Mount Athos: An ancient Christian community

Hello dear friends,

Today I want to share with you some images of a place of particular blessing.

Mount Athos is situated on the northern peninsula of Chalkidiki in Macedonia, northern Greece. It is very often called "Hagion Oros", that is "Holy Mountain" in Greek. Though land-linked, it is accessible only by boat. The number of visitors is restricted and all are required to get a special entrance permit before entering Mount Athos. Only males are allowed entrance into Mount Athos, and that is because it is "The Garden of the Virgin" .

Ttradition has it that, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown off course to then pagan Athos it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying "Ἔστω ὁ τόπος οὖτος κλῆρος σός καί περιβόλαιον σόν καί παράδεισος, ἔτι δέ καί λιμήν σωτήριος τῶν θελόντων σωθῆναι" , that is "Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved". From that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and is to this day out of bounds to all other women. Most monasteries date from the 7th c AD onwards although Christians had found shelter in the woods since the 4th c. AD.

The athonite community flourished during the thousand years of the Byzantine Empire and is very much alive to this day, with some 1600 monks living currently in its 20 monasteries and their associated sketes, offering its blessings to those who seek God.

The clip below is a trailer of a new documentary on Mount Athos to be released next Monday. I am sharing it for you to enjoy the beauty and serenity of this place.



You can read more from a Western's point of view in two great books. One is called Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise , a great paperback with beautiful illustrations and the other The Monks of Mount Athos: A Western Monk's Extraordinary Spiritual Journey on Eastern Holy Ground. Since women are not allowed on the mountain, Mount Athos - An Illustrated Guide to the Monasteries and Their History is a great guide on the monasteries and the ancient art, paintings and manuscripts they house.

There is also an ongoing appeal for the restauration of the Chilandariou monastery that was destroyed by fire in 2004. The watercolour above is part of a collection by watercolourist and print maker Doug Patterson, in aid of the appeal.You may read more in English here.

May you all be blessed.