Athos time. Holy Mount Athos. Useful tips for a pilgrim
Time on Athos
Almost all monasteries live according to Byzantine time: every day at sunset, the hands of the monastery clock are set to midnight. In summer, the difference between the time on Athos and the rest of Greece is about 3 hours, and in winter - 6. Do not be afraid to get confused: often, in order for the laity to understand them better, Athos monks call Greek time.
Cloth
Greek summer is hot. But on Athos, this does not matter: it is strictly forbidden to wear shorts here. Only long-sleeved shirts may be entered into worship services. Outside the monasteries, short-sleeved shirts are allowed. When planning to walk a lot on Athos land, be sure to take a sun protection hat, dark glasses, and mosquito repellent with you. In winter, you will need warm clothes: a waterproof jacket, warm boots, a hat.
Local Features
No matter how confident you are in your ability to navigate in space, it is better not to embark on long journeys through the territory of St. Athos without a guide. Only they know here all the roads and paths, the location of monasteries, hermitages and cells, as well as local customs. To avoid difficult situations, do not travel the holy land alone. Almost all monasteries close their gates in the evening around 18.00, so hurry up to get here before this time. Otherwise, you risk being left on the street.
Swimming in the sea on the territory of Athos is not blessed.
Food in the Holy Land
In all monasteries, two meals a day are traditionally served: after Liturgy and after Vespers. On fasting days and during long fasts - only one meal a day.
The dangers of nature
Athos are found Poisonous snakes and scorpions. But attention! The monks do not bless the killing of any living creature in the Holy Land. Sleeping outdoors is not recommended under any circumstances, as it is dangerous.
Be careful. In the southern part of Athos there is an area that the locals call Karuli (“chains”) - a rocky place where hermit monks have settled since time immemorial. Getting here is not easy and dangerous: you have to walk along a steep cliff along a narrow path, holding on to chains nailed to the rock, at an altitude of more than a hundred meters above sea level. No one here is responsible for the safety of the traveler. The corresponding signs are located at the very beginning of this dangerous path, which has also known accidents.
Aspiring to the top of Athos
Those who set as their goal to climb to the top of Athos. The second half of September and October are the best for this trip (at this time it is warm, but not hot, and at the same time it is still far from cold weather). As climbing companions, take with you local monks or those who have already been to the top. You need to prepare with you: durable mountain boots, a warm windproof jacket, a sweater, a sleeping bag, bedding for it, canned food (two days' supply), matches, a knife, a lantern with a supply of batteries. On the way, pilgrims stop at the church of Panagia, located 2 km from the summit.
Money relations
All services (transport, etc.) on Athos are paid in euros. In the same currency, settlements are also made in monastic shops. Accommodation and meals in monasteries and sketes are free. The pilgrim makes donations at will.
customs issue
It is forbidden to export old icons, any antiques, old books and religious items from the territory of St. Athos. Ancient icons and relics of saints are especially protected. When you are in the port of Daphnia for departure, you will be checked by strict customs control.
Photo and video
It is better not to take video and movie cameras with you to the Holy Land. By the decision of the Holy Kinot, any filming is strictly prohibited here. If you dare to take a video camera with you, when boarding a ferry (departing for Athos or back), it may be confiscated from you. On the way back, any video information carriers are also confiscated upon detection. Photography is not allowed in all monasteries.
Overnight on St. Athos
For those who plan to stay overnight during a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, it is important to know that not all monasteries and sketes accept overnight stays without prior request. Where you will spend the night while in the Holy Land should be taken care of in advance. The best solution would be an advance agreement with the monastery or skete. To do this, you must call them directly or send a fax in which you ask for blessings to come to the monastery on a certain day and stay overnight in the archondarik (monastic hotel). If this is not done, then the pilgrim may be denied a place.
Keep in mind that in most sketes and small cells, where two to five monks live, it is almost impossible to get an overnight stay. Only the skete of St. Anna receives pilgrims in the same mode as the large monasteries of Athos.
We are so accustomed to living according to the system “every day is a day, consisting of 24 four hours”, that we can hardly imagine a different time system. But she is! And in accordance with this original system of calculating time, even a small, but still state lives.
We are talking about Athos - a monastic republic located in northern Greece. The population of Athos consists almost entirely of monks who live in twenty large monasteries and many smaller sketes and cells. The monks have been living on Athos for many centuries and during all this time they enjoy the right to independently determine the living conditions on the peninsula - today, to get to Athos, you need a special visa, there is its own customs, which ensures that valuable relics are not taken away from the peninsula. In addition, during its entire existence as a state of monks, Athos lives according to the so-called "Byzantine time".
What does it represent? The day according to Byzantine time reckoning is also divided into 24 hours. But the moment of the beginning of the Byzantine day is constantly changing and depends on the sunset. From the point of view of the ancient Byzantines and modern Athos monks, the time of 0 hours 0 minutes occurs when the solar disk is completely hidden behind the horizon. It is clear that, due to natural features, daylight hours, depending on the time of year, either increase or decrease, and the time of sunset also constantly changes because of this. Therefore, the monks of Athos are forced almost daily to twist the hands of the clock so that midnight comes precisely at the moment of sunset. Due to the fact that Athos constantly lives in accordance with such a Byzantine tradition, its time in summer differs from the mainland (Greek time) by three hours, and in winter by as much as seven.
I remember when I first came to Athos, I was completely disoriented in Byzantine times. My appearance on the peninsula took place in the evening. In the morning I was going to go to the monastery service. Therefore, he asked the local monk when he would need to come to the temple tomorrow morning. He answered me at 7 am. At seven - so at seven, - I thought, and calmly went to bed. At four in the morning I was awakened by a knock on the door.
Another monk knocked. I asked him what's the matter? And between us there was such a dialogue. - In what-in what?! It's time for the temple! - How to go to the temple? There are only four now! – Already four! Service starts! So without understanding anything, I hurried to the monastery church. There the worship really began. After him, I began to find out why the beginning was announced at seven, but in fact the service began at four. The reason, of course, was that very Byzantine time. I arrived at Athos at the end of spring. At that time, the difference between Athos and mainland time was three hours, and the monk, whom I asked about the start time of the service, gave it to me in accordance with the Byzantine tradition.
Why suffer so much? - you ask. The answer is very simple. If you live according to Byzantine time and end the day at sunset, then it is very natural to start it with the first rays of the daylight. This is what all Athos monks do, meeting every day with prayer.
Women who are still prohibited from crossing the border of Athos will have access to a unique spiritual and historical monument as a result of the implementation of the Athos Digital Museum project. cultural heritage worth 2 million euros, according to the portal greek.ru.
Article 186 of the Charter of the Holy Mount Athos ("Tragos") states: "In accordance with ancient custom, it is forbidden for any female creature to set foot on the peninsula of the Holy Mountain."
Only men of any religion are allowed on Athos, who need to obtain a special permit - a dipmonitirion - to visit. For entry into the territory of Mount Athos for women, criminal liability is provided - up to 12 months in prison.
It is planned that museum visitors will be able to appreciate the extraordinary wealth of the monasteries and enjoy the rare beauty of pristine nature, as well as have the opportunity to learn about the spiritual and everyday life of the inhabitants of the Holy Mountain and trace the entire history of Athos.
A three-dimensional display of the exhibits of the digital museum will be available in two places at once. In the cultural center of the city of Ierissos, which, in addition to traditional exhibition halls, has an amphitheater with the most modern equipment for showing high-quality 3D films, and on the territory of the monastery of Zygou, which is the gateway to the monastic state.
The exhibits of the museum will be distributed according to the following topics: the natural environment of the monasteries, the cultural wealth of each monastery, everyday life monks. Also here you can learn about the features of the architecture of monasteries, libraries, miraculous icons.
The local authorities are proud of the idea of creating a digital museum of Mount Athos and hope that there will be many people in the world who want to “feel” the spiritual atmosphere and get acquainted with the values of Orthodoxy, which this world monument of Christianity has lived for centuries.
The Athos monastic republic belongs to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Despite this, it has virtually complete administrative independence from the throne of Constantinople and strictly preserves its internal independence. The patriarchal authority on Mount Athos is represented by a vicar bishop.
REFERENCE
Woman on Athos
Athos keeps many secrets. Everyone knows that today the peninsula is a settlement of Orthodox monks. But in ancient Greece, Athos was also considered a holy place; temples to Apollo and Zeus were built here. The sanctuary of the latter was called Aphos, hence the name of the peninsula. Another feature of this island is that women are not allowed here. To begin with, in order to understand such injustice, you need to know the history and customs of the local monks, and then I will tell you if a woman has the opportunity to visit the peninsula.
History and myths
When the Greeks converted to Christianity, according to the legend, in 44 after the Nativity of Christ, the mother of Jesus, along with the apostles, went to the island of Cyprus, but on the way the ship got into a storm just next to Athos. As soon as the ship approached the shore, pagan temples collapsed, and marble idols announced in human language the arrival of the Mother of God on the peninsula. All those who saw this miracle instantly believed and were baptized, and Athos itself has since become the earthly inheritance of the Mother of God. At the same time, according to legend, the icon of the Iberian Mother of God came to Athos by water. It is believed that when she leaves the Holy Mountain, the end of the world will come.
But for a long time the settlement of Orthodox monks was small. The first major monastery was founded in 963 by Saint Athanasius of Athos, who is considered the founder of the entire way of monastic life adopted on the Holy Mountain. Now the monastery of St. Athanasius is known as the Great Lavra. And just half a century after its foundation, in 1016, the first Russian monastery called Xilourgu appeared. Later, the monastery of St. Panteleimon was transferred to the Russian community.
At the time of its glory, Holy Athos included 180 Orthodox monasteries. The first monastic sketes appeared here as early as the 8th century AD, and the republic received the status of autonomy under the auspices of the Byzantine Empire in 972. A few centuries later, Byzantium lost its former strength under the pressure of the crusaders on the one hand and the Turkic tribes on the other ... Athos had to exist independently, endure persecution by the papacy, and pay taxes to the conquerors of the region.
As a result, only 25 monasteries "survived". Only by the middle of the 19th century, after the proclamation of the independence of Greece, peaceful times began for the Holy Mountain.
Russian monks appeared here back in the time of the baptist of Rus', St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, and the Russian monastery on the site of the current St. Panteleimon Monastery was founded at the end of the 18th century. The monastery, which was once inhabited by 3,000 monks (today only 40), houses the head of St. Great Martyr Panteleimon, numerous holy relics, miraculous icons, priceless books and manuscripts.
There is a legend that since ancient times, 12 hermit elders have lived in secret cells on Athos, who almost never appear to people, even to the Athos monks themselves. If one of the elders dies, the rest bury him in the rocks and in return call for a new novice. According to legend, at the hour of the end of the world, these 12 elders will leave their cells and serve the last liturgy.
Now all the monasteries on Mount Athos live according to the laws and charters that developed in the Byzantine era. Even the existing rules for visiting the Holy Mountain are based on the Golden Bull of the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Monk (1060), which was only slightly changed over the past millennium.
Despite the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century the Orthodox Church of Greece switched to the Gregorian calendar (new style), the Julian calendar (old style) is still used on Mount Athos, as in Russia.
Life and customs
Athos is an independent state. It is in the possession of a special Orthodox monastic association. Management is carried out jointly by representatives of each of the 20 monasteries. And the highest church authority on Athos does not belong to the Athenian patriarch, but to the Patriarch of Constantinople, as in the Byzantine era.
The life of monks in Athos monasteries is spent in labors and prayers, it is entirely devoted to serving God. Divine services are held in strict accordance with the charter in the morning and evening hours. In their free time from prayer, the monks cultivate the land, take care of domestic animals, paint icons, and study the writings of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church.
The monasteries of Athos are real museums of Byzantine times. These are majestic fortresses built right on the rocky mountain slopes, with thick impregnable walls to provide protection from enemies. Even during the wars, neither the Turks nor the Nazi troops touched the monastery out of respect for the monks. That is why the monasteries have preserved to this day unique collections of ancient books, extensive libraries, collections of precious church utensils, priceless ancient frescoes and mosaics. The most important Christian relics are also kept here: the belt Holy Mother of God, particles of the Holy Tree of the Cross of the Lord, incorruptible relics of saints, including the head of the holy martyr Panteleimon in a Russian monastery. The main Athos shrine is the Gifts of the Magi, located in the monastery of St. Paul. They were secretly transferred here from Constantinople after the fall of the Byzantine capital in 1453.
Women can join the Athos shrine only from afar, by sailing around the Athos peninsula. Motor ships departing from the city of Ouranoupolis sail off the southwestern coast of the peninsula at a distance sufficient to view the monasteries, including the famous Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon.
Those wishing to visit the Holy Mount Athos must obtain a special permit - "diamonitirion". Priests must have the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch or the local bishop.
About women
Whether or not women were allowed to enter this island in ancient times is a moot point, since in the first typikon of the Holy Mountain, which is stored in Protata, the 16th article says that children, youths and eunuchs are forbidden to enter Athos - and, of course, all of them are forbidden to be tonsured monks. Nothing is said about women here - but, most likely, it was implied that women in monasteries and there is absolutely nothing to do. The tradition of avaton (the so-called ban on women appearing on the island) was enshrined under Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos at the beginning of the 15th century. Such is the story. And most guidebooks will tell you that a woman has never set foot here.
True, there is a legend that at the beginning of the 5th century. Palakidia, daughter of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius, returning from Rome to Constantinople, wished to settle the Holy Mountain and in particular one of the monasteries built at the expense of her father. As soon as Plakidia approached the entrance to the temple, she heard the voice of the Mother of God coming from the icon in the wall niche. The voice ordered Placidia to leave if she considers herself a virtuous Christian and does not want to tempt the monks with her presence. The shocked princess left, and entry has since been forbidden for women and even for female pets. According to popular beliefs, even birds do not make nests on Athos and do not hatch chicks, obeying the will of the Mother of God.
There is also a legend that in 1470, the Serbian princess Maro, the wife of Sultan Murat 1, arrived here on a luxurious ship. She brought rich gifts to the local inhabitants, but even she could not walk more than ten steps on this land. According to legend, an angel met her and asked her to return to the ship. She returned.
Local guides are very fond of telling tourists a bloody tale about a French feminist who made her way to the island in men's clothing. And when she realized that they took her for a man, she undressed and went for a swim. Out of nowhere, a shark appeared and dined on a brave but unfortunate woman.
But this is a legend, but the truth sounds like this: recently, many media made a fuss about the fact that illegal emigrants from Moldova accidentally ended up on the island of Athos. The shocked monks saw four beautiful young women on their land, and immediately called the police. When law enforcement officers arrived at the scene, it turned out that the beautiful women were natives of Moldova, 27-32 years old, who were trying to illegally move to Greece from Turkey. They also had their 41-year-old fellow countryman with them, who organized the trip. They said they paid $6,300 to Ukrainian smugglers living and working in Turkey and counted on their knowledge of the local geography. But as a result, the company still got lost and landed on a lonely peninsula, which turned out to be Athos. According to the police, the travelers apologized to the monks, saying that they were not aware of local laws, and "the women were forgiven by the monks." According to the laws adopted in 2005, a lady who set foot on Mount Athos can be sentenced to a year in prison. The law was also adopted not by chance, since in the age of feminism and emancipation it is very difficult to forbid something for a woman.
Moreover, in addition to the ancient queens, the mythical Frenchwoman and runaway Moldovan women, a lot of women visited the island. Judge for yourself:
Of the oldest cases of avaton violations, we note the sheltering of refugees on Mount Athos after the so-called Oryol uprising in 1770, in 1821 - after a pan-Greek uprising against Turkish rule, in 1854 - after an unsuccessful uprising against the Turks in northern Greece. Refugees arrived with their families and took refuge on Mount Athos.
In 1931, the French journalist Marie Soisy stayed on Mount Athos for a considerable time and wrote a book about it, "A Month with Men" (the source of this information is not specified - author's note). With the same goal to become famous here were the first Greek woman who won the title of "Miss Europe", Aliki Diplaraku (1929) and Eleni Skura (1932), the future first female member of the Greek Parliament.
In 1940, during the Greek-Italian war, refugees of both sexes from Kavala came here. In 1948, Eugenia Peiou, a 17-year-old member of a communist partisan detachment, took refuge on Mount Athos after the debacle inflicted during the Greek Civil War. Peyu recalled in an interview that when she realized where she was, she was overcome by fear and remorse. She refused to enter the monastery and was left to guard outside. The girl prayed all the time that the enemy would not appear in her field of vision and she would not have to attempt murder in a holy place.
In 1954, a group of women, specialists in Byzantology, disembarked from a boat on the shore and went to the fences of the monasteries. In the same year, a Greek journalist entered the Holy Mountain secretly and wrote a series of articles about it in a newspaper.
In the late 60s, five tourists from France and Italy entered the territory of Athos, and when they were detained, they said that they knew nothing about the ban.
Finally, in 1989, a couple from Germany arrived on the rocky shore of the Simonopetra monastery and indulged in love pleasures there.
According to one of the bloggers who spoke with the famous Athos mountain elder Augustine from Skete Agiou Vasiliou, he heard the following story from him: to economic work. And they liked it so much that they wanted to cancel the avaton. To this end, they called on the Kelliot hermits and ordered them to go with the appropriate embassy to the patriarch, threatening, in case of refusal, to deprive them of the allowance from the monasteries that they received. They knew that the then monastic-loving patriarch especially revered hermits. And so the Kelliots, though or reluctantly, went to the patriarchate. But at the same time, a certain Svyatogorsk elder Arseniy, who enjoyed deliberate authority with the patriarch, was in the City on some business of his own. And so, having received the delegation, the patriarch invited him to take part in the conversation. And when those elders expressed the desire of the Athonites for the abolition of Avaton, the patriarch, being ready to agree with their arguments, nevertheless asked Arseny in order to dispel the last doubts. But he said: "If you leave women on the Hill, holy lord, then the family of monks will multiply." And then the patriarch refused the delegates.
The same o. Augustine told me: "If the avaton is canceled, we will leave the Mountain" - "But why, Geronda? After all, wherever you go, there will also be women, so what's the difference then?" “You don’t understand: a decent woman won’t come here, but only whores will come to seduce the monks.”
Here is such a story. From which we can conclude that a very stubborn woman will still make her way to Athos.
Ordinary women are waiting on Mount Athos with a sign “No entry for women” and tanned guys in open jeeps with machine guns mounted on the roof, who look out for male adventurers in men's dresses in the crowd of male pilgrims.
Several free campsites are specially equipped outside the borders of the peninsula - a narrow strip of land 70 km long - for short-sighted travelers who have taken their wives or daughters with them. Waiting for the men, the ladies bathe and sunbathe, and at this time, squeezing out their shirts from the sweat, they climb with backpacks to a height of 2000 meters and kiss the icons on the very top of the Holy Mountain. On one side of the border, people wear bikinis, on the other, men can't even wear short shorts. It is forbidden to smoke and eat meat, play cards and listen to light music.
True, there are rumors that for the first time in centuries, women can gain access to one of the shrines of Athos, a monastic state in northern Greece. According to the Greek Church News Agency, local authorities decided to allow access to the Zygu Monastery - the oldest monastery on Athos - to everyone, including women.
Zigou Monastery may be an exception to the rule, as it is located about forty meters outside the official border of Athos, which is forbidden for women to cross. The monastery is located about two kilometers from the city of Ouranoupolis, from where pilgrims start their journey to Athos, and is easily accessible for visiting.
The Byzantine monastery of Zygu, one of the oldest on Mount Athos, was first mentioned in chronicles under 942 AD. The monastery continued to exist until the end of the 12th century. The fortress walls of the monastery with eleven towers, as well as the ruins of the cathedral, built at the beginning of the 11th century, have survived to this day. Currently, extensive excavations are underway here, which is being carried out by the Greek Ministry of Culture.
When a monk dies, he is buried without a coffin, wrapped in a mantle. A cross is placed over the grave. Three years after death, the body of the deceased is again removed. If it has decayed, it means that the ascetic is forgiven and abides in heaven. If the body does not decay, then the monk passed into another world with unrepentant sins. In this case, the body is buried for another year, during which they pray intensely for the salvation of the soul of the deceased. After this period, the body, as a rule, decays. Then the skull with the name drawn on the forehead, less often with a brief biography, is placed in the ossuary on special shelves. The rest of the bones are piled in the corner of this crypt. Now there are 2040 skulls in the ossuary of the Russian monastery.
Holy Mount Athos (Athos), a peninsula in eastern Greece, the world's only Orthodox monastic "republic", is part of the Hellenic Republic.Holy Mount Athos is a peninsula in northeastern Greece, the eastern ledge of the Halkidiki peninsula, which extends far into the emerald waters of the Aegean Sea, approximately 80 km long and about 12 km wide. The peninsula is mountainous, covered with dense forests, pitted with countless rocky ravines. In the southeastern part of the Holy Mountain rises Mount Athos 2033 m above sea level. Despite being a peninsula, it can only be reached by sea or by helicopter.
Story
In pagan antiquity Mount Athos was known as Apollonius(according to the temple of Apollo), later on the top of the mountain stood the temple of Zeus, which was called Aphos in Greek (in Russian - Athos).
Church tradition tells that the Mother of God, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit in fiery tongues, was preparing to go to the Iberian land by lot, but received news from an angel that the work of apostleship would appear to her in another land. The ship, on which the Mother of God with the Apostles was heading to the island of Cyprus to Bishop Lazarus, got into a storm and landed on Mount Athos. The pagan people accepted the Mother of God and listened to her sermons, then believed and were baptized. The Mother of God performed many miracles there before setting sail for Cyprus. She appointed one of the Apostolic men there as chief and teacher and said: “Cue the place for me in the lot given to me from my Son and my God.” Then, having blessed the people, she added: “May the grace of God be in this place and on those who are here with faith and reverence and keep the commandments of the Son and my God. The blessings necessary for life on earth will be abundant for them with little labor, and heavenly life will be prepared for them, and the mercy of my Son will not fail from this place until the end of the age. I will be the intercessor of this place and a warm intercessor for him before God.
Since then, Athos entered the era of Christian history. It was under the dominion of Rome, which persecuted Christians until the year when Emperor Constantine the Great issued a decree granting Christians the right to citizenship and freedom of religion. By this time, Christianity on the Holy Mountain was quite developed. Monasteries appeared, monasticism flourished.
In addition to monasteries and sketes, there is a theological school on Athos - the so-called "Athoniada", founded in the year. Since the year it has been located in Carey.
Athos monasteries have several farmsteads outside the Holy Mountain. The most famous of them is the convent of Ormylia, which is the courtyard of the monastery of Simonopetra. More than a hundred nuns labor here. Address: 63071, Ormylia Chalkidikis. Tel. (30-371) 41278.
Note to the pilgrim
All clerics wishing to visit the Holy Mountain must receive the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch. This is done in order to prevent non-canonically ordained clerics from entering Athos. The rest of the pilgrims who wish to visit the Holy Mountain must first obtain permission from the Pilgrims' Bureau in Thessaloniki. This is a simple procedure that takes little time. The office is located at Thessaloniki, Karamanli Boulevard. Get there by buses 173, 546, 38. Tel. (30-31) 833733, 861611. Since the rules for issuing permits change from time to time, we recommend that those who wish to call the Bureau in advance and find out what they need to have in order to obtain a permit. Also, before traveling to the Holy Mountain, you need to call one of the monasteries and arrange for this monastery to receive you. This is especially important during the Easter and Christmas periods when there is a large influx of pilgrims. It is necessary to negotiate with monasteries because they do not always have enough places to receive visitors. Phone numbers of monasteries are given above.
In Thessaloniki, the bus to Ouranoupoli, from which the ship departs to the monasteries, departs at 6 am from the KTEL Chalkidiki bus station. The bus arrives at Ouranoupol shortly before the departure of the ship. During this time, all pilgrims with their permits must come to the Bureau of Pilgrimages, which is located near the bus stop, on the right side along the seashore. Here, on the basis of permits and availability of places in the monasteries (monasteries submit a list with the names of people who have booked places in them every day, therefore a preliminary call to the monastery is highly recommended) buy "diamonitirion". It costs about 20 US dollars. "Diamonitirion" gives the right to stay on Athos for 4 days. You can extend it in Protata in Carey. Monasteries often (though not always) ask for this document. With "diamonitirion" it is necessary to go to the ship that transports pilgrims to the monasteries of Dohiar, Xenophon, St. Panteleimon, to the pier of the Zograf Monastery, from which the way to Zograf and Kostamonit. The ship reaches Daphne - the main port of Athos. Here, buses are waiting for him, which transport those who wish to Karya, from where they can get to their monasteries. Cars from some monasteries await pilgrims in Karey. The transportation fee can be quite high - depending on the number of passengers. Those wishing to travel further by sea, especially to the monasteries of Simonopetra, Grigoriat, Dionysiat, St. Paul, the skete of St. Anna, etc. a smaller ship is waiting for the arrival of the ship from Ouranoupol, which, in case of good weather, goes to the Kavsokalivsky Skete, and in case of big waves, only to St. Anna.
There are pay phones on Athos, and not only in monasteries, but also in sketes, and sometimes just on the paths. Recently appeared mobile connection. Video filming is prohibited throughout Mount Athos. You can take pictures on the street without permission, for taking pictures in temples and other places you must have a blessing. There is no inspection at the entrance (only at the exit). On Athos it is forbidden to swim and sunbathe.
On the Holy Mountain - Byzantine time, which is determined as follows: at sunset (on Saturday), the hands of the clock are set to midnight and a new day begins. In Iveron, the day begins at sunrise.
Literature
- Criton Chrysochoidis, "Historical essay on Athos monasticism" // Page of the Internet edition of the Society of Friends of the Vatopedi Monastery "Pemptusia":
The long-awaited transition of Athos from the rule of the Muslim Turks to the Orthodox Greeks occurred in 1912. However, this, paradoxically, did not bring relief to the Russian Athonites, but new trials. The Greeks began a policy of "Hellenization" of the Holy Mountain and restricting access to it for the Slavs and Russians. In 1926, the Greek government finally declared Athos its territory, and all monks, regardless of nationality, began to be considered subjects of the Greek state.
The second test was associated with the so-called "Athos turmoil" - "name worship". The church hierarchy - both the Russian and the Patriarchate of Constantinople - regarded this movement as heretical and tried to fight it ... As a result, in July 1913, 833 monks of the St. which could not but cause serious damage to Russian monasticism on the Holy Mountain.
And most importantly, with the outbreak of the First World War, and then the revolutionary unrest in Russia, the threads of connection with Athos were interrupted for a long time. Although there was an influx of Russian emigrants there, the thesis that new monks from Russia were not allowed to Athos under the pretext of “communist danger” or the notorious “pan-Slavism” further complicated the life of Russian monasteries. Soon they lost all their farmsteads in Russia, many land holdings in Greece, sold their ships and part of their property, almost everywhere they closed monastic workshops and crafts. As a result, the Panteleimon community began to decline sharply: in 1918 it numbered about 800 monks, in 1925 - 560, in 1946 - 215 (there were 472 Russian monks on Athos), in 1956 - 75, and in 1965 - only 20.
At the same time, the Russian monks also had to endure constant conflicts with the Greek hierarchies of Athos, who sought to “take possession of all the Russian monasteries” and their “spiritual treasures” (there were about 100,000 old books and more than 50 arks with the relics of saints in St. and the German occupation of the peninsula, which raged in Greece in 1946-1949 civil war and occasional destructive fires.
In July 1945, the rector of the St. Panteleimon Monastery, Archimandrite Justin, turned to the Moscow Patriarch Alexy with a request to accept the Russian Athos mountaineers under his spiritual protection, pointing out that “it has been 30 years since the Holy Mount Athos passed without the consent of Russia to the power of the Greeks. From that time on, our monastery and all Russian monasteries on Athos began to be subjected to severe restrictions by the Greek government ... The non-Greek monasteries of the Holy Mountain are doomed to certain and relatively rapid extinction and destruction ... In our misfortune, the misfortune of the Russian people on Athos, we can only Russia can help.” Since that time, the long-term struggle of the Moscow Patriarchate for the preservation of the Russian presence on the Holy Mountain began.
The general decline of the Holy Mountain is shown by the following figures given by the historian M.V. Shkarovsky in his detailed book “The Russian Monasteries of Athos and the Greek Church in the 20th Century” (M., 2010): in 1956, only 1,491 monks lived in all the monasteries, which was five times less than the level of 1903, of which 1290 are Greeks, 62 Russians (about 57 times less than in 1903), 17 Bulgarians, 28 Serbs, and 94 Romanians.
In 1958, a terrible fire broke out in St. Andrew's Skete, in which at that time there were only five elderly monks aged about 80 years old. The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Michael, not wanting to risk the lives of the monks, stopped their impulse to extinguish the fire with the words: “Let it burn.” In four days, about 20,000 books and ancient manuscripts, the archive of the skete and part of the utensils were destroyed in the fire, the oldest part of the skete, the cell of Serai, was completely destroyed. In 1968, Archimandrite Michael died, and there was no point in electing a new hegumen due to the small number of brethren. And in 1971, the last Russian inhabitant of the skete, Father Sampson, died, and soon "the Greeks declared Andreevsky belonging to the Vatopedi Monastery", although for many years - until 1992 - the Greek inhabitants did not inhabit the rapidly deteriorating monastery at all.
In October 1968, a huge misfortune in the form of a devastating fire shook St. Panteleimon's monastery as well. Then the entire eastern part of the monastery with six chapels burned down, hotels and cells, a huge number of paintings burned down. Salvation miraculously descended only on an olive tree planted from the sprout of the same tree that grew on the site of the death of the great martyr Panteleimon.
In 1969, the wonderful book of the Russian émigré writer Vladislav (Vladimir) Mayevsky “Athos and its fate” saw the light of day, in which a call to save Russian Athos sounded loudly, evidence was given “of the oppression by the Greek authorities of their own co-religionists”, “about the actual mortification of non-Greek monasteries” on the Holy Mountain. The author cited the words of the German scientist Sorgenfrey in his book: “Probably, quite a bit of time will pass, and to study the precious antiquity of Athos, it will no longer be necessary to make a difficult trip there. These antiquities will probably end up in various museums and libraries far beyond Athos, since as a result of the persecution of the Greeks against the monks of non-Greek nationalities, all their monasteries will be closed ... "
However, despite all the hardships and upheavals, trials and cataclysms, the Russian lampada on Mount Athos never went out. The ascetic elder Silouan of Athos, who gave Athos almost 40 years, the abbots of the St. Panteleimon Monastery Schema-Archimandrites Misail and Gabriel, Hieroschemamonk Theodosius of Athos (Kharitonov), Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein) and many other monks continued to show examples of true monastic service to the Lord. Father Vasily himself said this very precisely in 1952 in Oxford: “On Athos, even now, there are many people of high spiritual life and real holiness ... Outside Athos, I have never met people so clearly enlightened by grace ... In conclusion, I will express the thought, that the true purpose of Athos is, first of all, to give rise to such phenomena of holiness as this blessed Elder Silouan was among others. And while this continues, the existence of the Holy Mountain is fully justified, and its great significance in the spiritual life of the Universe is preserved. Orthodox Church».
Only in 1966, with the assistance of the Moscow Patriarchate, four monks entered the Panteleimon Monastery for the first time in many years, in 1970 two more monks arrived, in 1975 - one, in the summer of 1976 - four monks, and then 9 more monks. By that time, only 13 monks remained in the St. Panteleimon Monastery. In 1972, the Holy Mountain was visited for the first time in history by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, who declared in the Protata that Athos should be preserved as a pan-Orthodox monastic center.
This delegation also included the future Primate of the Russian Church, Kirill, who told the brethren of the St. Panteleimon Monastery during his last visit to Athos in June 2013 about his feelings during that long period: vaults of this magnificent temple, you hear your singing. I can't help remembering years gone by. Then there was no such splendor and there was no such singing - at that time there were only six or seven monks in the entire huge monastery. But even at that time, there was always a hope in the soul that the Panteleimon Monastery would flourish and Mount Athos would be strengthened, that Holy Rus' would turn to Christ and many pilgrims would visit the Holy Mountain. And all these sighs of the heart, all these thoughts, with God's help, are being realized today.
Patriarch Kirill repeated the same memories, but in more detail, speaking on June 7, 2013 in the Intercession Cathedral of St. Panteleimon Monastery: The monastery had no electricity. Only seven people lived in this huge building, one of whom could not even come to the Divine service. There were no pilgrims. And this image of the majestic, filled with visible, material signs of our people's love for the Holy Mountain, the temple looked lonely, but not empty. Although there were no people, mentally each of us who was then in this temple imagined it filled with people, as it was in the pious times of the great pilgrimages from Holy Rus' to Holy Mount Athos, and everyone prayed that these times would return.
If we evaluate that era from an external point of view, as secular scientists now evaluate any era, using various methods of analysis and forecast, then the temple had no future. But despite these objective frightening facts, seven monks lived here - elderly, sick, infirm; they prayed for their monastery and for their Fatherland. And those small groups that arrived here once a year on the day of the celebration of the memory of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, of course, joined them with their prayers.
Today we see a completely different Athos: monasteries are being revived, which at that time, like our monastery, fell into disrepair. I remember how articles appeared in the Greek press saying that Athos had no future and all these treasures had to be used. In a difficult time, when there was a political dictatorship in Greece, a terrible project arose: to turn Athos into a place for European and world tourism, and for this it was necessary to remove the remaining monks, and first of all, Russian monks. That is why it was impossible to send almost a single person here.
With reverent memory, I express my gratitude to the late Vladyka Nikodim, who did the seemingly impossible, and permission was obtained for the arrival of several monks from Soviet Union here on Athos. Of course, they did not radically change the situation, but the most important thing happened: those who were born in Soviet time, arrived on Athos in the same way as their pious ancestors arrived on the Holy Mountain. As if time has closed. Then we felt that, despite the most difficult conditions in which the Athos monks lived at that time, here, in the St. Panteleimon Monastery, the lamp of Russian Orthodoxy on the Holy Mountain would burn. And by the grace of God, it did.”
In 1982, when only 22 monks remained in the St. Panteleimon Monastery, its abbot, Archimandrite Jeremiah (Alekhin), turned to the Moscow Patriarchate with a request to replenish the number of monks of the monastery again. Soon, a thin stream of such replenishment began to gradually increase, and by the time of the visit to Athos of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' in June 1992, there were already 40 people in the Panteleimon Monastery. However, a new shock awaited at that time the brethren of St. Elias skete: in May 1992, at the request of the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the head of the skete, Archimandrite Seraphim, and all seven monks of this monastery were forcibly expelled from Athos without trial or investigation with the participation of the Greek police. All the requests of the Moscow Patriarchate to populate the skete with Russian monks remained without consequences, and the skete passed into the full jurisdiction of the Pantokrator monastery, it was settled by Greek monks.
Of great importance in the revival of Athos-Russian ties was the pilgrimage to Athos soon after his enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', as well as the bringing to Russia in 1996 and 2000 of the honorable head of St. Andrew the First-Called. In 1992, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, on the site of the parish church of the Holy Great Martyr Nikita (Goncharnaya St., 6), the Athos Compound in Moscow was reopened, and 10 years later, the Church of All Athos Saints was already consecrated in it, the chapels of St. Panteleimon and St. Silouan were built Athos.
Hopes for the revival of Russian Athos especially increased in the conditions of the new Russia, when the ties of our country with the Holy Mountain came out of the "frozen state". Now in the St. Panteleimon Monastery, which remains the only large Russian monastery on Athos, there are already about 80 monks (not counting Russian monks in other Athos monasteries, sketes, cells and kalyvas). His life gradually, with the asceticism of the current leaders of the monastery - hegumen Jeremiah and the spiritual father of the monastery, Hieromonk Macarius, is gaining new momentum: the restoration and restoration of churches and buildings is underway (in 2003, for the first time in many years, a newly built church in honor of the mother of St. Panteleimon, the holy righteous Evvula and his teacher, Hieromartyr Yermolai). The flow of pilgrims from Russia, Ukraine and other Orthodox countries to Athos is constantly increasing, and the active educational and publishing activities of the monastery are unfolding.
The unique library of the monastery received an amazing transformation, which, with the support of the Moscow City Hall, became in the first row of library and archival centers of the Slavic world in terms of its level of arrangement. According to the head of the library and archives of the monastery, monk Yermolai (Chezhiya), many years of huge work on cataloging funds recorded the following amazing result: the library contains 42,640 titles of books (88,272 volumes), not counting brochures (the earliest of the books is dated 1492), 2399 manuscripts - Greek, Church Slavonic, Russian and foreign languages, dating from the 7th to the 20th century, as well as numerous documents on the history of the Russian presence on Mount Athos, containing, for example, information about 7,500 inhabitants of Russian monasteries.
Currently, painstaking work is underway to restore books and manuscripts and transfer them to digital media for the convenience of users. The monastery plans to publish a multi-volume series of books “Russian Athos of the 19th–20th centuries. The visit to Greece and Athos of a representative delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church headed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' in June 2013, in my opinion, opens new stage in the development of Greek-Russian relations and the revival of Russian Athos. In just seven days of his stay in Greece, His Holiness the Patriarch managed to hold numerous meetings with believers and representatives of the Church of Greece, lead services and prayers, visit Athens, Thessaloniki, Vireia, Careia, St. as well as the following monasteries of Athos: the Great Lavra, Vatopedi, Iveron, Pantokrator, Hilandar and Zograf. And everywhere these days sounded the note of revival and development of ancient traditions.
As His Holiness Patriarch Kirill noted: “Today, when I see a large number of brethren, among whom there are many young people devoted to monastic service, ready to connect their lives with this holy place, when I look at the members of my delegation, many pilgrims, including those who represent state power, business, are well-known people in our country, I involuntarily recall the words of the great prokimen: "You are God, work miracles." This great miracle of the resurrection of Rus', the transformation of Athos happened before our eyes. At least I saw Athos in decline and now I have the good fortune to see it in glory. This is happiness, because God helped me to see His hand both over Holy Mount Athos and over our Fatherland.
Today, on Athos, with the active participation of our believing people, great repair and restoration work is being carried out both here, in this monastery, and in other monasteries, both Slavic and non-Slavic. It has always been like this: Rus' has never spared its resources to maintain Orthodoxy. It is enough to drive through the monasteries of Athos to see that in each of them there are signs of our people's love for the Holy Mount Athos. And the most majestic kivots, chandeliers, stunningly beautiful vestments, utensils - all this was torn from the heart of our people, not being rich, in order to pour out their love on this Holy place. And the same thing is happening today.”
His Holiness the Patriarch once again emphasized the role that monasticism plays in modern spiritual life: “If we talk about the role of monasticism and the role of Athos, then it is very great, because monasticism in the Church is like a kind of cornerstone, like a column on which the construction rests. Why? Because monks leave everything in this world, refuse what is dear and desirable absolute majority people, and they do it for one purpose - to fully consecrate themselves to God through prayer, through contemplation, through good deeds, through the study of theology. That is why monasticism has always been a source of replenishment of church personnel, including the highest positions in the Church. This tradition dates back to ancient times, and it still works effectively today.
When you come to Athos, you understand the importance of monasticism for the entire Orthodox Church, and you especially realize the significance of the Holy Mountain. Holy Mount Athos is a peninsula, but in a figurative sense it is also a peninsula - the peninsula of Byzantium, what has been preserved from Byzantium and has reached the 21st century ... "
The history of Russian Athos lasts for almost a thousand years, it contains so many tragic and providential, heroic and spiritual events that are hardly noticeable to the eye that they would be enough for the history of many, many countries of the world. It would seem that all this is already in the distant past and is of interest only to professional historians. But that's not the case at all. One has only to set foot on the land of Athos, breathe in the indescribable aroma of the Holy Mountain with full breasts, see the miraculous and invincible monasteries and sketes that seem to have grown out of the ground, as you constantly and persistently feel on Athos the breath of the disturbing and majestic history of the monastic republic, which survived despite on any winds and trials of fate.
The Russians on Mount Athos accomplished a true spiritual feat, preserving centuries-old traditions and unbending prayerful intensity. They repeatedly saved their cloisters from oblivion and destruction, showing the whole world an example of the steadfastness of faith and service to the Lord. Let's hope that this whole story only continues, that now only a new stage in its development has begun, and that changes in modern Russia, as well as in other Orthodox countries of the world, will give impetus to the further revival of Athos and the presence of Russian monasticism on it.
