The tomb of father Bessarion, founder and Abbot, at the south of the Cathedral.

Bessarion

Bessarion

Our group leader informs us that vespers are at three since it is winter, followed by dinner. I have a little time to walk around. North of the cathedral, a tomb which appears to be new infuses the joy and peace of the trees and flowers with a patina of the metaphysical: not quite melancholy, but perhaps an added depth. I learn that the tomb houses Father Bessarion, who had come here in 1992 from the Xenofontos Monastery to re-establish the cenobiotic way of life, and who had died young. He was the first Abbott of the new fraternity. Despite his short span of life, it is obvious that he inspired many monks: You can still feel his essence while he sleeps at the center of the Monastery.

Neratzia in the courtyard of the Monastery.

Peace

Peace

The fantastic castle keeps watch over well-tended bitter orange trees and peaceful flowerbeds, which defy description. In the distance, the αρχονταρίκι (guest house). Usually the guest house of a monastery indicates its character. Here, apart from the usual decor, the walls have contemporary paintings, some of which depict the Monastery and others not, publications from the not-for-profit organizations Theofilos (which supports families with many children), and the Friends of the Imprisoned are on the table, and in the corner there is a small bookcase. Nothing about antichrists, or Macedonians, or other dangerous topics. That is well and good. The Athonite monk Moyses is my companion during this visit to Mt Athos, through his two small books: Vigil on Mt Athos and Midnight on Mt Athos. I take them out again and leaf through them mechanically.

The path.

A Castle At The End
Of The Road

A Castle At The End Of The Road

I walked east and northeast from Karyes, on the road toward Iviron, because I was afraid to search for footpaths. After about a quarter of an hour, I turned left at a crossroads. I had the giant Mt Athos at my back. After an hour’s walk, I saw a monastery, compact and fortified, located lower and in front of me, on an rocky overhang atop the cliffs above the shore. A Byzantine castle, I thought. Twenty minutes later, I was walking through the iron gate below the tower.

The new fraternity of the Monastery.

Cenobitic Life

Cenobitic Life

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, a representative from each of 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 monasteries 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 ranked representative 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 Mt Athos.
In the short time (6/19 May 1992-2/15 July 2001) that Bessarion was Abbott, the Monastery was reorganized, and renovation of a large number of buildings was undertaken. Because of this, he was awarded the title of new founder of the Monastery. Unfortunately, his successful work was unexpectedly ended by a serious illness which led him to resign his position as Abbott on 2 July 2001. A few months later, on 20 September, he died.

Panagia Gerontissa The 'Πυροσώτειρα'. Portable image.

The ‘Πυροσώτειρα’

The 'Πυροσώτειρα'

On 1 December 1948, a fire 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. (See also the appropriate section further below.) Because of the miracle, the small icon was afterwards referred to by the monks as Παναγία η Πυροσώτειρα (Panagia Pyrosotiera, 'Virgin Mary, the Saviour from Fires').

Paintings of an anonymous Mount Athos monk who presents the liberation of Mount Athos from the Greek Royal Navy during the First Balkan War.

1912 and 1922

1912 and 1922

On 2 November 1912, Mt Athos was liberated by the Greek army, in an atmosphere of general euphoria. 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 on behalf of the national interest: The monk Joseph, Treasurer of the dependency of St Nikolaos of Kydonieos (Aivali), was martyred by the Turks. A short time later, the Monastery’s productive dependencies in Macedonia, Thasos and Limnos were expropriated and turned over to the refugees.

Pistola, which is said to have belonged to the fighter Emm. Pappas. It was found in Ravdouchos' cell.

The Greek Revolution
for Independence, 1821

The Greek Revolution for Independence, 1821

The Athonites supported the revolution led by Emmanuel Pappa in Eastern Macedonia by every means possible, even providing him with the cannons from the towers. Unfortunately, his failed campaign opened the ‘sack of Aiolos’ for the Athonites: In 1822, Ottoman forces entered Mt Athos and based themselves inside the monasteries, forcing the monks to provide for their needs. In a document from 1827, two officials of the Monastery, the Prior Theoclitos and the Elder Agapios comment that: '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 Mt Athos before the invasion of the Turkish troops. They left on boats belonging to the Monastery, first sailing to Thasos and from there to Skopelos, taking all the valuables of the Monastery with them. Upon their arrival in Skopelos, the artefacts 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 the items to help meet the needs of the revolution. 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 γρόσια (grosia, Turkish coins). 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 Mt Athos, by order of the first Governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias.

Holly Cross, known as Cross of Andronicos' II.

Economic Difficulties

Economic Difficulties

The seizure of the Athonite lands by Sultan Selim II in 1568 forced the monasteries to borrow large sums of money at exorbitant rates in order to buy back their dependencies. This fact, together with the high taxes imposed, caused serious economic problems to all the monasteries, including the Pantokratoros, which it attempted to resolve by resorting to soliciting donations. Furthermore, the appropriation of the large dependency in Limnos in 1958 required the Monastery to pay 130,300 άσπρα (aspra, silver coins) to recover it. Donations of money and land helped in the improvement of conditions in the 17th century: In 1629, the Vlachian ruler Ioannis Alexandros offered the Katsori Monastery to the Pantokratoros as a dependency. In general, the following period was characterized by alternate cycles of economic decline and recovery, depending on the circumstances.

Copper engraving of the Monastery.

Sponsors From Vlachia
And Moldavia

Sponsors from Vlachia and Moldavia

In documents from 1501, Staikos, the ruler of Vlachia, is recorded as being the new founder of the Monastery. This began an important period of sponsorship by leaders of Vlachia and Moldavia, who supported the Athonite communities particularly during the 16th century, and to a large degree shaped the present day appearance of the structures within the Monastery complex.
Another important sponsor was the Moldavian ruler Neagoe Basarab Kraioveskou, who is also known for his close relationship with the hieromonk Nifon and his work at the Dionysios Monastery. In his Romanian biography, he is characterised as the founder of both the Pantokratoros and Iviron monasteries.
Vasilieos Barski refers to the third founder as ‘Barboulos’; however, no evidence has been found which connects this name with any of the similarly-named rulers of the period. Gabriel Totousianos, the great Moldavian Treasurer and Chancellor (1516-1523, 1539-1541), funded the repairs to the Byzantine aqueduct in 1536/7.

View to the south, with Mt Athos at the bottom.

Fire

Fire

In 1392, a fire destroyed a significant part of the structures, including the archives of the Monastery. Apart from the necessary reconstruction of buildings, the monks needed to recover and to reissue the most important documents which ensured the rights of the Monastery. Among such documents, three imperial decrees (χρυσόβουλλα, chrysobulls) of the Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos from 1393, 1394, and 1396 have survived, which validate the property rights of the Monastery in Limnos and in Eastern Macedonia. These are followed by four ecclesiastical edicts (σιγίλλια, sigillia) by the ecumenical patriarch Antonios IV, two which decree the dependencies in Eastern Macedonia and Limnos, and the other two which regulate issues related to the independence of the Monastery from the Proton of Mt Athos and local ecclesiastical authorities, and also with the life within the monastic community (e.g., the relationship between the Abbot and the monks.