Monthly Archives: Μάιος 2020

The famous tower of the monastery, constructed on the northwestern side of the compound, is the tallest tower among all the Athonite monasteries, and is one of the original structures, since it dates to the era of the founding of the Monastery. Its original form has remained virtually intact through time, with only a few major expansions, such as the addition of the final zone and the battlements, which date to the beginning of the Ottoman era.
The tower has eight floors, which can be accessed via a narrow spiral staircase, and is distinguished by its impressive interior areas, which today are used mainly to house the Library and the Sacristy of the Monastery. On its two underground floors, various wooden, marble, or stone objects (e.g. icon screens, architectural elements such as lintels, epi-styles, capitals, and others) dating to different chronological periods are stored.
The first floor is a storage area for handcrafted objects and traditional tools. The Library is located on the second floor, and houses the hundreds of manuscripts and the thousands of old-style and recent editions of books, as well as the archives of the Monastery. The Sacristy is located on the third and fourth floors. The precious objects belonging to the Monastery (e.g. portable icons, sacred vessels and vestments, valuable codices, hand-crafted objects, and others) dating from the 7th to the 19th centuries are kept there. Finally, the fifth floor is the location of the chapel of the Ascension and the icon vault, where more than 700 portable icons, dating from the 14th century to the present day, are safeguarded. This collection is one of the most significant ones not only on Agios Oros, but also in the whole of Greece.
The tower was completed and inaugurated in 1995, after the induction of the new brotherhood, thanks to the generous sponsor Prodromos Emfietzoglos, President of the company Mechaniki, as is recorded in the inscription set next to the entrance. Unfortunately, the tower began to experience serious problems with leakage and dampness, and it was therefore judged best to add an outer frame with a protective coating around the tower, an intervention which would not be irreversible. The work was completed in 2000.

The sacristy of the Monastery is housed on the third and fourth floors of the tower. These areas today serve as exhibition space for the most significant artefacts of the Monastery, such as portable icons, sacred vessels, holy vestments, manuscripts, written records, etc.). It should be pointed out, however, that the sacred artefacts which are today in possession of the Monastery are only one part of the wealth of artefacts which it once had, many of which were lost due to a variety of unusual historical circumstances.

The dining hall is housed on the first floor of the west wing of the Monastery, south of the tower, and is connected to the kitchen, which was built in the 16th century. It was moved to this location from the ground floor of the same wing, specifically from the area which is used today for storage. The hall was painted in 1749, according to a surviving inscription, by the hieromonks Serafeim, Cosmas and Ioannikos, artists who came from Giannena. The cost of the painting was paid by the monk Timotheos from Limnos, who is portrayed on the eastern wall as the donor.
In 1866, the western wall of the dining hall was rebuilt because it had collapsed. It was painted in 1980 by the monk Cyrillos of Pantocratoras, at the expense of the hieromonk Stephan (Kounios) from Limnos.
After the re-establishment of the cenobitic system in the Monastery, the dining hall and the old kitchen were renovated and put into service again in 1995.

The chapels outside the Monastery are as follows:
a) St. Athanasios of Agios Oros, an old one-room, chapel with an arched roof located in front of the south wing of the Monastery at the edge of the cliff. This is one of the most significant of the original buildings, and functioned as the cemetery church until 1771. Its basement is still used today as a crypt. Inside the chapel, some of the sections of the original marble icon screen have survived, along with the inlaid marble floor.
b) Sts Onofrios and Petros of Agios Oros, located in the Seat of the same name a short distance north of the Monastery, where according to tradition, St Kallistos I, Patriarch of Konstantinople, and St Theonas, Metropolitis of Thessaloniki, lived as ascetics.
c) Great Athanasios, who according to tradition, is connected with the selection of the location for the foundation of the Monastery through a miraculous intervention by the icon of Panagia Gerontissa, as mentioned previously. One inscription has survived, confirming the renovation of the chapel in 1638.
d) St Trifon, located in the Seat of the same name, dates to the 17th century.
e) The Holy Anargyroi (i.e., 'they who serve without being paid'), located in the Seat of the same name, today serves as the cemetery church of the Monastery, and dates to 1771.
f) The Holy Apostles, located in the Seat of the same name.
g) St. Anna, which today is in ruins, is located in the Seat of the same name.

Eight chapels are located within the Monastery, and another seven outside it.
The seven chapels inside the Monastery are:

a) St. Nikolaos, located at the northern wing of the Monastery, north of the central gate. It was built in the 16th century, and renovated and decorated with frescoes in 1857, while the gilded and carved wooden icon screen dates to the 19th century.

b) The Dormition of the Virgin Mary, located inside the Cathedral and part of the northeastern section of the entrance hall. The chapel is considered to be one of the original structures at the Monastery.

c) Sts. Andreas and Ioannikios, located at the northeastern corner of the Monastery, was renovated in 1781. According to an inscription on the northern exterior wall, the Sacristans Cyrillos and Georgios sponsored both the rebuilding of this chapel and also that of the entire north wing in the same year.

d) The Blessed Archangels, which was renovated the same year as the above-mentioned chapel, is located close to the Director's office. The Cyrillos mentioned in an inscription commemorating the donor is identified as the Sacristan Cyrillos, who also financed the reconstruction of the previously-described chapel.

e) St. Georgios, originally located in the east wing, was decorated with frescoes, and had a carved wooden icon screen. It was destroyed by the fire of 1948, and rebuilt on the third floor of the north wing in 2000.

f) The Ascension, located on the fifth floor of the tower. This chapel had been destroyed during the period of pirate raids during the 16th and 17th centuries. According to tradition, the fathers of the Monastery who had taken refuge there were slaughtered. The chapel was recently renovated, together with the tower.

g) St John the Baptist, located in the west wing, where an old tower once stood. It probably stood at the top of the tower during the Byzantine period, while in 1750, when the height of the tower was truncated, the chapel was rebuilt with grants from Prior Markianos, who is portrayed as praying in the icon of St Markianos on the wood-carved icon screen. It was decorated with frescoes in 1819 by the Galatsanos brothers Makarios and Benjamin, and sponsored by Christos Hatzi of Magnesia, whose portrait appears on the north wall of the chapel.

h) St Panteleimonos, located in the tower above the gate to the Monastery.

Apart from the ancient chapel of the Dormition, the existence of the so-called Tomb of the Founders at the north wall is also significant. It was moved there in 1847, formerly being located in the chapel of the Three Heirarchs. According to Gerasimos Smyrnakis, although the tomb is a cenotaph, it does contain skeletal remains of 'not only large-, but also small-sized bodies,' a fact that leads to the conclusion that it might be the family tomb of the founders. The pseudo-sarcophagus decorated with crosses, birds, and trees which was placed in the Tomb dates to the 14th century, and is found today on the balcony at the entrance to the tower.
More recent decorations are depicted on the Tomb itself, dating to the period of the repainting of the frescoes in the cathedral. According to Porfurio Ouspensky who visted the Monastery in 1846 (i.e. prior to the renovations of 1847) and in 1859 (when the repainting of the Cathedral was carried out by the well-known painter Mathaios Ioannos), three inscriptions above the tomb are repeated, but with several differences from the inscriptions that were above the Tomb of the Founders when that was still located within the chapel. It is worth noting that these refer to the actual identity of the founder Alexios and do not connect his person with the Emperor Alexios Comninos, while, however, mentioning the two brothers' roles as founders.

The northeastern area of the entrance hall includes the chapel of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which is considered to be one of the original structures. According to an inscription on the lintel of the western entrance, some sections of its frescoes date to 1538, the period when an artist of the Cretan School (perhaps even Theofanis of Crete himself) worked. It is possible that the frescoes on the exterior western wall uncovered during the previous years' renovations belong to him.
The recent frescoes were part of the work which took place in 1868, funded by 'a grant and subscription of the venerable monks Isuchios and Isaios of the respected monastery of Pantokratoros, through the hands of the hieromonk Benjamin and the late hieromonk Gregorios.' This work involved the repainting of older frescoes dating probably to the 15th century, parts of which are visible in the arch of the Sanctuary.
Since 1982, the icon screen of the chapel includes the miraculous icon of St Georgios of Faneromenos. The saint acquired this epithet due to a miracle he performed: He protected the icon and the monks in the Cell named in his honour in the region of Kapsalas, where it originally belonged, from thieves. According to the tradition, the icon was housed in the monastic community of St. Georgios of Plakari. During the period of Ottoman rule, thieves, pretending to be travellers, intended to enter the community to loot it. A youth met them at the entrance and, after escorting them outside, disappeared, leaving the thieves paralysed all through the night. The next morning, the monks were surprised to find the thieves who, terrified by their night-long paralysis, related the event to them. Subsequently, they identified the face depicted in the miraculous icon as being the same as that of the youth they had met. According to the same tradition, not only did the thieves repent, but one of them was inducted as a monk into the Cell of Plakari, while another joined the Skete of St Anna.

The area of the entrance hall (Λιτή or Εσωνάρθηκα; Liti, Exovarthika, 'Outer nave'), west of the central nave is connected to it via a classical style marble door, with another door on each side. This is the main entrance to the cathedral. Important interventions in the entrance hall were made during the renovations of 1847, work which was performed by the master craftsman from Tinos, Chatz-Adonis Lytras, the father of the great artist Nikiforos Lytras, with funding from the Archimandrite of the Monastery Meletios Katsoranos of Kydonieos, according to surviving inscriptions on the outer lintel.
At that time, the two pre-existing small naves were combined, and a common roof with three domes supported by marble columns was added. In addition, the chapel of the Three Heirarchs was demolished. The chapel had stood at the right side of the entrance hall, where the Tomb of the Founders was located and where magnificent frescoes by Theofanos of Crete had been painted. As part of the renovation program, the frescoes were repainted, as witnessed by a second inscription above the lintel of the main door connecting the entrance hall with the nave.
At the beginning of the 18th century, an open gallery was added to enclose the entrance hall from west and south. The square-shaped bell tower is set in the area between the chapel of the cemetery and the north wall of the entrance hall, and based on the tiles at its summit, dates to 1735. The oldest bell of the tower dates to 1610, and is decorated with images of saints. According to notes by Barsky, the bell tower also had a clock, the mechanism for which survives until today.

In 1614, significant renovation work were undertaken in the area of the Sanctuary, which was extended about five meters to the east, while at two of its corners, the northeastern and the southeastern, two polygon-shaped, dome-covered rooms (typicaria) were constructed.
The nave is separated from the area of the Sanctuary by the exceptionally crafted carved and gold-plated wooden τέμπλο (templo, or 'icon screen'), the third in the history of the cathedral, which was made in 1614 by Chrysanthos Cliedi, and is decorated with floral themes. The functional role of the icon screen is provided by an exceptionally important document, not only because it contains chronological details and information about the craftsmen who constructed it, but also because, according to the archaeologist I. Papangelo, it is the first documented use of the term templo to denote the use of this type of architectural element to physically separate the sanctuary from the rest of the nave.
The primary decoration of the screen consists of two magnificant icons: Χριστού Παντοκράτορος (Pantokratoros, 'Christ the Ruler of All') and the Θεοτόκου της «Πάντων Χαράς ('The Blessed Mother, the Joy of All)', works of Theofanos of Crete (1535-1546). The icon of Τιμίου Προδρόμου ('St John the Baptist'), with its scenes from his life and martyrdom, was donated in 1655 by the monk Adonios of Chilandarino. Another significant icon is that of the Archangels, at the right of the Pantokratoros icon, which dates to the 17th century and is the oldest surviving portable icon. Scenes depicting miracles performed by the archangels are presented around the perimeter of the icon, with particular attention paid to the four scenes depicting the miracle at the Docheiarios Monastery.
Icons of the twelve apostles decorate the second zone of the screen, while the top section is dominated by the remarkably large-sized Εσταυρωμένος (Estavromenos, 'The crucified One'), a work of a Cretan workshop from the end of the 16th century. Related icons from this workshop, Τα Λυπηρά ('The Mourners', the left and right side panels of the Estavromenos, depicting the mourning Blessed Mother and St John the Theologian) are presently safeguarded in the Sacristy of the Monastery.
The gold-plated, carved wooden doors of the screen are the work of the monk Isaia, and are decorated with 31 small images of prophets and apostles, as well as with the scenes from the Crucifixion and the Annunciation. They date to 1622, according to the relevant records.
Inside the Sanctuary, the wood-carved, pillar-supported κιβώριο (ciborium, 'canopy') above the marble altar dominates the space. On its interior surface, scenes from the 'Heavenly Liturgy' are depicted.

The original church was officially opened around 1363. The marble inscription which today is engraved into the stairway leading from the outer entrance of the church to the bell tower: 'Lord, remember thy servants Alexios and Ioannios, the owners and brothers. Dedicated in the year 1363.'
Four marble columns support the central dome, simultaneously forming the northern and southern dome-topped apses. To the left and right of the nave, at approximately its centre, two marble shrines are located. The shrines, completed in 1896, are the work of the sculpture Georgios Filippotis from Tinos, and were gifts from the monks Akindinos of anti-Andros and Theofilos of Lesbos.
It is worth noting that the presence of the large (1.96 x 0.76 metres) icon in the central nave is truly unique, since it depicts the Blessed Mother full length, with her right hand open in a gesture of open-heartedness, in the Αγιοσορείτισσας (Agiosoreitissas, 'Holy woman') style. According to the Monastery tradition, the icon had been brought from Konstantinople by the owners at the time the physical foundations of the cathedral were being laid. They placed the icon at the spot they had chosen, and the work began. The next morning, however, the icon was found at the location where the Monastery stands today. The workers replaced the icon in its original location and continued work. The next day, the icon was once again found in the present-day location of the Monastery. After a third repetition of this miracle, the owners built the Monastery in the location which had been chosen by Panagia. The original location selected by the owners has been identified as the spot where the chapel of the Great Athanasios exists today, approximately 500 meters northwest of the Monastery.
According to tradition, the silver embellishment of the icon, which had been made in Moscow in 1847, was a gift of a noblewoman from Konstantinople who had been asked by Panagia to donate it.
Yet another shrine, next to the marble shrine on the right of the nave where the icon of the festal saint is situated, was dedicated by the hieromonk Anthimos of Sifnos in 1716. It is decorated with inlaid ivory and tortoise-shell, and is recorded in relevant documents as having been made in Kaffa (Theodosias-Theodosioupolis).