On 2 November 1912, Mt Athos was liberated by the Greek army, in an atmosphere of general euphoria. From that time on, all the Athonite monasteries linked their historical fate with that of the Hellenic state.
In 1922, in the aftermath of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the Monastery paid its own price in blood on behalf of the national interest: The monk Joseph, Treasurer of the dependency of St Nikolaos of Kydonieos (Aivali), was martyred by the Turks. A short time later, the Monastery’s productive dependencies in Macedonia, Thasos and Limnos were expropriated and turned over to the refugees.
