Secrets of the Holy Mountain. Athos: legends of the holy land What secrets does Athos keep?

On a mysterious peninsula where women are not allowed, cats are fasting and drinking coffee is forbidden

Holy Mount Athos is a classical monastic school. The Greek peninsula, on which 20 large monasteries are located. “Place of assembly” and renewal for all monks of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, to which the UOC belongs. And in general, it is a holy land, where an Orthodox believer dreams of going.
Everyone can dream, but only men can actually get there. Women are at most allowed to sail past on a boat. The fact is that Athos is considered the earthly destiny of the Mother of God. According to legend, the Virgin Mary and the Evangelist John went on a sea voyage, but were caught in a storm. Miraculously surviving, they landed at the foot of Mount Athos (now the Iveron Monastery is located in that place). Struck by the beauty of these places, the Mother of God asked the Lord to make the Holy Mountain Her earthly inheritance. According to the covenant of the Mother of God, not a single woman except Her can set foot on the land of Athos. In 1045, under the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh, a charter was adopted for the Athonites, officially prohibiting women and even female domestic animals from being on the territory of the Holy Mountain. Women still face 2 to 12 months in prison for violating the law. “Today” asked the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Father Parthenius, who visited this monastic state, to tell readers about the secrets and life of the holy Mount Athos.
The history of monastic Athos begins in the 8th century, when Athanasius the Great founded the Great Lavra on Athos - the first monastery. Initially, monks from Egypt came to Athos because persecution of Christians began there, Islam appeared, religious wars began, and the monks no longer had peace anywhere, even in the desert. They began to look for refuge and came to Athos. Therefore, there is a clear continuity of the monastic school from Athanasius the Great, the founder of monasticism, to the present day. This is the only place on the planet where an uninterrupted monastic tradition has been preserved.

RITUAL WITH THE DRAGON. One day, Emperor Nicephorus Phocas presented Athanasius the Great with a strange gift: a certain petrified object - the tongue of a dragon. This tongue is still taken out of the sacristy four times a year. There is a golden image of a serpent or dragon, made later, within which this stone tongue is embedded. It turns out like a frame for a “dragon shrine”. This tongue is pulled out of the vault, from this golden dragon, taken out into the courtyard to a huge vat of water and immersed there. Air bubbles on the tongue cause the water to bubble. Then the rite of blessing the water begins, prayers are read, the monks scoop up the water and distribute it to the cells. They sprinkle their cells and drink water in case of any poisoning or snake bites. Water drives away snakes. It is called aspid water. It is illuminated only in this monastery. Our friends brought this water home and claim that it helps against any poisoning.

SKIT OF THE GRANDMOTHER OF CHRIST. The proven and most popular road to the top of Holy Mount Athos is from the monastery of St. Anna. We headed there with Father Dormidont and our guest Alexander. This monastery was built in the 17th century. It contains most of the relics of St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. As Father Dormidon correctly noted, the grandmothers of Christ.
There are icons everywhere, everyone is doing their best, we didn’t lag behind either. The icon looks like the image of the Mother of God familiar to us, but here it depicts Saint Anna holding the Baby in her arms - the future Mother of God.
It was about five o'clock in the evening - late for getting up. Because the path to the cross is an hour and a half, and to the top - 3.5-4 hours. But because of the newcomer guest, who could not wait until the morning, they decided to get up.
During our previous ascent trips, we didn’t even know how tourism differs from pilgrimage. We tried to climb with pioneer enthusiasm: whoever was faster, losing their breath, everyone was wet. Just like a sports race. We climbed the mountain, and even at the first moment we didn’t understand why. This time was different. They walked slowly, barely moving their feet, and read the monastic rule and canons. That’s when we felt that there is a real pilgrimage when you rise with prayer. A pioneer race is one thing, rising with prayer is another. Just earth and sky. I didn’t even lose my breath with prayer! At the top of the cross there is wonderful beauty! And it doesn’t matter that it’s already dark. A scattering of stars, silence, no heat, no wind. Silence-hesychia.

MIRACLES WHEN RISING. The Holy Mountain is such an ascetic practice. Climbing it is our expression of love for God. And the extent to which you open your heart to the Lord, the extent to which He will reveal Himself to you.
My companion Alexander is a secular man, but very receptive. He was very impressed by the phrase that thanks to prayer we can control our mind. My companion was so moved by this! We climb further, suddenly I hear Alexander walking and reading the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”), as if he had been reading it for many years, and not for the first time in his life.
It happened that some received gifts while climbing the Mountain. In the 17th century, Athonite monks quarreled among themselves because there was no money and there was nothing to build a temple with. Before going their separate ways forever, they decided to climb the Mountain. Along the way they met travelers, told their story that they were leaving, and the travelers said: “Come back, we will help and pay for the construction.” The monks returned, began building the monastery and miraculously found 200 gold coins. The temple was built with these funds. In gratitude for their help, those holy travelers were depicted on the wall of the temple.
We arrived at Panagia - according to legend, the Mother of God herself climbed to this place without reaching the top - at ten in the evening. Here is a large house-temple. There is a large room where beds are kept, sleeping bags are stored, there is a small kitchen with a fireplace and the temple itself.
We were immediately asked to get up at the liturgy and receive communion at three o’clock in the morning. There is a sense of brotherhood in this place. Everyone gets to know each other, helps, shares. Someone just got up, caught his breath a little, and immediately comes down to help others get up. Water or firewood helps to raise it. A real school of Christian attitude towards each other!

TO THE TOP! In the morning a terrible wind began. It’s just “from ear to ear” - it blows right through you. A very scary feeling! Fortunately, I stocked up on all sorts of powders and tablets. This helped me out, because it blew right through. The trekking poles we took also helped. Not a mulashka, of course, but it helps the legs significantly. Although with such a wind and on four points of support it was extremely difficult to walk. You climb and are amazed how small fluffy fir trees 80 cm high still manage to grow here. To stay on the Mountain, these babies develop a powerful root system several meters long. And at the very top nothing grows, not even moss. The last 50 meters are accompanied only by bare stones.
At the top of the Mountain there is strong wind and fog. It was not possible to photograph anything. What do climbers usually do? They will climb a mountain, Everest or Elbrus, stick a flag at the top, take a photo - and go back. And we also got up, clicked the camera once and back. I put on everything I had, even used socks instead of gloves and wrapped myself in cellophane. Father Dormidont was waiting for us below, greeting us like prophets: “Where have you been?! I missed you!” Warmed up with tea.

RULES OF LIFE. The monks of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra love Vatopedi and consider it family. In our Trinity-Sergius Lavra we have the relics of Maxim the Greek - this is a Vatopedi tonsure. Patriarch Philotheus (Kokkin) - also a resident of the Vatopedi Monastery of Athos - conveyed his blessing to Sergius of Radonezh for the introduction of a cenobitic charter in the 14th century. The golden cross that he presented to Rev. Sergius, is still kept in the Serapion Tent of the Lavra. Another saint is Gregory Palamas - his cell is located nearby in the mountains, also a inhabitant of Vatopedi and a contemporary of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Such friendship has developed between Athos and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Therefore, Vatopedi was chosen as our main base during our stay on Athos. I once lived here for seven months.
Monasticism on Mount Athos is a colossal burden. When I first arrived, I thought, I’ll show you how our guys can work! I've been working all my life, I'm no stranger to work. I'll show them a master class! Three days later it died. The Greeks turned out to be more trained guys than me. The Greek word "ascesis" literally means "I exercise." That is, they are trained in monastic works. This type of training takes years. For example, the habit of night services: the monks get up at four o'clock in the morning. During the year, morning and evening services for Athonite monks cannot be missed! They eat in a disciplined manner twice a day, and during Lent - once a day. And there are a lot of such moments, prescribed in the charter and strictly followed!
Every monk is obliged to be in the library once a month. Every Friday you have to clean your rooms, because on this day on Athos everyone has vacuum cleaners humming. And the most interesting thing is that there is a clear regulation of life in everything. On Monday I know what I will do on Saturday evening. But at the same time there is a feeling of some inner freedom. I thought: “Lord, I’ve been looking for this for so long! There’s freedom inside.” You go into the laundry room, you go into the refectory, and they show you how you should wash the cup, how to turn it over and where to put it. So many generations of monks before you have already done this, everyone decided for you a long time ago what was more convenient, and your job is just to remember. Having remembered, you then do everything automatically. If any problem arises that you can no longer tolerate, you go to the abbot. A monk has no right to humble a monk. You turn to the abbot: “Geronda, I can’t stand it anymore! Help!” He will listen and decide what to do. All conflicts will be resolved.
We worked with the Czech Dionysius, who had recently joined the brethren of the monastery. He said: “Look at monastic life: it’s just crazy! Day after day, week after week, year after year it’s the same thing. If not for prayer, not for monastic goals, then, indeed, an ordinary person could not stand it all "And here is the consolation of grace."
When I started working there myself, at first I felt a sense of elation, euphoria, inspiration, because there were a huge number of new impressions. The morning begins with the air filled with birdsong. Every half hour the sun shines differently, new flowers bloom, a continuous fragrance. In a word, at first the Athonite romance affects you. Then this wave passes, and the body begins to ache, because it is unusual for such a life. And he begins to whine to you with an inner voice: “I worked, I trained, that’s it! Enough! The limit has been reached.” Problems begin. It's hard to get up. I want to drink tea not just once a day, but five times. One day, I remember, Father Gerasim called me to move a frying pan with four handles from the fire to the table. The distance is small, literally a meter. I’m mentally preparing myself - after all, I’m lifting a lot of weight, I’m pumping myself up with oxygen, I’m straightening up. And Father Gerasim watches from the side, sorting through the cabbage leaves, and seeing that I’m ready, he calmly takes it and drags this giant frying pan with me onto the table. It’s so hard for me, but he does it without visible physical effort, although he himself is so thin, everything hangs on him like on a hanger, but at the same time the veins in his arms are twice as thick as mine. He worked in this kitchen for eleven years.

SACRED. This time Vatopedi was a holiday for me. We can stop where we want, we can drink tea or stand at work. Vatopeda has its own shrine - the Belt of the Mother of God. In Moscow, pilgrims stand in line at the shrine for up to 27 hours, but when you come to Mount Athos, there are only a few dozen people standing there. There are a huge number of shrines on Mount Athos, and what kind! Our shrines are a small piece of relics, and the relics of Mount Athos are like a head, a right hand. Here are the greatest shrines in the world, so many that few people know how many more are kept in the sacristies of the Greeks. There have been legends about incredible treasures since Old Testament times! Greek monasteries were not plundered and did not lose their treasures for many centuries.
The Great Lavra of St. Athanasius (the largest monastery on the Holy Mountain) has a beautiful tradition. The monks, before entering the temple for services, hang their empty bags, backpacks, and boxes on the monastery gates. After a while, the refectories come out and fill them with food for the week, not knowing who they are loading for or whose basket it is. They just fill it with food. And when the monks head home after communion, they pick up their filled bags at the gate. And no one knows who their benefactor is.

ANTI-FATIGUE REMEDY. The monks who are on the Holy Mountain are, of course, a separate conversation. Look at these people - they are simply angels in the flesh. There are no external reasons for sin, there is no excuse. For example, I remember feeling depressed. I left the monastery and there was forest all around. Where to go? Well, climb the mountains, take a walk in the olive garden. You walk around and you come back. I pestered one priest there with questions: if it’s bad, what do you do? He answers: “I take a kettle and a burner, go to the mountains, drink tea alone, relax, sometimes even sleep. In the evening I come to work.” Then I ask: “And if it’s really bad, what do you do?” - “I’ll sleep through the service in the evening.” - “Well, what if it’s really, really bad?” - “Then I don’t get up for work in the morning.” “What do you do next?” - “At the service you don’t have to pray, but just sit. So little by little the fatigue goes away.”

The famous researcher and translator of ancient Christian texts Dionisy Pospelov tells MN about his latest finds.

- How long ago did you start studying ancient texts?

- Our group began to take shape in 1995. The first text we worked with was “Paraphrase of the Holy Gospel of John” by the Egyptian poet Nonnus of Khmim. It was a very interesting, even “exotic” text of the 5th century - a transcription of the Gospel of John in hexameter, a Christian epic in essence.

After the publication of this book in 2002, we tried to create a series of scientific publications of the holy fathers. To do this, I began work in Greece, in Thessaloniki - the Vlatadon monastery there is a center for storing microfilms of manuscripts from Athonite libraries.

But I soon realized that it was still necessary to work with the manuscripts themselves, and not with microfilms. The fact is that a huge number of patristic texts, even the most important sources, unfortunately, have not been published. On Athos, I worked in the libraries of the monasteries of Iviron, Vatopedi, Dionysiat, and Great Lavra. In the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery, a considerable part of the manuscript depository is not described at all or is described in insufficient detail, as can be seen in the catalog of Spyridon Lambros. Slavic manuscripts are also not fully described.

- How accessible are Athonite libraries for researchers?

- It is very difficult to get to those sources that are really important. Certain “policies” of the monasteries of the Holy Mountain do not allow free work with manuscripts. Even in the Vatican Library it is easier to work - especially since microfilms of almost all manuscripts have been made there, which cannot be said, for example, about the Great Lavra of Mount Athos. There are archives on Mount Athos that have never been microfilmed and are not accessible at all.

Russian researchers on Mount Athos are treated with particular caution, because there have been cases when Russians stole manuscripts or tore out pages from them. This happened both in the 17th century, when Arseny Sukhanov took many manuscripts from Athos, and later. One way or another, the memory on Athos is long.

- Can we talk about deliberately hidden manuscripts?

- In Orthodoxy there is a special, very deep hesychast tradition. The publication of mystical texts of this level may entail the emergence of some questions among Orthodox people, to which there are no answers yet. Such texts can even be dangerous, just as the most complex technology is dangerous in the hands of someone ignorant of it.

For example, a text such as “Hesychast Consolation” by Callistus Angelicuda, 14th century. This most important hesychast text was not fully published even in Greek, and is now being prepared by our group for publication. The Monk Callistus writes: “The mind that contemplates Jesus is completely devoid of mind (that is, natural human thinking). The very word “hesychia,” which is usually translated as “silence,” has shades of sensual meaning: “sweetness,” “sweet.” These texts also frightened the Synodal censorship of pre-revolutionary Russia - the hesychasts were not translated intentionally!

Of course, many of the greatest Russian saints - from St. Sergius of Radonezh to St. Seraphim of Sarov - were excellent in the art of hesychasm, despite the lack of texts on hesychasm. “The spirit breathes where it wants:.” By some divine inspiration they understood what they could not know from books and what they could not learn fully from mentors and elders.

- What is your position regarding the book “The Da Vinci Code”?

- Initially there was a lot of speculation on the gospel stories. "The Master and Margarita" is the most obvious precedent. But in this case we are talking about the use of fairly ancient sectarian texts, Gnostic and neo-Gnostic, in Coptic, Latin and Old French.

Mary Magdalene was already revered as a great saint in the first centuries of Christianity. In The Da Vinci Code there is speculation about the “human” love of the Savior for Mary Magdalene. Divine love, Divine Eros is actually spoken of in the life of Mary Magdalene, unknown to researchers, written by the Athonite elder Blessed Hierotheus of Zagorea, which I was able to discover on Mount Athos in the summer of this year. But a person who understands theology is well aware that the concept of Divine love, which is given to the saints from above through spiritual illumination by uncreated light, has nothing in common with the sensual love of fallen man. Christ loved Magdalene not as a man, but “above man,” as St. Maximus the Confessor would put it.

- But in the Gospel text, even one of the apostles reproaches Christ for talking to a harlot.

- In this episode we are talking about a completely different Maria. From the lives it follows that Mary Magdalene was not a harlot, she was a virgin until the end of her life. The names of her parents are known - Sir and Eucharist. Along with John the Theologian, she was a favorite student and spiritual daughter of the Savior. There is direct evidence in the Gospel that she stood at His Cross. According to the lives, Mary Magdalene was in Rome, communicated with Emperor Tiberius and told him about the miracles performed by the Savior.

The relics of St. Mary Magdalene are venerated on Mount Athos. A hand, that is, the left hand of a saint, was recently brought to Russia, which is kept in the Athos monastery of Simonopetra. Incredibly, it maintains the temperature of the human body to this day.

- So the woman who wiped Christ’s feet with her hair was not Mary Magdalene?

- No information about this woman has been preserved in the sacred Tradition. From the Gospel text it is clear that she was a sinner, but her name is not known.

- Why did this identification arise?

- The legend of Magdalene the Harlot was born in the 7th century among the Latins. This is a Catholic tradition, which is now followed by many Orthodox Christians in Russia. The legend especially flourished during the Crusades to satisfy the courtly tastes of the time. This is very beautiful - the harlot became Christ’s favorite disciple. But this is madness: Jesus brings a woman from the street closer to Him and reveals to her His mysterious teachings: Revealed Gnosticism.

There is also apocryphal literature about Mary Magdalene - for example, the so-called “Gospel of Mary Magdalene” in Coptic. But this has nothing to do with Church Tradition; this is Gnostic literature of the same kind as the “Gospel of Judas.” There are actually a lot of apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels. There are, for example, “The Gospel of Adam”, “The Gospel of Eve”, “The Gospel of the Egyptians” and others.

- Who is the author of those lives of Mary Magdalene that you mentioned?

- There are so-called anonymous fragments of lives. There is a Greek manuscript dated 1307, located in Sicily, in the monastery of San Salvatore. There is a published homily of John Chrysostom, which also contains information about Mary Magdalene, and a homily of St. Gregory Palamas. Another unpublished homily from the 14th century appears in one of the Viennese codexes. There is also a text by John of Thessaloniki published in 1894. There is also the already mentioned Coptic Gospel of Mary Magdalene of the 3rd-4th centuries, which was preserved in the Oxyrhynchus papyrus N3525.

Texts such as the Coptic Gospel are the least reliable. The Gnostics, due to the lack of information, formed one or another understanding of the Gospel based on their views. Many Greek texts about Magdalene are based on fragmentary information, but the patristic tradition still reflects the real story more than the Gnostic “phantoms”. Unfortunately, now in Russia the genuine study of patristic texts is treated as a semi-marginal activity, and church science primarily lives in the past. Mostly reprints of Russian publications of the 19th century are published. While this is happening, myths will obscure the light of Orthodox Tradition.

MN dossier

Dionisy POSPELOV completed his postgraduate studies at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (department of paleography, codicology and Byzantine diplomacy). Organized 2 scientific series - Scrinium Philocalicum (Scroll of Philokalia) and Smaragdos Philocalias (Treasure of Philokalia).

Recently, Mr. Pospelov's scientific interests have included texts by followers of hesychasm - the mystical Orthodox teaching about the spiritual transformation of man. Through personal asceticism and intense prayer, the hesychast strives to contemplate the “uncreated light,” similar to that which was revealed to the apostles on Mount Tabor. A significant number of hesychast manuscripts are located in the monasteries of Athos (Greece) and are inaccessible to researchers.

The Dionysian Monastery stands at an altitude of 80 meters above sea level. Its origin dates back to the second half of the 14th century and is associated with the name of St. Dionysius. Photo: Alexandre Van de Sande

Mount Athos is both a geographical point and a religious state like the Vatican. This is the extreme, eastern “finger” of the three-fingered peninsula of Chalkidiki in Greece, washed by the emerald waters of the Aegean Sea, approximately 80 km long and about 12 km wide. The peninsula is mountainous and covered with dense forests. In pagan antiquity, Mount Athos was known as Apolloniad (after the temple of Apollo); later, on the top of the mountain stood the temple of Zeus, which in Greek was called Athos.

Church tradition tells that the Mother of God, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire, was preparing by lot to go to the Iveron land, but received news from an angel that the work of the apostle would appear on another land. The ship on which the Mother of God and the apostles were heading to the island of Cyprus to visit Bishop Lazarus was caught in a storm and landed at Mount Athos. The pagan people accepted her, and, listening to sermons and seeing many miracles, believed and were baptized. Before sailing to Cyprus, the Mother of God blessed the people and promised her intercession to the inhabitants of Athos. Thus this island entered the era of Christian history.

Currently, there are 20 monasteries on Mount Athos: the Great Lavra of St. Athanasius, Vatopedi, Iveron, Hilandar (Serbian), Dionysiev, Kutlumish, Pantokrator, Xiropotamus, Zograf (Bulgarian), Dochiar, Karakalu, Filotheou, Simono Petra, St. Paul, Stavronikitsky, Xenofontov, Grigoriev, Esfigmenov, St. Panteleimon (Russian) and Kastamonita. According to the Statutory Charter of the Holy Mountain, the founding of the twenty-first monastery is prohibited.

It is extremely difficult to obtain permission to visit Mount Athos, but in principle it is possible. To do this, you must have not only a Greek visa, but also the permission of the governor of the Holy Mountain, who holds the rank of prefect at the Greek Foreign Ministry. In the city of Thessaloniki there are a couple of travel companies specializing in such tours.

In recent years, it has become fashionable among artists, TV presenters and other popular people of Hellas to retire for a week in one of the monasteries and take a break from the bustle of the world among ancient icons, sunbathing on deserted beaches, splashing in the warm blue sea. They say the charge lasts for a year. Athos left the brightest memories for the writer Sergei Mikhalkov, who visited here in the 1970s.

The Russian monastery, unlike many others, requires payment for the pilgrim’s stay on its territory. There is probably a reason: “our” monastery is the largest and most beautiful on the peninsula. Green domes over white walls delight tourists, who can only observe Mount Athos from pleasure boats at a distance of at least 500 meters. The coastal area is constantly patrolled by boats, so no one will be able to jump off the ship and illegally visit the Holy Mountain.

It is curious that in the Russian monastery there have actually been no monks of Russian nationality for a long time; they are all mainly Ukrainians. Again, according to the Charter, access to “new blood” is incredibly difficult, so the monasteries are slowly dying out.

About 1,300 monks live on Mount Athos, 35 of them live in a Russian monastery. They provide themselves with the bare necessities and earn money in their workshops. It is here that amazingly beautiful icons are painted using ancient techniques. The untrained eye cannot distinguish a copy from an ancient original. In this case, a special certificate with a seal is glued to the back side. Icons are often made in a silver or gold frame.

Specialized stores with church utensils in Greece are in almost every quarter. On the eve of major church holidays (Christmas, Easter), sales are held there. The cost of small, palm-sized icons on a wooden board is 5-6 euros. An icon the size of an album leaf in a luxurious silver (925 standard) frame can usually be bought for 120-150 euros, and during the sale for only 20-30 euros.

Athos seeks to separate itself from the rest of the globe. But the world is still interested in the Holy Mountain and is trying to learn more about it, including by filming from space. Photo: NASA

But the Athonite monks do not live by iconography alone. Their “state” owns substantial property, large plots of land in the most prestigious places in Hellas. Athonite monks deal with firms involved in real estate, investments and banking. Among the latest major transactions announced by them is the sale of one of their islands in the Aegean Sea for 3.5 million euros.

Despite their substantial capital, Athonite monks strictly observe fasts. They never eat meat, fish and wine only on holidays, the rest of the time - vegetables, bread, olive oil, water.

Monasteries in all countries are special institutions. However, the development of tourism and “exceptions to the rules” allow different people to visit them, including women. Only Holy Athos is closed to women. Emperor Basil the Macedonian, by his decree of 883, established a ban on “impassability” to the territory of Athos for women of any age and condition (married and unmarried, nuns, relatives of monks), as well as beardless people, eunuchs, minors and, oddly enough, shepherds with flocks ( It is even forbidden to keep female animals - goats, sheep, chickens). Meanwhile, as you remember, Athos is patronized by a woman - the Mother of God!

How was the gender of visitors to Mount Athos checked? It turns out that in the old days only bearded people were allowed in, and they checked whether the beard was real (they simply pulled the hair). Nowadays, clean-shaven guests also visit Athos; they just need to show their passport.

There is a lot of documentary evidence that people who have once visited Mount Athos gain faith and completely renounce their past life. For example, in 1974, the attache of the Soviet embassy in Athens, Igor Ekontsev, went to Athos in the spring, walked along its paths that lead to the capital of the Holy Mountain - Kareya, and became acquainted with the monastic way of life. Later, Igor Nikolaevich became the rector of the Orthodox University in Moscow, now he is Hieromonk John.

In 1969, the Russian monastery was preparing to celebrate its 800th anniversary. On the eve of the holiday, at night, when there was a storm at sea and a strong wind was blowing, someone set our monastery on fire. Magnificent halls, galleries, many priceless books and icons burned down. And four months later, one of the civilian workers, a retired policeman, fell ill with a terrible type of cancer. As he was taken to the hospital, he shouted: “This is my punishment for what I did!”

This is exactly how the Holy Mountain appears to a significant part of tourists. Not everyone is given the opportunity to disembark the ship and continue exploring Mount Athos. Photo: Orthodoxe Fraternitaet in Deutschland

“One summer, in hot weather, the forest near the monastery caught fire,” Pavel Ivanovich Selivanov told me. “The fire was spreading like a wall, the situation was almost hopeless (there was nowhere for fire trucks to come from here). The archbishop and the monks began a religious procession around the monastery. And suddenly a cloud hung in the blue sky right above the burning forest, the rain from it completely doused the fire...

Pavel Ivanovich is the son of a white emigrant who fled to Greece in 1920. He was born far from his father’s homeland, but speaks excellent Russian, is in love with Russia and does everything to preserve a piece of Russian culture there, abroad. A secular man, for many years he has been helping the Russian Orthodox Church maintain contact with the monastery of St. Panteleimon. He gave me a print of a previously unpublished engraving by the traveler Barsky “Russian Monastery on Athos. 1744.”

For me, a woman, the path to Athos is prohibited. I looked at him from afar, from the deck of the ship. And, like all 400 tourists from different countries, they gasped when a huge silver cloud circle appeared above the highest point of Athos (2033 meters) in the clear blue sky...

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The monastic republic is probably the most mysterious territory on earth, the secrets of which never cease to be interesting to the whole world, but at the same time do not require solving. We have collected the most famous mysterious facts about Holy Mount Athos. Many of them have the status of legends, but at the same time, they remain in the memory of generations.

The monastic republic is probably the most mysterious territory on earth, the secrets of which never cease to be interesting to the whole world, but at the same time do not require solving.

We have collected the most famous mysterious facts about Holy Mount Athos. Many of them have the status of legends, but at the same time, they remain in the memory of generations.

THE DESIGNATION OF THE VIRGIN

According to church tradition, the Mother of God, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, was preparing by lot to go to Iberia, but an Angel announced that apostolic work awaited her in another place. The ship was caught in a storm and landed at Mount Athos. The pagans met the Mother of God and were baptized. The Mother of God said: “This place is my lot, given to me by my Son and my God.”

Having blessed the people, She added: “May the grace of God abide in this place and on those who remain here with faith and reverence and keep the commandments of my Son and God. The blessings they need for life on earth will be with little difficulty in abundance, 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 it before God."

Tradition has also preserved the words of the Mother of God:

“For free service to God there is no other more convenient place than Mount Athos, which I accepted from My Son God as My inheritance, so that those who want to retire from worldly worries and confusion of the world would come there and serve God there unhindered and calm. From now on This mountain will be called My heliport. I love this place much, and the time will come when it will be filled from end to end, north and south, with many monks. And if they work for God with all their hearts and faithfully keep His commandments, great I will make them worthy of gifts on the great day of My Son..."

12 (or 7) INVISIBLE ELDERS

The Monk Paisius the Svyatogorets once met an amazing old man who told him that he lived on the top of Holy Mount Athos. The elder helped the monk find the way to the monastery of St. Anna. Later, Father Paisius wrote: I was told that on the top of Mount Athos there live twelve—others called the number seven—hermits, and I wondered if the one I met was one of them. I told the experienced elders about what had happened, and they confirmed: “Yes, this must be one of the venerable hermits living secretly on the top of Athos.”

BAN FOR WOMEN

According to legend, in 422, the daughter of Theodosius the Great, Princess Placidia, visited the Holy Mountain, but was prevented from entering the Vatopedi monastery by a voice emanating from the icon of the Mother of God.

The ban was violated during Turkish rule and during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), when women and children fled to the forests of the Holy Mountain.

Now, for entering the territory of Mount Athos, women are subject to criminal liability of 8-12 months in prison.

ASPID WATER

“The tongue of the dragon” - this stone was given to Athanasius the Great by Emperor Nicephorus Phocas. Four times a year a ritual is performed with it - the stone is immersed in a vat of water and air bubbles come out of it, the water seems to boil. After the rite of blessing the water, the monks sprinkle it on their cells and drink it. They say that aspid water not only drives away snakes, but also helps in cases of snake bites.

SINGING OF ANGELS

We will neither confirm nor deny the veracity of this event; we will present it only as a story about which a lot has been said.

One pilgrim came to Athos. At night he went out into the courtyard and saw the light in the temple. Coming closer, he heard singing and thought that a divine service was going on, but the doors of the temple were closed.

He looked out the window and saw angels in white robes singing the Cherubic Song. The pilgrim ran to the hotel, took a recording device and managed to record only the end of the angelic singing. The film “Singing of Angels on Mount Athos” was made based on this event.

THE PASSAGE OF TIME AND PRAYER FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

Many pilgrims have noticed an amazing fact: time flows differently on Mount Athos: monks and novices manage to do many things in a day. Before the whole world wakes up, up to 300 Divine Liturgies will be celebrated on Athos.

Byzantine times are still preserved on Mount Athos. 12 o'clock at night most often occurs at sunset. A new day begins at sunset, so Athonite time differs from Greek - from 3 hours in summer to 7 hours in winter.

Services in monasteries begin at midnight. When the world sleeps, on Athos they continuously pray for the whole world, from century to century.

SANCTIES OF ATHOS

The ancient Athonite monasteries store countless riches: miraculous icons and relics of the holy saints of God.

Great Lavra (X century)

Relics of Peter Athos, cave of the saint. The main temple of the monastery is an example of the “Svyatogorsk” type of architecture. A rich sacristy, which contains, for example, the clothes and crown of the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros Phocas.

Vatopedi (X century)

Belt of the Virgin. The miraculous Athos icons of the Mother of God “The All-Tsarina” (XVII century), “Underwater”, “Slaughtered”. Chapter of John Chrysostom.

Iversky (X century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Iveron.

Hilandar (XII century)

(Serbian)

Miraculous icon of the Mother of God, Particles of the crown of thorns, cane and shroud of Jesus Christ. Relics of saints. The monastery is considered the cradle of the Serbian people.

Dionysiatus (XIV century)

Part of the relics (hand) of the prophet John the Baptist. The miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Akathist".

Kutlumush (XI century)

The carved iconostasis of the main temple is one of the best works of art on Mount Athos.

Pantocrator (XIV century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Gerontissa” (“Old Woman”) is one of the most revered on Mount Athos. Relics of saints.

Xyropotamus (X century)

The largest particle of the Holy Cross on Mount Athos.

Zograf (X century)

(Bulgarian)

Miraculous icon of St. George. Place of death of 26 Zograph martyrs (Orthodox monks burned in the 13th century by the Uniates).

Dokhiar (X century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” (10th century), which became famous in the 17th century.

Caracalla (X century)

Part of the relics (head) of the Apostle Bartholomew.

Philotheus (10th century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Sweet Kiss” (became famous during the time of iconoclasm; according to legend, it arrived at the monastery from Constantinople, traveling along oxen). The right hand of Saint John Chrysostom.

Simon Peter (XIII century)

Part of the relics (left hand) of St. Mary Magdalene.

St. Paul (X century)

Gifts brought by the Magi to the newborn Jesus. The iconostasis of the main temple is an example of the Athonite school of wood carving.

Stavronikita (XVI century)

Miraculous mosaic icon of St. Nicholas (“Oyster”) (XIII – XIV centuries)

Xenophon (X century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria”, mosaic icons of Saints George the Victorious and Demetrius of Thessalonica (XIV century)

Gregoriat (XIV century)

A piece of the Holy Cross, the relics of saints.

Esphigmen (XI century)

The monastery belongs to the Greek “Old Calendarists”; it does not commemorate the Patriarch of Constantinople and does not have canonical communication with other monasteries of Athos.

Saint Panteleimon (Russian)

It consists of two monasteries: the “old” (10th century) and the “new” (18th century). Mass settlement of Russians in the monastery began after 1497. The largest bell on Mount Athos is located here. Services are conducted in Greek and Church Slavonic. The main shrine is the head of the Great Martyr Panteleimon the Healer.

Konstamonite (XI century)

Part of the mantle of Jesus Christ. Miracle-working icons: the First Martyr Stephen (8th century) and the Mother of God “Hodegetria” (12th century)

"Orthodox heritage of Ukraine on Holy Mount Athos" - for "UNIAN-Religion".

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