Pantokratoros Monastery ( el, Μονή Παντοκράτορος) is a Greek
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in the monastic state of
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 ...
in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. It stands on the north-eastern side of the Athos peninsula, and is dedicated to the
Transfiguration of Our Lord. The monastery ranks seventh in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries.
History
It was founded around 1360 by the ''
megas stratopedarches
Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is a vocalist, songwriter, and writer who is well known in his native Iceland.
Interest in music
Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of ...
'' Alexios and the ''
megas primikerios The Latin term ''primicerius'', hellenized as ''primikērios'' ( el, πριμικήριος), was a title applied in the later Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire to the heads of administrative departments, and also used by the Church to denote th ...
'' John after an imperial
chrysobull was granted to them by
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions.
Biography
John V was the son of E ...
in March 1357.
By the end of the 15th century, the Russian pilgrim Isaiah confirms that, the monastery was Greek.
After a long period as an idiorrhythmic monastery, it reverted to the coenobitic system in 1992, the last monastery on Mount Athos to do so. Thirteen fathers from the Athonite
monastery of Xenophontos were permitted to move in, and priestmonk Vissarion was elected as abbot. He died shortly after resigning the abbacy in 2001, and priestmonk Gabriel was elected to succeed him.
A notable monk was
Benjamin of Lesbos
Benjamin of Lesbos ( el, Βενιαμίν Λέσβιος; alternatively transliterated as Veniamin of Lesvos or Lesvios; 1759–1824) was a Greek monk, scholar, and politician who was a significant figure in the Modern Greek Enlightenment.
Biogr ...
, who was ordained as a monk in the monastery in the late 1770s and went on to become a significant figure in the
Modern Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment ( el, Διαφωτισμός, ''Diafotismos'', "enlightenment," "illumination"; also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment) was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment.
Origins
The Greek Enlightenment w ...
.
In 1992, Vatopedi was converted from an
idiorrhythmic Idiorrhythmic monasticism is a form of monastic life in Christianity.
It was the original form of monastic life in Christianity, as exemplified by St. Anthony of Egypt ( 250–355) and is the opposite of cenobitic monasticism in that instead of co ...
monastery into a
cenobitic
Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastery, 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 Monastic rule, religious ru ...
one, becoming the final idiorrhythmic monastery to make the change to cenobitism.
Manuscripts
The library houses c. 350 manuscripts, and 3,500 printed books. The monastery's documents are written in Greek and Turkish. Today the monastery has about 30 monks. Notably the
Uncial 051
Uncial 051 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Book of Revelation, dated paleographically to the 10th century.
Description
The codex contains incomplete text of Rev 1:1-11:14, 13:2-3, 22:8-14, with a comment ...
.
Sites
( el, Γεφύρι στη Μονή Παντοκράτορος) is a historical bridge located at a stream behind the main monastery.
References
External links
Official websitePantokrators monastery at the Mount Athos website
Pantokrator Monastery at OrthodoxWiki
{{Authority control
Christian monasteries established in the 14th century
Monasteries on Mount Athos
Greek Orthodox monasteries
Byzantine monasteries in Greece