detail from: KRK Art dizajn

HOLY MOUNT ATHOS

Dr Sci. SIMO JELAČA

(Excerpt from Stojan Malić's Svetogorski Podsetnik)

Saint Gora, the only monastic state in the world, has been attractive to believers since ancient times, and in ancient Greece there was a temple dedicated to the god of love, Apollo. There is a legend about Athos that the Mother of God lived there, about whom Homer wrote. And the legend says that the Mother of God went to Cyprus to visit the resurrected Lazarus, she was hit by a big storm and a strong wind threw her to Athos near the sanctuary dedicated to Apollo. A voice from heaven told her to start preaching Christianity there. Hence, the Mother of God has always been considered the patron saint of Mount Athos and many monasteries are dedicated to her.

On the peninsula of Halkidiki in Greece, there is Mount Athos, mostly wooded, but also with tame areas for growing agricultural crops, olives and vineyards. Athos is the most important place of Orthodoxy. It was first mentioned in 492 BC. when the Persian Emperor Darius went to conquer Sparta, and due to a big storm, his fleet crashed on the rocks in the south of Athos. Darius' son Xerxes, twelve years later, in 480 BC. he attacks Sparta again, and to avoid disasters he digs a canal on the isthmus, which is still visible today and is called Provlaka.

In the 7th century, Christians expelled from Egypt, Palestine and Syria began to arrive in Halkidiki. In the 8th century, Sveta Gora was almost deserted due to the persecution of pirates and robbers, and in the 9th century, organized monastic life began from the time of St. Peter of Athens. The development of monasticism was supported by Byzantium, when monks from Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Russia began to arrive in large numbers. The first larger monastery, the Great Lavra, was built by St. Athanasius, who was assisted by the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus and given him the Typik. According to him, Mount Athos was placed under the administration of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In the 11th century, Mount Athos already had 18 monasteries and was named Mount Athos, after the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomachus from 1046. During the 12th century, during the time of the Byzantine emperors from the Komnen family, Saint Gora experienced prosperity. In 1204, the Crusaders captured Constantinople, under the pretext that they had come to fight against the Turks. Then the East-Latin-Roman Empire was founded on the soil of Byzantium, under whose tyranny Saint Gora found itself. This empire was overthrown in 1261, when the Niceans liberated Constantinople. In Byzantium at that time, there was a family of Palaeologus, and in Serbia, Emperor Dušan, who supported Hilandar and Sveta Gora. At that time, the monks of Svetogorje had a great influence on the spiritual life of Serbia, they spread culture, literacy, literature, construction and painting. Emperors Dušan and his son Stefan Uroš were lords of Mount Athos from 1345 to 1371.

The books say that Emperor Dušan was more a protector and benefactor of Mount Athos than a lord.

In 1453, Byzantium fell, and with the fall of Smederevo in 1459, the Serbian medieval state also fell, and the Turks came to Mount Athos. Living conditions become very difficult, and the most difficult was during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566), when Mount Athos was given to the Janissaries to manage. And since they had no military protection, Mount Athos was attacked and plundered by pirates and robbers. Many monasteries fell into severe poverty, and some were abandoned. There were only 6 monks left in the Great Lavra, and only 4 in Panteleimon. The taxes were unbearable, so the monasteries borrowed from Jews and Turks, and gave the monastery's valuables as pledges. The situation was somewhat improved by the gifts of the Ecumenical Patriarch. In the 13th century, the recovery of Mount Athos was felt by the care of the Constantinople Patriarchate. In 1783, with the new Typik, the administration of Mount Athos was entrusted to a four-member committee, and the situation improved, so the monasteries began to return to common residences. Despite all the adversities during the Turkish rule, Saint Gora contributed a lot in the spiritual sense. In 1748, Athoniada, a school for monks, was founded on Mount Athos, where the most famous thinkers of that time taught, including our own Dositej Obradović. The flourishing of Mount Athos raised the spirit and strength of the people for the uprising against the Turks.

In the 19th century, the situation on Mount Athos improved, debts were curbed, buildings were repaired and renovated, the number of monks increased and the printing press in Vatopedo started working again. In 1822, the Turkish army invaded Mount Athos again, looted and destroyed valuables, killed monks, whose number fell from 3,000 to below 1,500. The terror became unbearable and this was certainly the most difficult period in the history of Mount Athos. And when Greece gained its independence in 1830, the dawn dawned on Mount Athos. The number of monks rose to over 1,500 in 1846. The Russians came again to the Panteleimon monastery, and the Serbs regained possession of Hilandar. According to the international treaty from Lausanne in 1923, Mount Athos was placed under Greek sovereignty. The number of monks in 1912 was 10,000. During its centuries-long existence, Sveta Gora changed owners 11 times. Byzantium was the master on several occasions, Serbia during the time of Emperor Dušan and Uroš, Turkey on several occasions and Russia, and after the Berlin Congress in 1878 it was under an international commission and since 1923 it was part of Greece.

On Mount Athos, in addition to Greek monks, there are also Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Georgian, Romanian, Armenian, Syrian and others, all from Orthodox nations. Besides the Greeks, only Serbs, Russians and Bulgarians have their monasteries. Life on Mount Athos takes place in monasteries, hermitages, cells, huts-kelivas and hermitages. In monasteries, valuables of inestimable value and masterpieces of Christian culture and art are kept. There are now 20 imperial, patriarchal and ancient Pygmy monasteries on Mount Athos, among which according to their of dignity are: Great Lavra, Vatoped, Iveron, Hilandar, Dionysius and others. They are divided into five groups of four (fours) each, and the top five according to the Svetogorje hierarchy are at the head of those groups.

In the 12th century, Hilandar was rebuilt by the Serbs, and Panteleimon by the Russians. Mount Athos is under the jurisdiction of Greece, although it also has a large self-government, which is incorporated in the Greek Constitution and the constitutional Charter of Mount Athos. Although Sveta Gora is a peninsula, it can be reached by sea. As Mount Athos is part of Greek territory, all monks are Greek citizens, the official language is Greek and all monasteries are under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, whose seat is in Constantinople.

Treasure of Mount Athos

In 1997, the 1000th anniversary of Mount Athos was celebrated in Thessaloniki, and Serbia celebrated the 800th anniversary of the Hilandara Monastery of Athos. The exhibition "Blago Sveta Gora" was held in the Byzantine Museum in Thessaloniki. Over 1,500 exhibits of preserved Orthodox treasures are on display: monastery buildings, frescoes, icons, sculptures, books, documents, relics, liturgical objects and more. In the central place, Hilandar presented an extraordinary icon of the Virgin Odigitria, under which Stefan Nemanja died. The records of Serbian monks on Athos date back to 1090, when the Serbs took over the Xilurgian Monastery, which had previously been abandoned by the Russians and moved to Panteleimon. When Saint Sava became a monk on Mount Athos, he spent the first few days in the Russian monastery of Stari Rusik. Stefan Nemanja became a monk in Studenica, where he was named Simeon. At the persuasion of his son Rastek (Saint Sava), he came to Mount Athos in 1197, to the Vatoped monastery. In the same year, Simeon and Sava received permission from their cousin, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus, to rebuild the neglected and destroyed Greek monastery of Hilandar, for the needs of Serbian monks, for all time. During the reign of Emperor Dušan, many Serbian monks came to Mount Athos, so they were forced to buy the monasteries of Saint Paul, Dohijar and Grigoriat.

The overall importance of Sveta Gora and Hilandar for the Serbian church, Serbian literature and Serbian culture is immeasurable. Hilandar gave numerous dignitaries to the Serbian church: Saint Sava, Sava II son of Stefan the Crowned (Serbian Archbishop), Abbot Janići (first Serbian Patriarch), Sava III and others. Hilandars were the first Serbian writers, translators and educators: Saint Sava, Domentian, Teodosije, Nikadom, Danilo II, Isaia, Grigorije, Camblak and others.

Hilandar was not yet finished when Stefan Nemanja – Simeon died in 1199 and was buried in the monastery church. Holy myrrh flowed from Simeon's grave, thanks to which Stefan Nemanja was canonized and named Saint Simeon Myrrh-Tocovi. A holy vine grew from his grave, which still gives birth and cures women's infertility. The relics of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-bearing were transferred by Saint Sava. In 1206, he went to Serbia, reconciled the brothers Vukan and Stefan Mirotočivo over him, and buried the relics in the Studenica monastery. King Milutin (ruler of Serbia 1281-1321) built 40 monasteries and churches during his 40 years of rule. Hilandar donated and restored. He considered it the cult monastery of his Nemanjić family. In the Hilandar area, he built the Cathedral, a real masterpiece of construction with extraordinary frescoes and a floor that is still the only one in the Velika Lavra monastery. He also built the Pirg of Saint Sava and the Pirg of St. George. Emperor Lazar built an outer vestibule at Milutin's Cathedral in Hilandar and lavishly donated them. Lazar paved the way for the influence of Hilandars and Svetogors on church life and art in Serbia.

Stojan Malić, the author's colleague from the faculty and working on projects, visited all Serbian monasteries and wrote down everything he learned about them from their histories. Thus, he created around 50 volumes of books, which represent a masterpiece, valuable for Serbian history and culture. The author expects that Stojan will give it to Matica Srpska.

Ottawa, March 2013

SHARE THIS PAGE ON: