Posts in category: Η Ιστορία της Μονής 2 – Ξενοφώντος

The loss of significant Byzantine and post-Byzantine documents from the archives of the Monastery deprives us of the ability to understand the history of the Monastery during the following Byzantine centuries in sufficient depth. Surviving documents provide us with sporadic information, such as the conquest of the Monastery in 1285 by pirates and the subsequent slaughter of many monks, while in 1307, the Monastery was looted by Catalan mercenaries.
However, around the 14th century, the Monastery was put under royal protection, and is characterised in documents from this period as the ‘venerable royal monastery’. During this period, important construction projects were carried out.

Until 1078, conditions at the Monastery experienced a gradual decline without, however, ever being abandoned, as was the case for many other monasteries.
The starting point for the improvement of conditions was the arrival in 1078 of Stefanos, an important Byzantine official from Vigla, for the purpose of embracing the monastic life. Stefanos, who came from a well-known Athenian family and had a large fortune, had been assigned to the Monastery by the Proto of Mt Athos, made a large monetary contribution for the conservation of the Protaton church, and along with three followers, took up residence at the Monastery. He was soon tonsured as a monk, taking the name Symeon and at the same time receiving the designation ‘Blessed’, and became Abbot of the Monastery. Symeon initiated important reconstruction work at the Monastery, which was virtually in ruins, an event which earned him the title of its new owner.