Posts in category: Εκκλησιαστική Τέχνη 1 – Παντοκράτορος

The archives of the Monastery which, for the largest part of its historical life have been protected in the Tower, consist of about 670 Greek documents, 480 Ottoman, and one Roumanian, not including the large number of documents of an economic nature which refer to the Cells associated with the Monastery, or to the financial dealings of the fathers during the Ottoman period and onwards. The creation of an archive was a fundamental goal of the Pantokratoros Monastery, as well as of all the Athonite monasteries, because only by preserving the records of the original donations and validation documents or copies of them was it possible to protect the region and its dependencies from those who tried to wrongfully claim them.
Despite the adventures encountered in every period because of the constant turmoil, such as the catastrophic fire in 1392, or the historic disruptive conditions during the Ottoman period, the archives of the Monastery continued to be enriched with documents, while the attempts to organize them properly never stopped, neither in the 16th-17th centuries, nor in the 18th-19th. In the 14th century, the translation of the original, founding documents of the Monastery was completed, while from the mid-18th century, the number of archives increased with the addition of a great number of financial records (bonds, contracts, etc.), and also with the official correspondence records of the Monastery.
An important task for the categorization of the documents in the Archives was completed at the beginning of the 20th century by the three-member Commision for the Categorization of the Archives of the Monastery, which was comprised by the Priors Ioacheim and Alexios, and the Archimandrite Athanasios. The Commission worked systematically and completed the project on 29 July 1926, with the categorization and recording of the documents relating to its dependencies up until that date, and the 'independence of the Monastery and its inhabitants, now and in the future'. The catalogue of these records, which was made a part of Codice 4 and entitled 'Codice of the Archives. Holy Pancratoros Monastery,' consists of 24 chapters, based on the geographical location of the dependency, and is considered to be a prototype for its kind.

The Library of the Monastery contains about 450 manuscripts and more than 3,500 printed books, and is housed today on the second floor of the renovated tower.
A bibliographic workshop functioned in the Monastery almost immediately after its founding, a fact which is confirmed by the uniquely designed niches in the tower, which facilitate the work of a cataloguer. The Library operated both systematically and sporadically, depending on the historical situation. During the 16th century, in the Monastery's Καλύβη (Kalyvi, a dependent, ascetic monastic community) of St Vasilieos in Kapsala, the work of the Library was conducted by St Theofilos the Myrovlytis (μyrovlytis denotes a saint whose relics miraculously emit the sweet aroma of myrrh) during the last period of his life.
Today, the library has a collection of quite rare, important, and exceptionally well-crafted Byzantine and post-Byzantine manuscripts, including 68 parchment codices, as well as three parchment scrolls of the 14th century, and three silk codices. The collection also contains nine Arabic manuscripts and several Romanian music codices. The following are of particular interest:
a) The parchment Book of Psalms no. 61, one of the rare (only three still survive today) illustrated Psalters of the iconoclastic period (the first half of the 9th century), with palimpsest text and 97 brief notations in the margins of the pages and themes from the Old and New Testaments, represented in an early form of iconoclastic Byzantine art characterized by a great amount of freedom of artistic expression,
b) The parchment Codice 234, known as The Gospel of St John of Kalyvitos (11th century), an exceptional-quality illustrated manuscript with a varied content and unique notations with scenes of the Evangelists and other saints. This manuscript is mentioned as being among the 'renowned relics of Mt Athos' by the well-known scholar and monk of Xeropotamnos Monastery Caesarios Dapontes in his work The Garden of Graces:
'Within the Monastery of the Almighty now is the Gospel there for all time, / the famous one from Kalyvitos / [the Gospel] of John, as he is called, / together with his blessings to us.'
This codice, which was given much attention by the English traveller R. Curzon in 1837, was stolen in 1898, but located a short time later in Athens and returned to the Monastery, an event which the tradition of the Monastery links with the miraculous intervention of St Minas.
c) The parchment Ευαγγελιστάριο (Evangelistario, 'Lectionary') no. 10, which dates to the 12th century and is decorated with artistic, flourished titles and initial letters (literae florissae).
d) The parchment Τετραευάγγελο (Tetraevangelo, The Four Gospels) no. 47, decorated in 1301 with depictions of the Evangelists, is the work of the famous Thessalonikan calligrapher Theodoros Agiopetritis.
e) The Codice no. 251 of the 14th century, which includes many of the works of the well-known cloistered theologian Iosef Kalothetis, who was referenced by St Nikodimos in his work The Garden of Graces: 'Iosef Kolothetis … had books of his own, which are saved in the Sacred and Patriarchial Monastery Pantokratoros.'
f) The Codice no. 127 (from the 15th century), the work of Patriarch Gennadios of Scholarios, written in his own hand.
g) The Codice No. 284 (from the end of the 15th century), which includes the six Canons for the feast of the Transfiguration, which was written by the famous scholar Mathaios Kamariotis especially for the Monastery.
h) The Codice No. 140, the only surviving manuscript of the poems of the Cretan poet Leonardos Dellaportas (15th century).
I) The Codice No. 85 (1538), The Register of the Saints whose feasts are celebrated during the months of September-February, which was copied by St Theofilos of Pantocrator Monastery, and which St Nikodimos the Athonite used as a primary basis in the writing of his monumental work of the same name, as he himself admits in the Prologue,
'I went down to the holy, respected, and patriarchal monastery Pantokratoros, among whose mountains I live, and take [responsibility for] the manuscript for this Register, in two volumes, narrated, decorated and written by the hand of an unworthy being.'
j) The Liturgical Codice no. 226, written by the well-known author, composer of hymns and codicil writer of the 17th century Mathaios Myreos, and dedicated 'to the holy and respected and patriarchial monastery of Pancratoras, on the sacred mountain of Athos' in 1624, and
k) The uncategorized Codice no. 13, by St Nikodimos the Athonite and written in his own hand, which bears the inscription,
Rule: The new octave for the Presentation of our Lady the Virgin Mary, to be sung every Saturday.
and was written at the request of the fathers at the Chilandarios Monastery, whose cathedral is dedicated to the feast of the Presentation.
Over time, the library suffered various losses, such as the serious damages caused by the Revolution of 1821, and the practice of the seizure of documents by others, which resulted in a significant number of important manuscripts lost through their incorporation into the collections of libraries abroad. A characteristic example is the case of the Russian Arsenios Souchanof: In the middle of the 17th century, Souchanof, while on a mission to Agios Oros supported by the Tsar and the Patriarch of Moscow, removed hundreds of precious codices from the libraries of virtually all the Athonite monasteries, among them 31 very valuable manuscripts from the Pantocratoras. These codices, together with the other codices taken from the Athonite community, comprise the largest part of the collection of the Synodic Library of Moscow (today called the History Museum).
The Codices 48, 49, and 69, which today are found in the collection of the Byzantine Institute of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, come from the Library of the Pantokratoros, while the guidelines of the Pantokratoros cataloguer Ignatios now belong – in whole or in part – to the Vatican Library.

One of the most important artifacts is the Byzantine Επιτάφιος (Epitafios), the sacred liturgical 'tapestry' depicting the entombment of Christ. This artefact was donated by the founders of the Monastery, and is an exceptional example of goldwork, i.e, embroidery using gold or metal threads; it has survived in very good condition. The lifeless body of Christ is depicted on a background with crosses of many shapes, while at the four corners, an equal number of angels are holding coronets.
From the 16th century comes the goldworked ωμοφόριο (omoforio, a liturgical vestment worn around the shoulders) of the Patriarch Jeremiah of Tranos, and other sacred vestments with goldwork. The omoforio has a goldworked commemoratory inscription, and is decorated with representations of the twelve apostles and the hierarchs. (The donor, Patriarch Jeremiah, had helped the Monastery in a number of different ways.)
The 17th century is represented by an επιτραχήλιο (epitrachilio, a liturgical vestment worn around the neck) embroidered with multiple scenes from the life of Christ, while a number of vestments and embroidered articles are dated to the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the latter, a goldwork-on-velvet heirarchial σάκκος (saccos, an open-sided, full-length vestment which covers the body, worn only by heirarchs), an επιγονάτιο (epigonatio, a rombos-shaped scapular worn around the neck and reaching to the knees) from 1726 depicting Christ and the evangelists, and two embroidered icons of St. Charalambos and the evangelist Markos, which belonged to the Sacrist Cyrillos.
A special place is likewise held by the small surviving piece of the copper shield of St Merkourios, which was decorated with enamel and depicts the veneration of infant Christ by the Magi and prophets, likely from a workshop in Holland or Germany in the 13th or 14th century.
As for the the metal- and silver-worked artifacts (such as sacred vessels, crosses, buckles, etc.), some date to the 17th century, while the majority are from the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest-dated vessel is a goldplated, silver and enamel αρτοφόριο (artoforio, monstrance) from 1621, a work of the goldsmith Fotios and the property of the priest Constantinos. A silver two-leaf New Testament cover dates to 1777. The two leaves are decorated with representations of the twelve apostles and other personages, as well as a cross. The elaborate images are sculpted from metal and rhinoceros horn, making the artefact an example of exceptionally skilful micro-sculpting. The book cover was dedicated by the well known Sacristan Cyrillos, who was very active in the Monastery during that period.
Several artefacts date to 1788: (a) A large, filigree cross which protects a relic of the True Cross, dedicated by the Prior Benjamin of Lesbos, and made by the goldsmith Panagos. (b) Other filigree sanctification crosses, and a filigree censer. (c) a hierarchical sceptre and a buckle of Zacharias Maridakis, the Metropolite of Crete, who is portrayed in a portable icon which had been dedicated to the Monastery in 1780.
The Monastery also has a large number of vessels which come from 19th century Russian silver and gold workshops, most likely due to the efforts of the Pantokratoros monks in Russia. Especially notable is a chalice from 1818 from Moscow, which is decorated with scenes __________, a New Testament of 1810-1819 which has a relief depicting the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, and two amulets of high-quality enamel.
An exceedingly rare piece is a 16th century glazed ceramic holy water vial used in rituals, which was made in an workshop in Nicea, and which is decorated with beautiful floral and faunal images. Last but not least is an iron chest with a painted exterior and a carved interior, which was made under the supervision of the Prior Leontios in 1737 as a storage chest for the sacred relics of the Monastery. It was made by Greek craftsmen in Adrianoupolis, and is an excellent example of this type of item.