ψηφιδ

The Large Mosaics
Of Sts Dimitrios And Georgios

The Large Mosaics Of Sts Dimitrios And Georgios

Stefanos, the eminent Athenian and the great ruler of Vigla, was tonsured a monk and became the Abbot of the Monastery. He managed to successfully act as an arbitrator on behalf of the Emperor Nikiforos Votaneiatos with the rebel Vasilaki in Thessaloniki, resulting in a very beneficial outcome for the Monastery. Among the important manuscripts and artefacts donated to the Monastery were the two portable mosaic icons of St Georgios and St Dimitrios, a fact supported by evidence and accepted today. The mosaics are the largest of their kind in the world, and are safeguarded in the sacristy of the Monastery.

Detail from the icon of St Georgios sitting on a throne at the temple of the old Cathedral 1609(?)

The Frescoes In The Old Cathedral

The Frescoes In The Old Cathedral

The frescoes in the old cathedral, dated to the 16th and 17th centuries, are mainly works of the artist Antonios and the monk Theofanis, while the dome and triangular spheres were painted in the 19th century. Furthermore, a small section of the original painting of the central nave dated to about 1280 has survived, while an important place on the north side is occupied by the fresco of St Georgios, with his rare designation as ‘Dysuritis’. According to Monastery tradition, this attribution is connected with his relationship (described below) with the therapy for that condition.

Η απόδοση τιμών στον Πρόεδρο της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας κατά τους εορτασμούς της χιλιετηρίδας της Μονής, το 1998.

The Celebration Of The
Thousand-Year Anniversary
Of The Monastery

The Celebration Of The Thousand-Year Anniversary Of The Monastery

In 1998, the Monastery celebrated the completion of one thousand years of uninterrupted life. In October 1998, during the festival of the Virgin Mary our Guide, a great celebration was held under the aegis of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaio. A Patriarchal Mass with a number of hierarchs as co-celebrants was conducted, among them the late Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Christodoulos. The Prime Minister and the President of the Hellenic Democracy attended the events, along with many other dignitaries and pilgrims.

The Abbot Alexios. The brotherhood which he led contributed to the rebirth of the Monastery in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Arrival Of The Followers
Of The Elder Alexios

The Arrival Of The Followers Of The Elder Alexios

1976 marked a new period of systematic reconstruction, an era of spiritual cultivation and the zenith of the brotherhood, when the group of fathers under the spiritual guidance of the Elder Archimandrite Alexios took up residence at the Monastery. The members of the group brought with them a divine passion for the monastic calling, but also for the preservation of the sacred traditions of Athonite culture in all its aspects, i.e. for the reconstruction and conservation of the buildings and sacred artefacts, and for the construction of new, elaborate sacred vessels, icons, liturgical objects, as well as traditional wood-carved constructions. Moreover, particular care was given to the preservation of the spirit of brotherhood within the community, and the tradition of offering hospitality in the spirit of fatherly love to the large number of pilgrims who visited the Monastery.

‘Spring’ always comes.

The Return Of The Fathers

The Return Of The Fathers

The fathers who had taken refuge in the metochi in Skopelos returned to the Monastery in 1830, after the withdrawal of the Ottoman army from Mt Athos. Among their first tasks was the resumption of the construction of the new cathedral.
The economic condition of the Monastery again suffered a setback when, after the liberation of Macedonia and Mt Athos, the Athonite metochia and lands were confiscated by the Greek state and given to refugees from the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922). Another difficulty was brought about by World War II, during which time the Monastery had to deal with a population of aged monks and a shortage of men, conditions which led to its decline.

The cross stood proudly during the period of Ottoman rule, waiting for the brotherhood to return and to sound the bells...

The Occupation
By The Ottomans

The Occupation By The Ottomans

The outbreak of the unsuccessful revolt of 1821 in Macedonia, in which the Xenofontos monk Gedeon was actively involved, lead to the halt of the important construction projects in progress at the Monastery, while after the defeat of the rebels, the Monastery paid a heavy price: At least four monks – Chrysanthos, Neofytis, Isaak and Xenofon – were martyred. Ottoman soldiers occupied the Monastery, forcing the majority of fathers to abandon it and to seek refuge in Skopelos, taking with them the heirlooms of the Monastery.

Πτήση πάνω από τη νότια πλευρά της Μονής, όπου φαίνεται η ανακατασκευασμένη νοτιοδυτική πλευρά.

The Catastrophe Of 1817

The Catastrophe Of 1817

A catastrophic fire on 24 February 1817 totally destroyed the newly-built southwest wing where the archives and library – among other things – of the Monastery were housed, resulting in the loss of a large part of the documents and other valuable artefacts and manuscripts which were the witnesses of the historical course of the Monastery.

From the idiorhythmic to cenobitic life: Everyone works for everyone, and everything is communal.

A Very Significant Milestone

A Very Significant Milestone

The Monastery functioned under an idiorhythmic system until 1784 when, at the request of the fathers of the Monastery, the Ecumenical Patriarch decreed its return to the cenobitic system. This was a significant milestone not only for the historical course of the Monastery, but for all of Mt Athos, because it was the first instance of the restoration of the original cenobitic system of communal life in an Athonite monastery. As regards the most suitable person to lead the monastery, the proactive hieromonk Paisios Kausokalybitis was selected.
Under his leadership, the Monastery flourished. Paisios ‘energized’ the Monastery in many ways, renewing its spirituality and initiating its restoration. The Monastery managed to resolve its debt problem, and the successful example it set of the return to cenobitic life was followed some years later by other idiorhythmic monasteries.

A centuries-old well which still has water.

The Monastery Is Populated
By Slavic-Speaking Monks

The Monastery Is Populated By Slavic-Speaking Monks

During the beginning of the 18th century, only Serbian and Bulgarian monks resided at the Monastery, as we are informed by Ioannis Komnenos and foreign travellers. Moreover, the famous Russian monk-traveller Vasileios Barski visited the Monastery twice during the first half of the 18th century, and commented on the unfortunate situation which he found there: A lack of residents, with only three or four monks living there at that time.

The leader of Moldovlachia Matthaios Basarab and his consort Eleni in a fresco in the old cathedral (1637).

Repeated Periods
Of Decline And Revival

Repeated Periods Of Decline And Revival

The start of Ottoman rule in 1424 in the area of Mt Athos was not initially accompanied by important changes. However, over time, because of the heavy burden of taxes, the Monastery faced a serious crisis, with the result that Slavic-speaking monks entered the Monastery. However, conditions began to improve around the end of the 15th century, as is evidenced by the construction works which were undertaken at that time. The contributions of the Christian leaders of Moldovlachia played a crucial role in the completion of those projects.
The confiscation of properties belonging to the Monastery by the Sultan Selim II in 1569 led to a new economic crisis, which forced the Monastery to adopt an idiorhythmic system of monastic life, something which all the other Athonite monasteries had also done.