Posts in category: Κτηριακή Συγκρότηση 2 – Ξενοφώντος

The tower of the Holy Apostles is a unique structure which was added in 1661/1 between the wall and the exterior gate of the Monastery, likely for the purpose of providing a place at its top for the chapel of the same name. The entire volume of the building is supported by pillars. An outer gateway was later added, probably in the 17th century.

In the late-Byzantine period, the entrance to the Monastery was relocated to the position it occupies today. It is likely that the ground-level section of the tower of St Stefanos was built at the end of the 15th century.
In total, the tower has three levels, with wooden floors and a wooden roof, but the height of the ground-level section is much higher, equivalent to about two storeys. In that section, there were two gates, each with doors, so that to enter the Monastery, one had to pass through three successive gates. The chapel of St Stefanos is located on the third floor of the tower.

The original Byzantine design of the perimeter of the Xenofontos Monastery does not seem to have had a large, fortified tower corresponding to other well-known Athonite examples. The walls which surround the Monastery were simple, and there was only one small tower at the southeast corner of the exterior perimeter, which protected the then-entrance to the Monastery by threatening (from opposite the entrance) the backs of the invaders.
Today, there are two tower-like structures which dominate the entrance to the Monastery. These structures, where were built in later times, are considered to be the ‘towers’ of the Monastery: The interior structure is the tower of St Stefanos, and the exterior is the tower of the Holy Apostles. The tower of St Stefanos is the taller of the two.