Athanasius the Athonite (c. 920 – c. 1003; el, Ἀθανάσιος ὁ Ἀθωνίτης), was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

who is considered the founder of the monastic community on the peninsula of Mount Athos; which has since evolved into the greatest centre of

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

monasticism.Donald Nicol, Βιογραφικό Λεξικό της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας,μτφρ.Ευγένιος Πιερρής, εκδ.Ελληνική Ευρωεκοδοτική, Αθήνα, 1993, σελ.38

Biography

His parents were from

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. He was born in Trebizond and patronized by

Michael Maleinos Saint Michael Maleinos ( el, Μιχαήλ Μαλεΐνος, –12 July 961) was a Byzantine monk who commanded great respect among Christians of Asia Minor. He was the brother of general Constantine Maleinos and uncle of Nikephoros Phokas, who ...

, he studied at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

and became famous there as Abraham, a fervent preacher who held great authority with Michael's nephew, Nicephoros Phocas. By the time Phocas ascended the imperial throne, Abraham, ill at ease with the lax morals of the monks living in the capital, changed his name to Athanasios and joined the monks at Mount Kyminas in Bithynia. In 958, he relocated to Mount Athos. He helped defend the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

s, or ''sketes'', there against the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s, and also started to incorporate the sketes already there into what would eventually become known as the

Great Lavra The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasi ...

, which Athanasios built with the financial assistance of Nicephoros. This monastery was dedicated in 963. It is still in use today, and is often referred to by people of the area simply as "Lavra", or "The Monastery". Three other foundations followed shortly thereafter, with all three of them remaining in place to the present. Athanasios met with considerable opposition from the hermits already at Mount Athos in the construction of his monasteries. They resented his intrusion and his attempts to bring order and discipline to their lives. Upon Nicephoros' death the enemies of Athanasios prevailed and he had to leave Athos for

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, where he lived until the new emperor, John Tzimisces, resumed the patronage of the Great Lavra and bestowed upon the monastery its first charter in 972. This charter, which is kept at the

Protaton The Protaton ( el, Πρωτάτο), also known as the Dormition of the Theotokos Church ( el, Ναός Κοίμησης της Θεοτόκου), is the main church of Karyes, Mount Athos. It also serves as the ecclesiastical seat of the Proto ...

Karyes Karyes (Greek: Καρυές, before 1930: Αράχωβα - ''Arachova'') is a village of the Peloponnese peninsula, which is located in the southern part of Greece. The Peloponnese is made up of a number of states and Karyes belongs to the state ...

today, is also known as the ''Tragos'' ('goat'), since it was written on goatskin parchment. Athanasios, spurred by a divine vision, returned at once to Athos as a

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

(abbot) and introduced a

typicon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; gr, , "that of the prescribed form"; Slavonic: Тvпико́нъ ''Typikonə'' or Оуставъ, ''ustavə'') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite off ...

for

cenobite Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of prec ...

s, based on those compiled by

Theodore Studites Theodore the Studite ( grc-x-medieval, Θεόδωρος ό Στουδίτης; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. ...

and Basil of Caesarea. He died during an accident, killed by a falling masonry, when the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

of his church collapsed. Upon his death, Athanasios was glorified as a saint. His feast day is 5 July.

Sites

The ( el, Γεφύρι του Αγίου Αθανασίου του Αθωνίτη) is a historic bridge located about 5–6 km from the main compound of the

. Its construction is traditionally attributed to Athanasius the Athonite.

References

*Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. .

External links

Life of St. Athanasios of Athos
920s births 1000s deaths Athonite Fathers Byzantine theologians Byzantine Pontians Greek Christian monks Saints of medieval Greece Medieval Athos People from Trapezus 10th-century Byzantine monks 11th-century Christian saints Founders of Christian monasteries 11th-century Christian monks 10th-century Byzantine writers 11th-century Christian theologians People associated with Great Lavra {{Christianity-bio-stub