prayer in the form of a fresco. The prayer is in four languages and is the first writing in Albanian found in an Eastern Orthodox Church.
Persecuted, Terpo migrated to Italy, where in 1732 he published his main work named A Handbook called Faith. The book was republished 12 times in less than a century. In the book Terpo chastises the Crypto-Christians of Albania, and invites them to never abandon the religion of their forefathers.
