Mount Athos
The Holy Mount Athos, also known as the Garden of the Panagia or often just the Holy Mountain, is a peninsula in northern Greece not far from Thessaloniki. The Holy Mountain is the traditional spiritual center of the Orthodox Church.
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Contents
History
Athonite monasticism
Organization
Although located in Northern Greece, Mount Athos falls under the historical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople rather than the Church of Greece. As Constantinople has fallen away from the Faith and become effectively a Uniate body, True Orthodox would not recognize the claims of recent patriarchs to the territory.
On the Holy Mountain there are twenty main monasteries and a number of small sketes.
When the Ecumenical Patriarchate uncanonically changed the calendar and then entered into communion with Papists and other heretics, there was significant resistance on the Holy Mountain. Having convinced some monasteries to subjugate themselves to the patriarch in spite of his heresy—while privately disagreeing in most cases, the Resisting from Within variant of ecumenism—the Ecumenical Patriarchate has systematically intimidated or replaced troublesome abbots to achieve what today is near total compliance.
The holy monastery of Esphigmenou is the only large monastery which continues to hold out against commemoration of the heretical patriarch of Constantinople.
Monasteries
Esphigmenou[1]
The holy monastery of Esphigmenou has been under effective blockade by the Greek authorities for half a century since they were first besieged by the Greek military in 1972, after raising the black flag over the patriarch's joint prayers with the pope.
The fathers of the monastery are (falsely) painted as schismatic by the patriarchate. Using papist logic, the patriarchate defines those who break communion with itself as schismatics regardless if the break is over heresy. With such a pretext, a false abbot is selected and henchmen of the patriarch are appointed as the new “brotherhood.” The Greek government is then enabled to maliciously prosecute the true brotherhood of the monastery for such offences as “tax evasion”[2] on the grounds that they are not monastics.
Due to the blockade, Esphigmenou is cut off from modern conveniences such as electricity and has limited access to essential supplies such as medicine or fish. Those wishing to contact the monastery should beware that official communications such as mail will be rerouted to the patriarch's men.
Geography and natural envirnoment
Famous Athonite Fathers
- Saint Peter the Athonite, the first Athonite hermit.
- Saint Gregory Palamas, abbot of Esphigmenou.
- Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite, famous canonist.
- Elder Paisius (Eznepidis) the Athonite, (in)famous for advocating that his followers remain under the official New Calendarist jurisdictions in spite of their heresies, considered a saint and miracle worker among the ecumenists.
