It is situated in the west foot of Athos, 20 min from the sea and
is dedicated in the Presentation of Christ to the temple. The monastery was destroyed
many times by various causes, and its buildings belong to different periods. The
Katholicon was built shortly before the mid 10th c. The monastery has 12 chapels,
the most important of which is that of St George, with frescoes of the Cretan
School (1555). The monastery also possesses the Nea Skete and the Skete of St
Demetrius.
The monastery is mentioned for the first time, in the mid 10th c.,
mostly its founder Pavlos Xeropotaminos, and then in 1259. After the Catalan raids,
it is degraded into a kellion, only to become a monastery again in the 3rd quarter
of the 14th c. In the 15th c. it is financially supported by Serbians rulers and
after the fall of Byzantium, by rulers of eastern Europe.
Among the monastery's possessions, are counted portable icons, heirlooms,
holy relics and liturgical vessels.
The library contains 494 manuscripts and about 12,500 books.
The monastery is inhabited by a brotherhood of 30 monks.
Map & Distances
Longitude:
24o 17' 22.48" E
Latitude:
40o 09' 38.82" N
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