admin – Σελίδα 20 – Proskinitaria Athos

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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

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

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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

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.

Seats And Hermitages

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Seats And Hermitages

The Monastery has two Seats: The Virgin Mary, about a 10-minute walk northwest of it, where the Holy Dometios resided during the 14th century, and The Holy Precursor, also located northwest of the Monastery but at a shorter distance from it, which is now in ruins. The two Seats are depicted in the bronze engraving of 1798 mentioned previously.
Six hermitages also belong to the Monastery: The Holy Trinity, Daniel, Damaskinos, Iosef, Zarkadi, and Chairi. All are located on the route leading to the New Skete.

Cells

Metochia

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Cells

Documents of 1409 report that Simon, the Protos of Mt Athos, transferred the Cell of the Saviour which belonged to the Protaton, to the Monk Theodoulos, the Abbot of the St Pavlos Monastery. In a document of 1423, the Hieromonk Efthimios is reported to have asked the the Protos Gennadio for the Cell of Simeon, The God-Receiver (Θεοδόχου Συμεών) – the so-called Friend/Protector of Infants (Φιλογόνου) – in the area of Karyes, which belonged to the Protaton – and to have received it. The Monastery returned the Cell to the Protaton in 1456, according to a document by the Protos Serapionos.
In 1661, the Monastery purchased four cells in Karyes, three of which are still operating today:
a) St Andreas – the location of the Monastery’s Delegation Centre, with a similarly-named chapel. In 1867, the cell was sold to the Metropolite former Moschonision Kallinikos by the subordinate of the Hieromonk Efthimios, who died and was buried on 13 September 1891. The Monastery repurchased the cell in 1895. Conservation and renovation projects were undertaken in 1992 and 1993.
b) St Theodoros – located 100 metres northwest of the Delegation Centre; There is a reference that the Monastery had been forced to sell the Cell in 1824 due to its heavy load of debt. Important repair and conservation projects have been carried out within the Cell.
c) The Presentation – is reported to have been transferred by Serapionos, the Protos of Mt Athos, to the Hieromonk Iakobos and the other monks in a 1456 document. There are also earlier reports from a 1423 document of the Serbian despot Stefanos, which refer to the cell as ‘St Simeon, The God-Receiver’ (Θεοδόχου Συμεών) – the so-called Friend/Protector of Infants (Φιλογόνου), a name which is identified with the Cell of the Presentation – and that it was transferred by the Protos of Agios Oros, the Hieromonk Malachia. In the decade1880-1890, major renovations were made to the Cell.

The Skete Of St Dimitrios

Seats And Hermitages

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Θέα προς τη θάλασσα. Διακρίνεται η Σιθωνία.

The Skete Of St Dimitrios

Called the Skete of the Ravine, it is located on the northeastern side of Mt Athos at an altitude of 280 metres, an area with thick vegetation midway between the monasteries of Karakallou and Great Lavras, at about a 90- minute walk from the St Pavlos Monastery. The kalyvia of the skete are spread along a steep ravine formed by the Morfono river between Anti-Athonas and Little Athos. The skete is close to the Monastery of Amalfinos, which ceased to operate in the 11th century.
According to tradition, the skete was founded in the 10th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, Serbian monks resided there but, due to the efforts of the Vatopedios Monastery, were forced to give up their claims of ownership of the area and the skete. At the end of the 14th century, the skete was transferred to the Monastery of St Pavlos.
Serbian monks resided at the Skete until the 17th century, according to documents of 1606 found in the kalyvi of St Nikolaos. From the mid-18th century on, there are accounts of the presence of Moldavian monks at the skete. In 1754, the skete was in ruins, and was re-established in 1760 by the Moldavian monk Daniel. During the period of the Greek Revolution of 1821, the number of Moldavian monks decreased until after 1830, when they started to return.
In 1849, the cemetery church of St Skepis (which attribution refers to the miracle of ‘The Holy Protection by the Virgin Mary’) was built by the Moldavian monk Iakobos. The construction of the central church in the name of St Dimitrios began in 1898 and was completed in 1899, with an outer nave and a bell tower being added in 1904. Near the central church are the guest house, the refectory and other structures, while reconstruction projects are currently in process.
After a great crisis in the middle of 1990, the number of monks was dramatically reduced, resulting in the situation today: Although the skete has 24 kalyvia, only five are operating – St Skepis, the Annunciation, St Nikolaos, the Presentation, and the Holy Archangels – and they are mainly inhabited by Romanian monks.

The New Skete

Cells

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The New Skete

Dedicated to the Birth of the Virgin, the New Skete is located near the sea, on an inclined slope at the northeastern side of the peninsula. The distance from the Monastery is not more than 30 minutes. There are some confusing statements that in the 10th century, the skete was built at a higher location and bore the name of Benediktos or Stavros, with its central church being located at the site of the present-day kalyvi of the Sts Anargyrion. In the 2nd half of the 11th century, the skete was moved towards the sea, and its church was built on the site of the present-day kalyvi of the Presentation of Christ. During that period, under Anthimos Komninos, the fortified tower which houses the chapel of St Anna operated up until 1950.
A 1709 edict of the Patriarch Kyprianos refers to it as the New Skete, even though it was not officially inaugurated until 1753, when a permit was issued by the Monastery. However, the skete was known as the Tower Skete, as it is referred to in documents from 1756 and in copies of documents of 1814. Finally, in 1819, it was renamed as the New Skete or the Skete of the Virgin Mary. The above information comes from documents in the central church. In 1819, the New Skete, in an edict of the Patriarch Gregory V, was transferred to the Monastery of St Pavlos. The present-day form of the skete dates from 1850 and later.
The central church of the skete is dedicated to the Birth of the Virgin. Its construction was begun in 1730 and completed in 1757, with donations from the residents of Ioannina. It has a central nave and an outer nave, and its interior is decorated with frescoes. It also has a sculpted wooden altar. In 1901, the chapel of St Konstantine was built within the central church, where the Archpriests Theofanis of Lakedaimona, Vessarian of Rapsani, and Gerasimos Chalepios are entombed. In the courtyard of the central church is the cemetery church of All Saints, and the ossuary is nearby.
In the Library of the central church there are 19th century copies of manuscripts by the well-known scribe and scholar the monk Iakovos, as well as printed books. The sacristy houses a collection of icons, vestments, crosses, medallions, staffs, and sacred relics of saints.
The New Skete has about 30 kalyvia, most of which have a small church and a small extent of land; about 60 monks reside there. The monks engage in activities such as icon painting – with the most important artists being Kyrillaios, Abramaios, and the monks Spyridonaios – woodcarving, goldworking, and agricultural work, mainly the cultivation of citrus orchards.
Important saints and ascetics who resided in the skete were the Holy Martyr Pachomios from N. Epirus, the Elder Iosef the Ascetic, St Hilarion the New of Iviron, and from the circle of the Kollyvades, St Nikodimos the Athonite, Kyrillos the Philosopher, Athanasios of Messolonghi, and others.

Προηγούμενο

Επόμενο

The Skete Of St Dimitrios

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Άγγελος Κυρίου συνομιλεί με τον όσιο Παχώμιο. Τοιχογραφία εντός του παρεκκλησίου Αγίου Γεωργίου.

The Chapel Of St Georgios

Among the oldest structures of the Monastery is the chapel of St Georgios the Trophybearer, which is located on the north side of the monastic complex. The chronology (1431) which exists in the inscription in the chapel had been falsified in the 19th century by Konstantinos Simonidis, who changed the original date of 1554. Its frescoes have been reliably dated to 1552/55, and are attributed to the artist Antonios, who is also known from a 1544 inscription which has survived in the arch of the altar of the old cathedral of the Xenofontos Monastery. The frescoes of Antonios are characterized by an ‘anti-classical’ tendency, while in individual sections, elements of Cretan painting or even of his almost contemporary, the Theban painter Frangkos Katelanos, can be observed. Among the important icons in the chapel are the 16th century icons of Christ Enthroned, flanked by St Georgios and St Pavlos of Xeropotamos, and the icon of the Virgin Mary of Pammakaristos (Παναγίας Παμμακαρίστου), which name is obviously is derived from the similarly-named Byzantine pilgrimage church in Konstantinople. In the same period, at about the middle of the 16th century, the large epistyle of the icon screen of the chapel was installed, with a depiction of the Great Prayer (Μεγάλη Δέηση) following the prototype of the Cretan school. Finally, the altar door of the icon screen is of particular interest, with its representation of the Annunciation (early 16th century) and its large despotic icons of Christ, the Ruler of All and the Virgin Mary.

The Chapels

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