In the 18th century, there was a significant change in the history of the Monastery, which was also observed by Barsky on his second visit. The population of monks of mainly Slavic origin (Serbian or Bulgarian) gradually turned into Greek, thus changing one of the main characteristics of the Monastery. The reason for the change is not known. It is probable that the war of 1684-1688 between the Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman empires cut off the Ottoman-dominated Mt Athos from the areas of Macedonia and Serbia, where the holy pilgrims originated. Moreover, the dominance of the Greek-speaking Phanariotes in the Danubian hegemony helped to increase the number of Greek-speaking monks. But why had the fraternity mainly been Slavic-speaking until then?
