The
Monastery

Monastery of Great
Lavra

Lavra (Greek: 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 160
metres. The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasius the
Athonite marks the beginning of the organized monastic life at Mount
Athos. At the location of the monastery, there was one of the ancient
cities of the Athos peninsula, perhaps Akrothooi, from which the
sarcophagi of the monastery that are in the oil storage house come.
The history of the monastery is the most complete compared to the
history of the other monasteries, because its historical archives were
preserved almost intact. It is possible that the study of these
archives may contribute to the completion of the knowledge of the
history of other monasteries, whose archives were partially or
completely lost.
Contents
1 Founding
2 Later history
3 Buildings
4 Art treasures
5 Gallery
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Founding[edit]
The founder of Great Lavra, Athanasius, began the construction of the
buildings in 963, according to the will of his friend and Byzantine
Emperor
Nikephoros II

Nikephoros II Phokas who funded the project.[1] Nikephoros had
promised Athanasius that he would soon become a monk of Great Lavra
but the circumstances and his death canceled those plans. However, a
permanent imperial grant, which was doubled by John I Tzimiskes,
allowed the integration of the buildings. The emperors gave also the
Great
Lavra

Lavra many other lands of property including the island of Saint
Eustratius and the
Monastery

Monastery of Saint Andreas in Thessaloniki. This
led to the growth of the monks from 80 to 120.
Later history[edit]
The building project, according to the biography of Athanasius the
Athonite (11th century), began with the protective wall and continued
to the church and cells. After Athanasius' death, the monastery
continued its operation normally. The emperors favored its development
and during the 11th century there were 700 monks, while smaller
monasteries had been ceded to Great Lavra. In the 14th century the
monastery suffered, like all the other monasteries of Mount Athos,
from Catalan and other pirates. The result of the crisis was the
formation of a peculiar way of monasticism, the Idiorrhythmic Way,[2]
despite the objections of the official Church and the emperors. In
1574, the Patriarch of Alexandria, Sylvester, helped and the monastery
operated again under cenobitic monasticism, but soon the peculiar
monasticism was again introduced. In 1655, the Patriarch Dionysios
III, who also became a monk, donated his personal fortune for the
return to the cenobitic life but again these attempts were
insufficient and the peculiar monasticism remained until the 20th
century (1914), when there were new attempts for the return to the
cenobitic life but without results. Since 1980 the monastery has been
cenobitic.
Buildings[edit]
The main church (Katholikon) was found by Athanasius who lost his life
together with 6 other workers when one of the domes fell during the
construction. The architectural style of the temple is characterized
by the two large areas of the chorus and the prayer. This style was
then consecrated and was copied by the other monasteries. The frescoes
were made in 1535 by the great painter Theophanis. However, the
narthex was painted in 1854.
North of the narthex (liti), there is the chapel of the Forty Martyrs
of Sebaste in which there is the grave of Athanasius. South of the
liti, there is the chapel of Saint Nicholas, painted by Franco
Cantellano, in 1560. The trapeza opposite the central entrance has a
shape of cross and is the biggest on Mount Athos. Its interior is full
of frescoes, painted by Theophanis or his school.
Art treasures[edit]
The library of the monastery is located behind the main church. It
contains 2,116 Greek manuscripts and 165 codices. Among them uncial
manuscripts of the New Testament: Codex Coislinianus, Codex Athous
Lavrensis, Uncial 049, Uncial 0167, and minuscules 1073, 1505, 2524,
1519. There are also over 20,000 printed books, and about 100
manuscripts in other languages. The collection is one of the richest
collections of Greek manuscripts in the world.
The vestry is behind the main church. Some of the most important
artifacts are a manuscript of a gospel with a golden cover which is a
gift from
Nikephoros II

Nikephoros II Phokas and the list (Kouvaras) of the monks
since Athanasius. There are also 2,500 icons which cover the whole
history of hagiography of the second millennium.
Gallery[edit]
Cypress

Cypress of St. Athanasius, as seen from the entrance in the church of
Great Lavra. It is said to be over 1000 years old.
The main church of the monastery.
See also[edit]
Lavra
Prodromos Skete, belonging to the Great Lavra
References[edit]
^ http://www.mountathos.gr/active.aspx?mode=en
1bb71778-73e0-407e-946b-ba79377d6121 View Archived 7 March 2016 at the
Wayback Machine.
^ "Idiorrythmic Monasticism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great
Lavra

Lavra monastery.
Great
Lavra

Lavra at the
Mount Athos

Mount Athos website
v
t
e
Monasteries of
Mount Athos

Mount Athos (by precedence)
Great Lavra
Vatopedi
Iviron
Hilandar
Dionysiou
Koutloumousiou
Pantokratoros
Xeropotamou
Zograf
Docheiariou
Karakallou
Philotheou
Simonopetra
Agiou Pavlou
Stavronikita
Xenophontos
Osiou Gregoriou
Esphigmenou
St. Panteleimon
Konstamonitou
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 122904704
LCCN: n82028238
ISNI: 0000 0001 2150 0352
SUDOC: 026497638
BNF: cb11873478w (d