Posts in category: Κτηριακή Συγκρότηση 3 – Ξενοφώντος

The interior of the refectory is covered with frescoes dating to the year 1496/7, according to a relevant inscription, while in some places, there are later layers and over-paintings. When the original frescoes were made, the present-day wooden roof had already been constructed. This places the date of the roof at the end of the 15th century, making it a rare, reliably-dated example of wooden roofing, which has preserved the construction characteristics of the era. Most of it remains in good condition, although some repairs had been made in the 17th-19th centuries but were replaced in the 1970s decade.

Because it was integrated between two pre-existing walls, the refectory has a trapezoidal plan. Light enters the space through a series of five double windows in the west wall. All of the double windows have frames of marble columns and capitals, most of which had been previously used in other structures.
The space is covered by a wooden roof; a few decades ago, an ornate ceiling was installed to replace one which was older and had a simpler design.

According to the standard monastic organizational plan – including the attendance of monks at meals in the context of their daily routine – the refectory of the Monastery is physically connected with the old cathedral, and it is entered is via the staircase which starts at the outer nave of the cathedral. The refectory occupies the upper level of a structure which was completed at the end of the 15th century.
In the area below the refectory are the storage rooms of the Monastery, while the stables were at the ground-level section. In that earlier day, the kitchen had been built immediately north of the refectory; it had a classic square plan, was dome-covered, with the hearth in the center, and a central chimney.

In an Athonite monastery, the refectory is the building in which the monks gather together at a specific time for their meals. The food served depends on the ecclesiastical period, and is significantly different during the days of fasting. In fact, on fast days, the monks gather in the refectory only once.
Even the hour of meals is a holy moment, when the mind of the monks should not be distracted with inappropriate thoughts. For this reason, during the meal, one of the monks reads an instructive text aloud, usually a patristic text.
Because the refectory is also the place used for the special meals and particular rituals of the major holidays and celebrations of the Monastery, the building is usually elaborately decorated.