Karyes ( el, Καρυές) is a settlement in

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

of the Athonite monastic community. The 2011 Greek census reported a population of 163 inhabitants. It is the largest settlement in Mount Athos. The major church at Karyes is the ''

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

'', which is the church of the

Protos Protos means "first," derived from the ancient Greek . Protos may also refer to: * Protos (monastic office), a monastic office at the Eastern Orthodox monastic state of Mount Athos * Protos (constructor), a former racing car constructor * Protos ...

, or president of the monastic community. The famed

Axion Estin ''Axion estin'' (Greek: , Slavonic: Достóйно éсть, ''Dostóino yesť''), or It is Truly Meet, is a megalynarion and a theotokion, i.e. a magnification of and a Hymn to Mary used in the Divine Services In the practice of Christ ...

icon is kept at the ''Protaton''. Each of the twenty monasteries of Mount Athos also has a ''konaki'', or representative's residence, at Karyes. Koutloumousiou Monastery is located just a few hundred meters to the south of the town center of Karyes.

History

Serbian Bishop

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

built a church and cell at Karyes, where he stayed for some years, becoming a

Hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

, then an

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

in 1201. He wrote the

Karyes Typicon The Karyes Typikon ( sr, Карејски типик/Karejski tipik) was written for the Karyes cell on Mount Athos in 1199 by Saint Sava, at the time a monk and later the first Serbian Archbishop. It is basically a translation from a standard ...

during his stay there, and a marble inscription of his work still exists.Đuro Šurmin, ''Povjest književnosti hrvatske i srpske'', 1808
p. 229
/ref> In 1219 Sava becomes the first

Archbishop of Serbia This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ort ...

. In the year 1283, Latin

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

during the reign of the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Michael Paleologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

, attacked Mount Athos. They tortured and hanged the Protos, and sacked the Protaton, murdering many of the monks. These monks are commemorated as

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

on December 5 (for those churches which follow the traditional

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

, December 5 falls on December 18 of the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

Geography

Climate

Gallery

File:Κέντρο Υγείας στις Καρυές Αγίου Όρους - panoramio.jpg File:Mount Athos administration building.jpg, Mt Athos administration building File:Karyes 1.jpg, The main church (Protaton) File:Πρόσοψη του ναού.jpg, Closer view of the main church File:Кареја - Света Гора - Протат - panoramio.jpg, The building of the monastic Community (Iera Koinotita) File:Λιθόστρωτο στις Καρυές Αγίου Όρους - panoramio (1).jpg, Α cobbled street File:Πύργος στις Καρυές. - panoramio.jpg, Α stone tower

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Mount Athos Saint Sava