Called the Skete of the Ravine, it is located on the northeastern side of Mt Athos at an altitude of 280 metres, an area with thick vegetation midway between the monasteries of Karakallou and Great Lavras, at about a 90- minute walk from the St Pavlos Monastery. The kalyvia of the skete are spread along a steep ravine formed by the Morfono river between Anti-Athonas and Little Athos. The skete is close to the Monastery of Amalfinos, which ceased to operate in the 11th century.
According to tradition, the skete was founded in the 10th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, Serbian monks resided there but, due to the efforts of the Vatopedios Monastery, were forced to give up their claims of ownership of the area and the skete. At the end of the 14th century, the skete was transferred to the Monastery of St Pavlos.
Serbian monks resided at the Skete until the 17th century, according to documents of 1606 found in the kalyvi of St Nikolaos. From the mid-18th century on, there are accounts of the presence of Moldavian monks at the skete. In 1754, the skete was in ruins, and was re-established in 1760 by the Moldavian monk Daniel. During the period of the Greek Revolution of 1821, the number of Moldavian monks decreased until after 1830, when they started to return.
In 1849, the cemetery church of St Skepis (which attribution refers to the miracle of ‘The Holy Protection by the Virgin Mary’) was built by the Moldavian monk Iakobos. The construction of the central church in the name of St Dimitrios began in 1898 and was completed in 1899, with an outer nave and a bell tower being added in 1904. Near the central church are the guest house, the refectory and other structures, while reconstruction projects are currently in process.
After a great crisis in the middle of 1990, the number of monks was dramatically reduced, resulting in the situation today: Although the skete has 24 kalyvia, only five are operating – St Skepis, the Annunciation, St Nikolaos, the Presentation, and the Holy Archangels – and they are mainly inhabited by Romanian monks.
