All posts by : admin

During the more recent historical 'biography' of the Monastery, the following Pantokratoros leaders can be singled out:
a) Benjamin of Lesbos. He was one of the most prominent representatives of the New-Hellenic Enlightenment, and played a significant role in the spiritual and historical events of the turbulent period in which he lived. He was born in Plomari in 1762, and likely joined the Monastery at a very young age, since in 1780, he was sent to the dependency of St Nikolaos in Kydonies. His acquaintance there with the scholar Ioannis Oikonomos was the starting point of a long cycle of studies, first at the School of Chios, where Athanasios Parios and Theodore Proios taught, and later in Pisa, Paris, and London, where he studied mathematics, physics, meteorology, and astronomy. Prior to 1800, he had returned to Kydonion, where he was appointed as a teacher in the Academy of the city, while after 1812, he taught in Constantiniple, in the School of Bucharest, where he also served as director, and in the Evangelical School of Smyrni. Apart from his work in education, Benjamin was also an active member of the Society of Friends, while after the independence of Greece, he participated in the Second National Convention, and was appointed Commissioner of the Aegean Islands. He died in Nafplio on 26 August 1824. It is likely that his personal tribute to the Monastery is a decorated cross from 1788, where he is referred to as Prior, a fact which confirms that for a long period of time, Benjamin had continued to be closely connected with the Monastery to which he had been inducted.
b) Archimandrite Daniel of Thasos. Daniel came from Kallirachos, Thasos, and had graduated from the Great National School prior to 1850. He served as Director of the Monastery and as a commissioner of the Holy Community in Thessaloniki before 1860. During the decade 1870-1880, he was appointed Treasurer of the dependency of Kydonieos, where he supervised the renovations which were taking place there. He died in that city on 19 February 1884, and was buried with great honour at the expense of the Holy Community.
c) Kallinikos the Hermit (1821-1884). Kallinikos was born in Synasso, Cappadocia, and studied in Athoniada before attending the Theological School of Chalkis. He was appointed as a teacher in Athoniada between the years 1864 and 1868, after which he returned to the place of his birth, where he continued his educational work, at the same time serving as a preacher. In the final period of his life, he lived outside the Monastery in the Seat of St Onofrios, where he produced a new interpretation of the Ascetics of Abbot Isaac of Syria, a work which was published in Athens in 1877. He is known for his ascetic and virtuous life; he died on 25 March 1884.
d) Daniel Stergiadis was born in Platano, Thessaly, and studied theology at the Theological School of the University of Athens during the decade 1840-1850, after which he was inducted into the Monastery, where he was appointed Director around 1860, and was awarded the title of Archimandrite in 1864. From 1850-1860, he taught at Athoniada. He died on 13 August 1885 from a serious illness.
e) Hieromonk Arsenios, was born in Asia Minor. Arsenios originally resided in the St Panteleimonos Monastery of, and was later appointed to the position of Abbot at the Zenofontos Monastery, where he served from September 1872 until 23 November 1873. He returned to the St Panteleimonos Monastery, and from there entered the Pantokratoros Monastery, where he served as spiritual advisor until his death in 1894.
f) Gregory the Deacon was born in Leibadi, Chalcidiki, and his secular name was Georgios Kopsacheilis. He was inducted into the Monastery in 1874, at the age of 20. Two years later, he was ordained as a deacon, and in 1888 as a priest, while in 1891 he was awarded the title of Archimandrite. He studied in Athoniada and served as undersecretary to the Holy Community from 1882 to 1885. He died on 12 August, 1935.
g) Agathon the Monk was born in Peristasi, Thrace, and joined the Monastery at the age of 18. In 1860, he was already the Director of the Monastery, and he was also an exceptional calligrapher. Agathon was asked by the patriarch Joachim to serve on a committee for the revision of the Typikos of the Great Church, (i.e. the book of rules governing the operating procedures of the monasteries), under the direction of G. Biolaki in 1880. In recognition of his contribution to the project, Agathon was awarded the title of Great Eccleasiarch ('Great Leader of the Church') by the Patriarch on 13 May 1882. During this same period, the Patriarch had also asked Agathon to collect subscriptions from the Agios Oros monasteries and sketes for the operation of the Theological School of Chalkis, a mission which he successfully completed. He died on 17 September, 1886.
h) Prior Joseph was originally named Ioannis Koukoutos, and he was born in Kydonies. He was inducted into the Monastery in 1894 at the age of 25, and was assigned as the Young Men's Spiritual Advisor (Pneumatiko Paisio). He became a monk in 1898, and was ordained as a deacon and priest the following year. In 1909, he was appointed as Director and Prior of the Monastery. In 1911, he was sent as Treasurer to the dependency in his place of birth, where he worked with exceptional success until his martyrdom by the Turks in 1922.
i) Prior Alexios was born in Leibadi, Chalcidiki and was originally named Apostolos Liolios. He had studied at the Gymnasio ('Middle School') of Kydonies and at the French School of Thessaloniki. He joined the Monastery in 1904 at the age of 30, and was a tonsured monk in 1906. In 1920 he became the Director of the Monastery and the following year, he was ordained as a deacon and a priest. He served the Holy Community as an undersecretary from 1914 to 1920. He died at the Monastery on 2 January 1939.
j) Theofanis of Pantokratoros lived during the first half of the 19th century. Together with his contemporaries Mathaios of Vatopedis, Iosef of Dionysious, and Nikolaos of Docheiarios, he revised the antiquated notations of Byzantine music, a work which is considered extremely significant by authorities. He also reformed parts of ecclesiastical music which had not been covered by the three well-known music interpretators Chourmouzios the Archivist, Gregory the Protopsaltis, and Chrysanthos of Madytos.
k) Hierodeacon Fotis of Kallipolis was born in Kabospyra, Kallipolis in 1875, and originally named Georgios Konstantinidis. At the age of 16, he entered the Monastery and was assigned to the care of the Elder Prior Athanasios. He was tonsured in 1893, and in 1895 was ordained as a holy deacon. Fotis was appointed Director of the Monastery in 1904, and taught at Athoniada from 1903 until 1907, having graduated from the Great National School. He served as an undersecretary in the Holy Community from 1902-1907, and as secretary until 1909. For 18 years, he served as the manager of the dependency Alexopyrgos in Limnos. He died in Athens on 2 November, 1933.
l) Archimandrite Athanasios of Madytos, whose secular name was Vasileios Chrysostomoo of Kamado, was born in 1889. He jointed the Monastery in 1901, when he was only 12 years old, and two years later, he became a monk. In June of 1910, he was ordained as a deacon, and in February 1918, as a priest in Athens, where he had moved in order to study at the Theological School. He also studied at the Great National School. On 20 January 1920, he received the title of Archimandrite and Director of the Monastery. During 1920, he served as the head secretary of the Holy Community, while from 1923-1927, he served in Athens as the proxy of the Holy Community relating to the compilation of the Charter of Agios Oros and other matters. He also held the position as head of the school of Athoniadas from 1930 to 1941. From 1945 to 1954, he taught at the Ecclesiastical School of Zanthe, where he was distinguished by his ecclesiastical nature. He died on 4 February (or 17 February, in the Julian calendar) 1959 in poverty, and was buried at the Cemetery of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mother in Thessaloniki.

On 6 May 1992, a Synod took place at the Monastery in which three members of the Athonite community – the Abbot of the Exarchia Monstery, the Committee for the Sanctity of Communal Life, and the Pantakratoras Council of the Elders – participated. There, they jointly decided to restore the Monastery, which was the last of the Athonite monastery to function in an idiorhythmic state – to the system of cenobitic life.
Moreover, the Council of Elders unanimously decided to reorganize the Monastery under the guidance of a 13-member group of monks from the Zenofontos Monastery. The first Prior of the new Pantokratoros community was the hieromonk Bessarion (Makrygiannis) from Zenofontos Monastery, who was enthroned by the Sacred Community on 8 June 1992, the Sunday on which the feast of All Saints is celebrated. According to tradition, he received the ecumenical sceptre from the highest ranking member of the five-member Committee for Holy Communal Life: The Elder Bartholomew, a monk from the Great Lavra Monastery, who held the position as heir to Athanasios the Athonite, the founder of the first cenobitic monastery on Agios Oros.
During the time that the Prior Bessarion led the Monastery (19 May 1992-15 July 2001 or, in the Julian calendar used by the Athonite community, the respective dates would be the 6 May 1992-2 July 2001), it was reorganized and spiritually renewed, while work to renovate a large number of the buildings was undertaken. In order to accomplish this goal, he was awarded the title of new patron of the Monastery. Unfortunately, his successful work was unexpectedly ended by a serious illness which caused him to be bedridden; this condition led him to resign his position as Prior on 2 July 2001. He died several months later, on 20 September of the same year, leaving behind the reputation of having been a virtuous man. His funeral took place the next day, attended by a large number of clerics, monks and laymen, in an atmosphere of mourning for his premature death, but also one of joy and hope for his resurrection.
A Pantokratoros hieromonk, Gabriel, was appointed to replace the late Prior Bessarion. Under Gabriel's leadership, the Monastery flourished, evidenced by an increase in the number of its members, and the completion of the renovations to the old wings of the buildings in the Monastery compound. Today, the brotherhood has about 30 members.

On 2 November 1912, after 488 years of foreign rule, humiliation, and a variety of 'adventures', Agios Oros was liberated by the Greek army, in an atmosphere of general euphoria and festive celebrations by the Athonites. From that time on, all the Athonite monasteries linked their historical fate with that of the Hellenic state.
In 1922, in the aftermath of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the Monastery paid its own price in blood: The monk Joseph, Treasurer of the dependency of St Nikolaos of Kydonieos, was martyred by the Turks. At the same time, the income-producing activities in the Monastery's dependencies in Macedonia, Thasos and Limnos were decreased since their focus was shifted to meet the needs of the many refugees arriving in the country.
The problems faced by the Monastery during the decades which followed were compounded by a huge fire on 1 December 1948, which totally destroyed the eastern wing. The fire would have caused even more damage had it not been stopped by a miracle which took place after the monks had prayed for help to a small copy of the miraculous icon of Panagia Gerontissa. Because of the miracle, the small icon was afterwards referred to by the monks as Panagia Purosotiera) 'Virgin Mary the Saviour from Fires'.
At that point in time, the idiorhythmic system of organization coupled with the shortage of monks, conditions which were generally the norm for all the Athonite monasteries in the post-war period, made the operation of the Monastery even more difficult. This unfortunate situation prevailed until May 1992, when the Monastery once again began to operate as a cenobitic system. The last Prior of the idiorhythmic-system Monastery was the hieromonk Euthymios Prepis from Magoulades, Corfu.

The Revolution of 1821 meant the start of great, new 'adventures' for the Monastery, and for the entire Agios Oros community. The Athonites publicly supported the revolutionary exploits of Immanuel Papa in eastern Macedonia. Moreover, according to oral tradition, the Monastery gave the cannons from its towers for use during the war, an event which is depicted in old engravings.
However, the failure of Papa's Macedonian forces created many problems for the Athonites. In February 1822, Turkish troops invaded and occupied the monasteries, forcing the monks to feed and house them. At the same time, heavy taxes were levied, driving the monasteries to absolute poverty. This is confirmed by comments in an 1827 report written by two officials of the Monastery, the Prior Theoclitos and the Elder Agapios: 'Now that it is known what has happened, we will be deprived of good bread.'
Most of the monks at the Monastery, as well as the other Athonite monks, had already abandoned Agios Oros before the invasion of the Turkish troops. They left on boats belonging to the Monastery, first sailing to Thasos and from there to Skopelos, carrying with them all the artifacts of the Monastery. Upon their arrival in Skopelos, the artifacts were recorded and given to Droso Mansolo and Kyriako Tasika, two high-ranking representatives of the Hellenic Parliament of Corinth, for the purpose of using them to help fill the needs of the revolution. The sacred liturgical vestments were protected at the Monastery of the Bishop in Skopelos.
According to K. Notara, the Minister of the Hellenic Economy at that time, the silver and gold obtained from the artefacts amounted to 6,250 Turkish coins ('grosia'), which does not reflect the true value of the items since it is does not take into account the historical value of the objects or the craftsmanship involved in their elaborate, artistic decoration. Any artefacts which were not used were taken to the Monastery of the Great Cave in the Peloponnese, from where they were eventually returned to the Monastery in 1830, after the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from Agios Oros, by order of the first Governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias.
After this long and difficult 'adventure' of its monks, the Monastery regrouped and reorganized. With grants from the Pantokratoros Archimandrite and Treasurer to its dependency in Blachia, Meletios Katsoranos of Kydonieos, significant renovations and repairs were made to buildings and particularly in the cathedral, where the frescoes were repainted. Despite the economic problems which continued to plague it, the Monastery experienced a gradual growth, and in 1903 had a population of 58 monks.

The confiscation of the Athonite properties by the Sultan Selim II in 1563 forced the monks to borrow large sums of money at exorbitant rates in order to buy them back, and also to pay heavy taxes on them, including a property tax of 14,000 gold fiords (an early form of European gold or silver currency). This situation created economic problems for the Monastery, which tried to overcome them by appealing to people for contributions. Furthermore, the seizure of the large dependency on Limnos in 1581 required the payment of a huge sum to get it back.
However, the Monastery soon managed to recover and even to acquire – either through donations or through their purchase – new buildings and land, such as the Katsori Monastery in Blachia, which was donated in 1629 by the Blachian leader Ioannis Alexandros (Ilias). At the same time, work was started to renovate and extend various buildings at the Monastery, such as the cathedral and the northeastern wing. Thus, when Father Synadinos, a cleric from Serres, visited the Monastery in 1629/30 during a pilgrimage to Agios Oros, he characterized it in his diary as well-kept and tidy.
The period from the mid-17th to the mid-18th century was one of decline. It is likely that the communal life at the Monastery came to an end, with Jeremiah (1648-1656) being the last known abbot. It cannot be ruled out that there were some short-term problems, phenomena which were likely related to the economic difficulties faced by the Monastery. However, a dangerous threat to all the Athonite monasteries was posed by raids by pirates. According to Barsky, the Monastery frequently was attacked by pirates, forcing the monks to fortify their towers with cannons.
With the help of some of its productive dependencies, such as those on Thasos, the Monastery managed to recover during the last decades of the 18th century and to begin a new period of prosperity. This was marked by the acquisition of new dependencies, the development of the older ones, and the completion of large-scale construction at the Monastery: The communal dining room was rebuilt, the central dome of the church and the west wing were repaired, and the north wing was opened, together with the chapel of St Andrew and Ioannikio, and the chapel of the Archangels. Special care was given to the enrichment of the collection of liturgical vessels by the addition of new ones, and also to the commissioning of ornate reliquaries. Despite the fact that all these activities created great debt for the Monastery, the monks managed to deal with this new, difficult economic situation with the help of the well-known nobleman Ioannis Iota Kaytadzoglou of Thessaloniki. During this period, a sizeable number of monks (about 60-136) resided at the Monastery.

Agios Oros fell under Ottoman control in 1423/4. During the period which followed, the Monastery, under the leadership of the hieromonk Nicandro (1423), managed to advance the interests of the Monastery despite the adverse conditions: He accepted a significant number of donations and new dependencies or metochies (i.e. a property belonging to the Monastery but located outside of it). These acquisitions reinforced the Monastery economically, thereby placing it in a relatively strong financial position. In 1471, under the tenure of the Abbott Ignatios, the Monastery was visited by the Patriarch of Konstantinople Dionysius I, who was the student of St Mark of Ephesus, at which time a number of issues relating to the Monastery were settled. (After his first resignation from the ecumenical throne, Dionysius became the founder of the Eikosifinissa Monastery in Paggaio.
During that same period, Abbott Ignatios Zagrifas, the former head of the Monastery, was appointed as head of the Agios Oros community, a position which he held from 1483-1496. Several decades later, in 1522, the same honour was bestowed on another member of the Pantokratoros Monastery, the hieromonk Nifon.
The end of the 15th century through the entire 16th century was a period of spiritual renascence of the subjugated Hellenic tradition. The Monastery was strengthened, as were other Athonite monasteries, by Orthodox rulers in the region around the Danube. The first benefactor was the Blachian leader Staikos, who is characterized in a 1501 document as the new patron of the Monastery, and his son-in-law, Neagoe of Peris (1516-1529). Another Blachian patron who provided significant assistance to the Monastery at this time was Neagoe Vasarab Craiovescu (1512-1521), a person known for his special relationship with the hieromonk Nifon. Craiovescu is characterized in Romanian biographies as being the patron of both the Pantocratoras and Iviron monasteries.
Renovations being carried out at the Monastery during this period are linked with the names of two additional Moldavian-Blachian officers: (a) Barboulo, whom Barsky characterizes as the third patron of the Monastery. However, based on surviving evidence, it is not possible to identify him with one of the anonymous officers who are remembered during that period, and (b) the great Moldavian leader (1516-1523, 1539-1541) Gabriel Totrusanu, who financed the repair of the Byzantine aqueduct system at the Monastery in 1536/7. Other patrons around this time (1560-1568) were Count Barcan and his three sons, Radul, Manea and Diicul, who financed the construction of the silver embellishments to the Bible of St John of Kalyvito.
Along with the endowments to the Monastery used for major repairs to the physical structures and facilities, in September 1537, the patriarch Jeremiah I reaffirmed the independence of the Monastery and its rights in a sigilli, as they had been defined in an earlier edict of the Patriarch Antonio IV.
The resurgence of the Monastery during this period is also confirmed by the fact that during the first half of the 16th century, a large population of monks (ranging from 40 to 215) resided there. In 1574, in a report on Agios Oros written by the patriarch Jeremiah II (Tranos), the Monastery is mentioned as having achieved the seventh place in the hierarchy of Athonite monasteries, the position which it still retains today.

After the deaths of the founders, the Monastery faced a serious problem caused by a very destructive fire which broke out in 1392 in the newly-built wing of the compound. Many of the buildings and archives were totally burned or seriously damaged, resulting in the loss of a great many important documents. This event prompted the monks to act – both within the Agios Oros community and outside it – to protect the buildings of the Monastery. They re-published relevant chrysobulls and sigillia, and worked to rebuild the damaged structures, which they succeeded in doing the following year.

The Monastery was founded in the second half of the 14th century, a period when the spiritual/ intellectual development of the Byzantines had reached its height, but also a time when a variety of conflicts in the political and ecclesiastical spheres affected the kingdom. During this time, Stephan Dousan led the Serbs to conquer a significant area in Macedonia, while the Ottomans crossed into the European continent for the first time, gaining European land through the conquest of Kallipolis in Thrace.
At a short distance from the site where the present Monastery was built, an earlier monastery (the Monastery of Christ the Saviour) had been operating since the 11th century. However, the ancient tradition of the Monastery links its founding with the name of the Byzantine Emperor Alexis I Comnenos (1081-1117).
According to sources, and primarily the ancient records in the archives of the Monastery, the original founders of the present day Monastery were two important Byzantine military officers from Konstantinople who were militarily active in Macedonia during this period: The brothers Alexis and Ioannis Comnenos, who held the military titles of Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister, respectively. Their military successes and their relationship through marriage with the Emperor Ioannis V Palaiologos entitled them to vast landholdings in eastern Macedonia (i.e. Chrysoupolis, Anaktoropolis, Thasos, and Christoupolis), a portion of which they later donated to the Monastery. The exact time of the founding of the Monastery is not known. However, it appears likely that the initial construction may have started in the year 1357, and the official founding probably took place between the months of April and August of that year. At the same time (April 1357), the Emperor Ioannis V Palaiologos and the Patriarch Callistos I announced (in an imperial chrysobull and an eccleastical sigilli, respectively) the awarding of the Cell of Ravdouchos (an existing monastery) in Karyes to the two brothers by Theodora I. This Cell was incorporated into the Monastery a short time later, after its official founding. The Monastery appears in surviving ecclesiastical documents the following year (1357), while the Cathedral was opened in 1362/3 by the Patriarch Callisto I, who declared it to be the ecumenical seat; in 1367, the church was characterized as a basilica. The same Patriarch also issued a sigilli relating to the operation of the monastery. Although the document has unfortunately been lost, it is known to have provided guidelines relating to the independence and communal standards of the monks living in the Monastery, and also for their spiritual well-being.
Several years later, between March 1368 and February 1369, Alexis I died, most likely defending the island of Thasos from the Ottomans. The responsibilities as founder of the Monastery were taken over by Alexis' brother Ioannis and the latter's wife Anna Asanina Kodostefanina, as is verified by the documents from this period, mainly from evidence in the provisions in the Will of Ioannis from August 1384.
The unstable political situation and the military successes of the Ottomans led Ioannis to ask the Venetian leader Andrea Kodarini to grant him Venetian citizenship. His request was granted in January 1374, but he managed to avoid ever fleeing to Venice. He remained in Macedonia, continuing to defend his Byzantine properties, such as those in Marmarolimena, Thasos, where he built a tower and wall, and also continuing his economical support of the Monastery. He remained active at least until the end of 1834, when he retired to the Monastery, where he spent the last years of his life.
According to the Monastery tradition, Ioannis became a monk, adopting the monastic name Ioannikios. A memorial to his residence and death in the Monastery around 1836/7 is the 'Tomb of the Founders', which can be found today on the northern side of Litis, inside the cathedral. The tomb is covered with a pseudo-sarcophagus dating to the 14th century, a part of which has been saved.

The Pantokratoros Monastery is the ecumenical administrative seat of the Orthodox Church and the most important of the Agios Oros monasteries. It is built upon a rocky overhang at the end of a wooded slope, at a height of about 30 meters above the sea, on the northeastern side of the Agios Oros peninsula. This location offers excellent views of the islands of Thasos, Limnos, Samothrace, and sometimes Imbros (weather permitting), as well as towards the northeastern shores of Agios Oros and the iconic Mt Athos, with its steep-sided summit.
Over the years, the location of the Monastery has been singled out by both Greek and foreign writers and travellers. The 17th century scholar and bishop Ioannis Komninos notes in his 1701 work The Pilgrim's Book (Proskynytirion) that 'the sacred and venerated Pantokratoros Monastery is exceptionally beautiful because of its advantageous position facing the sea, surrounded by the solid [walls of a] castle', while Kosmas Blachos (a respected deacon who lived in the 18th century) describes the Monastery as being 'situated on the eastern shore of the mountain, with its northeastern side supported by a cliff, and looking out on a broad horizon, while the waves thrashing against the cliff base create a wild and enjoyable spectacle'.
On the south side of the rocky ledge over which the Monastery dominates, a small harbor has been built, one of the two sheltered areas of Agios Oros which in the past were used to protect small boats in the event of storms. Apart from access by sea, today the Monastery can be reached by a road which starts from the town of Karyes, and branches off from the road leading to the Iviron Monastery. Footpaths also connect some of the monasteries, such as the path from the Vatopedi Monastery heading northeast, and the path between the monasteries Stavronikita ('The Conqueror of the Cross') and Iviron. A stone-paved road connects the Monastery with its affiliated Skete , the monastic community of the Prophet Elias, via an impressive route.
In early Byzantine written documents, the Monastery is referred to as the 'the divine seminary of Christ, the Almighty Saviour', and later as the 'central and patriarchal monastery of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ the Almighty', titles reminiscent of the earlier, similarly named and well-known Byzantine Pantokratoros Monastery in Konstantinople, where the most influential monks of that period lived and worked.
Today the Monastery ranks seventh in the sovereign hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries, after the Koutloumousios Monastery and before the Xeropotamos Monastery.

Since its establishment the monastery has preserved a copy of the canon of St. Savvas Monastery. It is clear that this text served as a model for the practical organization of the monastery of Pantokrator, as it is known for many other monasteries. It refers in every detail to the order of the every day ceremonies around the year and in various special events. Its good condition testifies to its regular use, in the course of the centuries.