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Although the University of Athens has stopped functioning for the  fourth month in a row, its council of rectors is firmly opposing the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against rector Theodossis Pelegrinis.

By order of Minister of Education Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos, the rector will have to assume responsibility on the charge of exceeding his powers.

In the late afternoon, the Minister sent the disciplinary decision to the chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court. It is expected that he will appoint a judge who, in turn, will submit a proposal for consideration by the disciplinary court that hears cases of scientific staff in the Greek universities. If the council supports the initiation of disciplinary proceedings, the Minister will be entitled to temporarily interrupt the functions of the rector of the University of Athens.

The conflict is the latest in the series of the dispute between the Ministry and the rector in connection with the forthcoming cuts in administrative staff and the strike of the largest Greek university entrusted to Pelegrinis that has been ongoing for 13 weeks already.

In response, the rector accused the minister of "tyranny" and defined the council of the university as the "fifth column of the Ministry of Education." Then Pelegrinis said that he bows his head before the administrative employees who "are giving their blood to save their flesh."

The tone of pathos is in no way accidental. A few days ago, the general public in Greece learnt that the rector of the University of Athens, who is a professor of philosophy, was a big fan of theatre. His admiration for this art seems to be so strong that, over the weekend, he visited Paris to act before 50 spectators. The rector, mantled with a red cloak, performed a monologue entitled "Julian".

Perhaps there would have been nothing wrong in his desire to perform on stage if the show had not taken place in the midst of the negotiations for the resumption of the functions of the university and in view of the almost complete loss of the first term.

According to the Greek media, Theodossis Pelegrinis’ inclination for theatre is not new to the academic circle but he has put this weakness before all his duties since he has taken up the rector's office. At first, the majority of his colleagues at the University perceived the fact as a sign of eccentricity. Pelegrinis began participating in performances, provoking even positive responses but all that was at the expense of his work at the university.

To make history, the performance in Paris presents the following drama: An already old actor rehearses at home. He portrays young Emperor Julian’s teacher who is a eunuch and a member of the imperial court. Julian was mortally wounded with a spear in a battle with the Persians. In the last hours of the Emperor’s life, his teacher wants to present his grievance.

The old eunuch relates important moments in the Emperor’s life, which associate him with his teacher, forgetting at the same time that he is a teacher and starting to tell the story of his own life.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the administrative employees have not yet announced whether they will continue their strike or if they will terminate it. They still have to decide whether they will continue to protest, as their strike will end this Thursday. The Minister of Education has announced that he will resume the dialogue with them when their strike ends, the university opens and they return to their workplaces.