Athos
- Agion Oron
A visit to Mount Athos
The land of Mt. Athos which farms one
of the most beautiful parts of Greece,
lays before the visitor all the grandeur
of Nature. The landscape is varied with small valleys and
gorges, well wooded mountains interspersed with bare and
precipitous rocks and occasional views of the coastline.
Mountain scenery on one hand and the sea on the ether create
that essential framework of isolation in a different, strange
world chosen by the hermits for their monastic state. It
is a community of monks which, for more than 1000 years,
has lived the daily life and religious practice of the Byzantines.
The oldest monastery on Mt Athos is that of Megisti Lavra
which is also the wealthiest in treasures and relics. It
was founded in the 10th century by Ossios Athanassios. However,
even prior to that date, monks and hermits had begun to retire
to that area. The beneficent activity of Byzantine
emperors soon made it possible for the number of monasteries
to multiply to 40 and their inmates to 40,000. At the moment,
only 20 monasteries are functioning and the total number
of monks does not exceed 1,700.
Agiou Dionyssiou, Athos. Photo: John Roelse
Once the
entrance permit bas been secured, the visitor setting out
from Ouranoupolis or Tripiti by motor ship will sail
to Dafni and thence overland to Kariés, the capital where
the elders used to assemble to decide on matters of internal
administration. In Kariés stands the church of Protatos,
the oldest in the area (10th century). It is without doubt
an important architectural monument and contains frescoes
painted by Emmanuel Panselinos, the last of the great painters
of murals of the Macedonian School of Art to which the cider
of the frescoes in ether churches on Mt. Athos also belong.
Murals of this school of art as well as murals of the Cretan
School of Art, which flourished later, decorate the churches
in the monasteries of Megisti Lavra, Vatopedi, Iviron, Koutloumousiou, Doheiariou,
etc. As he roams through the various monasteries, the visitor
will feel impressed not only by the frescoes but also by
the rich libraries, the mosaics, the precious art miniatures,
the ecclesiastical utensils and the various relics kept in
the treasuries.
Docheiariou, Athos. Photo: John Roelse
MOUNT ATHOS
Basic Conditions for Admission to Mount Athos In accordance
with a "Chryssobul" (edict) issued by the Byzantine
Emperor Constantine Monomahos, in 1060 AD. which still remains
valid, conditions
for entering the territory of Mt. Athos are as follows:
(a) A permit is required for both individuals and groups. This
is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Churches
(at No 2, Zalokosta Street, in Athens, tel: 3626.894) or by the
Ministry of Northern Greece, Directorate of Civil Affairs at Diikitiriou
Square in Thessaloniki, tel. 031/270.092.
(b) Women are not admitted into the territory.
(c) Overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven
religious or scientific interests in the area and are over 18 years
old.
Athos. Photo:John Roelse
