St Pavlos of Xeropotamou appearing in the frescos of the Protato, ca. 1283-1300.

As A Beggar

As A Beggar

Who, however, was the great ascetic St Pavlos of Xeropotamos, the monk who initially founded the Monastery? Little is known about him because, unfortunately, his biography was written well after his time, and is considered to be largely fictional. According to the Monastery tradition, he had been well educated, and held a high office in the imperial court, which seems to be confirmed by his iconographic depiction as a eunuch. He left Konstantinople secretly as a beggar and came to Athos, probably in the second half of the 10th century. He initially founded the Xeropotamos Monastery near the port of Dafni, probably one of the oldest cenobitic monasteries of Mt Athos, in the time of St Athanasios the Athonite.
St Pavlos of Xeropotamou appearing in the frescos of the Protato, ca. 1283-1300.
St Pavlos of Xeropotamou
Προηγούμενο
Επόμενο
Saint George
A Quest For Silence
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Minature of Georgios Brancovitch in Esfigmenos Monastery, 1429.

Saint George

Saint George

In the 15th century, the Serbian despot Georgios Brankovic became one of the most important donors of the monastery. In 1447, he funded the construction of the new cathedral in a position somewhat southern to the original church built by St Pavlos in the 10th century. He dedicated it to his patron saint, St Georgios. Since then, the Monastery commemorates St Georgios along with the Virgin Mary, to whom it was originally dedicated. Many of the relics that are kept today in the Monastery were gifts of various Serbian rulers and nobles.
Minature of Georgios Brancovitch in Esfigmenos Monastery, 1429.
From a recent founders' memorial that was held in the Monastery.
Fresco of St Georgios at the north wing of the homonymous chapel, 16th century.
Προηγούμενο
Επόμενο
Founded Again
As A Beggar
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Founded Again

Founded Again

In the 14th century, the Monastery was already deserted. Although it is not known how long it had been abandoned, the memory of its founding by St Pavlos of Xeropotamos was kept alive. It was restored in 1383/4 by two Serbian monks: Gerasimos from Chilandar (whose lay name was Nicholas Radonia) and Arsenios (the former Antony Bagash). Both were born of Serbian noble families; in fact, Gerasimos was a member of the prominent Brankovic family, who were later to become local rulers. The two monks bought the deserted cell of St Pavlos from the Xeropotamos Monastery, to which it had reverted after its abandonment. We know almost nothing about the works they undertook, but they seem to have confined their efforts to the area of the central rock. However, it is certain that a new life began for the then-small monastery.
Greek Speaking
Saint George
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Barsky's sketch

Greek Speaking

Greek Speaking

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?
Barsky's sketch
Three Rocks
Founded Again
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Engraving of St Pavlos' Monastery, from the archive of Pantokratoros Monastery.

Three Rocks

Three Rocks

For the greatest part of its history, the Monastery was much smaller. It gradually developed, restrained by a row of three successive tall rocks that stood on the side of the mountain, almost independent of each other. The 1744 drawing of the Russian monk-traveler Vasily Barskyshows this arrangement. This early-phase structure can also be seen today from the outside of the north wing, opposite to the deep and steep ravine. Barsky even writes in his diary that the architectural arrangement of the St Pavlos Monastery does not resemble any other monastery on Mt Athos. On the third rock, towards the east, stands the great tower of the monastery, while a fourth rock of similar size lies a little further east, outside the precinct.
Engraving of St Pavlos' Monastery, from the archive of Pantokratoros Monastery.
The Cathedral
Greek Speaking
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Καθολικό

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

The cathedral is dedicated to The Presentation of Christ at the Temple. Its marble icon screen was made in 1899-1900 by the sculptor Ioannis Lyritis from the island of Tinos. The cathedral also includes two chapels dedicated to the two saints whose images flank the entrance gate: St Pavlos of Xeropotamos, the founder, and St Georgios. But what was the Monastery like before the great expansion of the 19th century?
Extension
Three Rocks
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Αυλή

Extension

Extension

Behind the gate, a spacious arcade with green plants leads to a shady courtyard that surrounds the church. The height of the buildings make one constantly look upwards. The cathedral is literally built within the embrace of the rock, with only a narrow passage behind the sanctuary to accommodate the rounded shape of the apse. This area and the structures in it were part of the large-scale extensions of the 19th century.
In 1816, the construction of the wall and large western wing were begun under the supervision of the Archimandrite Anthimos Komnenos of the Monastery, who also became an Abbot. The wing included a new refectory and chapels; the upper floors were made of timber. In 1819-20, the bell tower was built. However, the work was interrupted for a few years, one of the severe consequences of the failed 1821 Greek Revolution for Independence in Halkidiki. Anthimos himself had to flee from the Ottomans since he was presumed to be member of the Greek Company of Friends, a secret group which planned and supported the Revolution. The renovations were later restarted, and continued until the middle of the 19th century, when the impressive cathedral with its eleven domes was completed, at the expense of the Abbot Sophronius Kalligas. As early as 1830, new monks began to come from the island of Kefalonia, a trend which continued until the middle of the 20th century, when they constituted the majority of the fraternity.
Όψη Νεότερη
The Cathedral
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New Appearance

New Appearance

Μετά από είκοσι λεπτά περπάτημα από τον αρσανά, μιάμιση ώρα αν κανείς ξεκίνησε από την γειτονική Ιερά Μονή Διονυσίου, αντικρύζει επιβλητικά ψηλοτάβανα κτίρια του 19ου αιώνα, πετρόκτιστα, με μεγάλα συμμετρικά παράθυρα. Λιτή μεγαλοπρέπεια, ήσυχη. Δεξιά κι αριστερά στην πύλη στέκουν δύο αγένιοι: ο άγιος Παύλος ο Ξηροποταμινός και ο άγιος Γεώργιος. Επάνω, η Υπαπαντή του Χριστού, στην οποία είναι αφιερωμένος ο ναός. Εικόνες του 19ου αιώνα σε ύφος ρωσικό, στον απόηχο του ρομαντισμού. Ευρωπαϊκή αισθητική, νεότερη. Είναι σαφές πως το βυζαντινό μοναστήρι είχε διαφορετική όψη, πως το μοναστικό συγκρότημα γνώρισε σημαντική επέκταση κατά τον 19ο αιώνα. Μάλιστα, ό,τι βλέπουμε γύρω από την είσοδο είναι η τελευταία προσθήκη που έγινε κατά τα πρώτα χρόνια του 20ου αιώνα, αφού μια πυρκαγιά κατέστρεψε το 1902 τη δυτική και τη νότια πτέρυγα. Ο Πλούταρχος Θεοχαρίδης επισημαίνει ότι τα κτίρια αυτά σχεδιάστηκαν και υλοποιήθηκαν με μία ακαδημαική αρχιτεκτονική προσέγγιση, επηρρεασμένα από τα εκλεκτικιστικά ρεύματα της εποχής, όπως συνέβαινε τότε σε όλες τις μονές του Αγίου Όρους.
The Slope
Extension
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η πλαγια

The Slope

The Slope

On a rocky slope at the southwest of the Mount Athos peninsula, the Holy Monastery of Agiou Pavlou stands between a steep stream and a torrent that carries large rocks down to the coast. For some time, the torrent definitely played a large role in why the monastery was originally known as Xeropotamos before that name was permanently assigned to the other of the two monasteries that St Pavlos founded in the area. Some aspects of the early history of the Monastery are obscure due to a lack of information, but others will be illuminated through the material provided in this 'visit'.
New Appearance
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Η Μονή θα συνεχίζει τον ιστορικό της βίο όσο εγκαταβιούν σε αυτή μοναχοί.

Metochia

Metochia

In 1405, the Serbian official Rodoslabos Sabias dedicated the metochi of St Georgios (with its 9,000 stremmata of land) near Kalamaria, Thessaoniki to the Monastery.
In a 1408 chrysobull to the Abbot Theodoulos, the Emperior Ioannis VII Palaiologos decreed the donation to the Monastery of a large metochi in Kassandra with a tower and estates consisting of 9,500 stremmata, bearing the name of St Pavlos.
In a document of 1419, the despot Andronikos II Palaiologos decreed the Monastery’s rights to the metochia Abramitai and New Land.
In 1469, the previously-mentioned benefactor Queen Maro bought the metochi in Provlaka, Chalkidikis from the Monastery Esfigmenos and donated it to the St Pavlos Monastery.
In 1622, the Serbian noblewoman Domna Balasi donated the monastery of St Dimitrios-Zitia in Vlachia (near Kraiova) to the St Pavlos Monastery.
In 1664, the St Pavlos Monastery acquired the monastery Ascension of the Saviour-Todireni (written as Theodoreni in Greek sources) as a methochi, through a gift of Myron Konstantinos, the Commander of the Guards in Chotin, Moldavia (present day Khotyn, Ukraine).
At the end of the 18th century, the Monastery had a small church in Athens, which Benediktos the Athonite, in a letter of 14 March 1784, arbitrarily merged with the church of the Archangels.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Archimandrite Anthimos bought large expanses of land and created metochia in Chalkidi and in Thasos.
At the end of the 19th century, a reference is made to the metochi ‘Krommidion’ in Kassandra, where in 1897 the Abbot Gerasimos Dragonas had died.
In addition, the Monastery owns other properties in Chalkidiki, such as the tower and church of the Holy Apostles, and the 1852 church in the metochi of The Life-giving Fountain (Ζωοδόχου Πηγής) in Sarti.
Finally, the metochi The Birth of the Virgin Mary in Thrakomakedones, Attica, also belongs to the Monastery.
The Monastery will continue its historic ‘life’ as long as monks reside there.
Seats And Hermitages
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