M Monasteries of the MR

Order of Precedence according to the ‘’Fourth Typikon’’, as amended.

ineligible to provide the archimandrite

Hegumens and abbots as of the November, 2009, elections.

Saint Athanasios

• 963 - The first monastery on Mt. Athos, the Great Lavra, is founded by Saint Athanasius. He named it Annunciation Monastery and introduces the coenobitic system.
• 1000 - Upon the death of St. Athanasius, the monastery is renamed in his honor.
• 1963 – All the monasteries celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Holy Mountain.
• The monastery library has some 2,116 manuscripts, 20,000 printed books, and about 100 manuscripts in foreign languages.
• The most important treasure of the monastery is the left hand of St. Mary Magdalene. It was removed from the Monastery of the Nativity in 1894, the last time the monastery was abandoned. The hand has remained whole for two thousand years.
• Today 63 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Theophilos Antonakos.

Annunciation

• 979 - The monastery is founded by three monks, Athanasius, Nicholas, and Antonius from Adrianople, pupils of Saint Athanasios.
• 1307 – The monastery is looted by the Catalans.
• 1427 – The monastery’s bell tower is constructed, the oldest surviving bell tower on the Holy Mountain.
• 1749 – The monastery established the Athonite Academy to provide an education in difficult times for the Greek nation.
• The monastery has held second place since the Second Typikon of 1045.
• The monastery possesses the Girdle of the All-Holy.
• A gift of great value to the monastery is the 'Jasper' cup, probably given by Manuel II Palaiologos, reputed to have the property of turning water into a milky antidote to snake bites.
• The monastery has many elaborate vestments and sacred vessels, and a number of miracle-working icons of Our Lady.
• The library contains approximately 2,000 manuscripts, 25 scrolls, a large number of documents and printed books in excess of 35,000.
• Today 74 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Bartholomew Bilias.

Saint John the Baptist

• 1371 - The monastery is founded by Blessed Dionysios.
• 1389 – Patriarch Antonius IV bestows the title “patriarchal” guaranteeing the monastery’s autonomy.
• 1526 – Neagoe Basarab builds the monastery’s aqueduct.
• 1539 – A fire reduces the monastery to ashes.
• The monastery possesses the miraculous icon known as Our Lady of the Salutations or Our Lady of the Akathistos Hymn.
• Among its treasures the monastery has many relics of saints, the most important being the right hand of St. John the Baptist and the relics of St. Niphon.
• Other interesting possessions include a relief of the Crucifixion in ivory, dating from the 10th century, embroideries, sacred vessels, and vestments.
• The library contains 1,100 manuscripts, some of them illustrated, and more than 15,000 books, including priceless incunabula.
• Today 51 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Didymos Zaloumi

Holy Cross

• 1169 - The monastery is founded by an unknown person. There is a later re-foundation in the 14th century by Koutloumous, a Seljuk convert.
• 1767 – Fire destroys the east wing of the monastery.
• 1980 – Fire destroys a minor portion of the monastery.
• The monastery has in its safekeeping many relics of saints, vestments and interesting portable icons.
• The library contains 662 manuscripts and approximately 3,500 printed books.
• Today 29 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Elias Danas

Transfiguration

• 1358 - The monastery is founded by the brothers Alexy Stratopedarch and John Primikerij, officials of the Byzantine court.
• 1384 – John receives the tonsure and becomes a monk.
• The monastery possesses a considerable collection of relics of saints, such as of Ioannicius of Olympus in Bithynia, Theodore the Commander, and Cosmas and Damian, a piece of the True Cross, and objects such as a part of the shield of St. Mercurius, and icons of the 14th century onwards.
• The sanctuary screen may be the oldest in Mount Athos.
• The protecting icon of the monastery is that of Our Lady Gerontissa, one of the Holy Mountain's miracle-working icons.
• The library contains some 350 manuscript codices and about 3,500 printed books. The monastery's documents are in Greek and Turkish, and it also has one written in Vlach, dating from the 17th century.
• Today 22 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Hieronymos Rorris

Holy Archangels

• 993 - The Monastery of the Holy Archangels is founded by Blessed Euthymius.
• 1863 - At the time of the Greek Revolution, the Turks tortured the monks and carried off the monastery’s treasures.
• This is the only monastery that has never suffered the damage caused by destructive fires.
• The monastery possesses the miracle-working icon of Our Lady Gorgoipekoos.
• The monastery possesses a piece of the True Cross, relics of saints, sacred vessels, and vestments.
• The library contains 545 manuscripts, 62 of which are on parchment, and more than 5,000 printed books.
• Today 33 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen and Archimandrite Loukas Bradley

Sts. Peter and Paul

• 1014 - The monastery is founded by a monk named Karakalas.
• 1248 – The monastery is deserted after depredations by pirates and Latins.
• 1292 - The monastery is restored with the help of Emperor Andronicus II and Patriarch Athanasius I.
• 1440 - Because of pirate raids, the monastery is again deserted.
• 1544 - With the help of Prince John Peter of Wallachia (who later became a monk in the monastery) and the permission of Sultan Suleiman, the monastery is restored and given the exclusive right to harvest chestnuts on the Holy Mountain.
• 1563-65 - The tower of Peter is built, the largest of the towers on the Holy Mountain.
• 1875 – A major fire destroys many of the buildings.
• Included among the treasures of the monastery are vestments and liturgical vessels, the skull of St. Bartholomew the Apostle and that of St. Christopher, and a fragment of the True Cross.
• The library contains 279 manuscripts and some 2,500 printed books.
• Today 39 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Moyses Farmakis

Saint Philotheus

• 995 - The Monastery of the Annunciation is founded by Blessed Philotheus.
• 1095 - On the centenary of the founding of the monastery the name of the monastery is changed to Saint Philotheus to honor the holy founder.
• 1658 – Tsar Alexei gives permission to the monks to go to Russia every seven years on alms missions.
• The monastery possesses the miracle-working icons of Our Lady Glykophilousa, and of our Lady Gerontissa.
• Among the monastery’s treasures are the right hand of St. John Chrysostom, a piece of the True Cross, other relics of saints, vestments, and sacred vessels.
• The library contains 250 manuscripts, two liturgical scrolls, and about 2,500 printed books (of which some 500 are in Russian and Romanian).
• Today 68 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Savvas Papoulis

Presentation of Jesus

• 998 - The monastery is founded on the site of the hermitage of Blessed Paul, who had founded the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs.
• 1350 - The monastery is deserted.
• 1388 - The monastery is restored by the Serbian monks Gerasimus Radona and Antonios Pegases.
• Among the monastery's treasures are the gifts of the Three Wise Men, the foot of St. Gregory the Theologian, a piece of the True Cross, sacred vessels, and vestments.
• The library contains 494 manuscripts and more than 12,000 printed books.
• Today 42 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Petros Houlis

Saint George

• 975 - The monastery is founded by Saint Xenophon.
• 1276-78 – The monastery is laid waste by Latin pirates.
• 1819 – Construction of the new larger katholikon is completed; it is dedicated to St. George and the name of the monastery is changed.
• Two icons of the 14th century, showing St. George and St. Demetrius, are important works of art.
• It also possesses the famous wonder-working icon of Our Lady Hodeghetria.
• Among the monastery’s treasures are a piece of the True Cross, sumptuous reliquaries containing the relics of saints, sacred vessels, and vestments.
• The monastery possesses some 279 manuscripts, of which 11 are on parchment, and it has approximately 6,000 printed books.
• Today 32 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Raphael Mestas

Theophany

• 1394 - The Gregoriou Monastery is founded by Saint Gregory, a disciple of Blessed Gregory of Sinai
• 1500, 1762 – Fires destroy the archives.
• 1502 - With the help of John Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia, the monastery is renovated and for this reason he is regarded as a second founder of the monastery. At his request the name of the monastery is changed to Theophany.
• Among the monastery's treasures are a small part of the True Cross, relics of saints, sacred vessels and vestments.
• The monastery also has the miracle-working icon of Our Lady 'Palaiologina'
• Today 72 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Ourias Katsambis

Ascension

• 1016 - The Esphigmenou Monastery is founded by an unknown monk.
• 1491 – Fire damages many of the buildings.
• 1534 – The monastery is laid waste by pirates.
• 1808 - A new katholikon is built as part of some general renovation. It is dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus, which gives the monastery its present name.
• 1821-32 – The monastery is taken over by the Turkish army and used as a barracks.
• 1832-71 – The monastery is returned to the monks and the monastery’s magnificent buildings are constructed. The new katholikon is dedicated to Our Lord’s Ascension and gives its name to the monastery.
• The monastery’s most treasured icon is of Our Lady Eleousa.
• Among the monastery's treasures are relics of saints, the so-called cross of Pulcheria, and a large part of Napoleon's tent, which is used as a curtain for the sanctuary door of the katholikon on its feast day.
• The library contains 372 manuscripts and more than 8,000 printed books.
• Today 68 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Agapetos Liatos

Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (Armenian)

• 990 - The Xeropotamou Monastery is founded by Blessed Paul, reputedly son of Michael I Rangabe.
• 1076 - The monastery is turned over to monks of the Armenian Orthodox Church and renamed in honor of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, the first instance of a Greek monastery being turned over to non-Greek monks.
• 1821-30 - The monastery is occupied by Turkish troops.
• Among the treasures of Xeropotamou are the paten of Pulcheria, made of steatite, relics of saints, gold-embroidered vestments, and priceless episcopal staffs.
• Its greatest treasure consists of two pieces of the True Cross, the largest anywhere in the world, which have a hole made by one of the nails of the Crucifixion.
• The library contains 409 manuscripts and some 6,000 printed books.
• Today 24 monks live in the monastery: 22 Armenians, 2 Azerbaijani
• Hegumen Hetoum Baboian

Saint George the Painter (Bulgarian)

• 980 - The monastery is founded by Moses, Aaron and John, three monks from Ohrid.
• 1294 - 26 monks suffer a martyr's death (for which the Emperor Michael VIII (1259-82) and the Patriarch Beccus were responsible) for opposing the union of the Eastern and Western churches and the pro-union policy of the political and ecclesiastical authorities. A cenotaph was set up in 1873 in memory of these martyrs.
• 1974 - A fire of limited extent gutted the southern side of the monastery.
• From 1845 onwards the monks have all been Bulgarian.
• Amongst the better known treasures of the monastery are two miraculous icons of Our Lady, Our Lady of the Akathistos Hymn and the Epakouousa.
• The library has 126 Greek and 388 Slavonic manuscripts, and about 10,000 printed books.
• Today 37 monks live in the monastery: 31 Bulgarians, 2 Oltenians, 3 Muntenians, 1 Moldavan
• Hegumen Grigor Penev

Saint John the Iberian (Georgian)

• 982 - The Holy Monastery of Iveron is founded by Saint John from Iberia (Georgia).
• 1002 - Upon the death of St. John, his monastery is renamed St. John the Iberian.
• 1865 – A fire reduces the monastery to ashes.
• The monastery is the home of the Holy Mountain’s protecting icon, that of Our Lady Portaitissa. In 1651, a copy of this icon was sent to Moscow at the request of Tsar Alexei.
• The monastery possesses the dalmatic of Ioannes Tsimiskes, the episcopal vestments of Patriarch Dionysios IV, a Gospel book which was the gift of Peter the Great, sacred vessels, vestments and embroideries, and the relics of at least 150 saints.
• The library contains more than 2,000 manuscripts and 15 liturgical scrolls, and more than 20,000 books, with important incunabula
• Today 42 monks live in the monastery.
• Hegumen Shota Gelashvili

Saint Sava (Serbian)

• 1184 - The Monastery of Hilandar is founded by Stefan Nemanja, Prince of Serbia, and his son Rastko, who subsequently became monks, taking the names of Symeon and Sava, Serbia's most popular saints.
• 1198 – Serbian possession of the monastery is guaranteed by a chrysobull of Emperor Alexius III (1195-1203).
• 1253 - Saint Sava is canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian monks of Hilandar Monastery change its name to honor their founder.
• Among the many treasures which the monastery possesses, of particular importance is the silver larnax (or coffin chest) of St. Symeon and its vine, the fruit of which has cured many women of sterility, and the miracle-working icons of Our Lady Tricherousa, Our Lady Hodeghetria, and Our Lady Avramiotissa.
• It also has embroidered vestments and materials, two crosses made of the wood of the True Cross, a diptych with 24 miniatures, the reed and the shroud from the Passion of Christ, and chairs decorated with mother-of-pearl.
• The library contains 181 Greek and 809 Slavonic codices, at least 20,000 printed books, of which 3,000 are in Greek, as well as 400 documents, in various languages.
• Today 57 monks live in the monastery: 29 Serbians, 1 Bohemian, 10 Hungarians, 3 Croatians, 4 Dalmatians, 7 Albanians, and 3 Xliponians.
• Hegumen Andrija Svilanovich

Saint Panteleimon (Russian)

• 1058 - Monks from Kiev establish the Monastery of the All-Holy Theotokos.
• 1142 - The Kievan monks move their community to the deserted Thessalonikeos Monastery.
• 1169 - The Thessalonikeos Monastery is recognized as a monastery independent of Kiev.
• 1800-19 - The Russian monks build a new monastery closer to the shore, now the largest on the Holy Mountain.
• 1812-21 - The Russian monks build a new katholikon dedicated to St. Panteleimon, which gives the monastery its current name.
• The treasures of the monastery include many noteworthy sacred vessels and vestments.
• The library houses around 1,320 manuscripts, of which 600 are in Slavonic, and more than 20,000 printed books.
• Today 56 monks live in the monastery: 43 Russians, 5 Ukrainians, 3 Belarusians, 1 Estonian, 2 Latvians, and 2 Crimeans.
• Hegumen Pavel Galimov

Saint Nicholas (Cambrian)

• 1022 – Stavronikita Monastery, the smallest of the twenty monasteries, is founded by Nicetas, an officer of Emperor John I.
• 1183 - The monastery is deserted because of pirate raids.
• 1194 - Cambrian monks land on the shore of the Holy Mountain and are invited to take over the deserted Stavroniketa Monastery, which they rename in honor of St. Nicholas.
• 1607 – Fire destroys most of the buildings.
• 1686 – Şerban Cantacouzino, Prince of Wallachia, provides the monastery with a water supply.
• One of the most valued of the monastery's treasures is the icon of St. Nicholas known as Streidas, a work of the 13th-14th centuries.
• The monastery also possesses 171 manuscripts and a large number of printed books. Of particular importance is a psalter of the 12th century with gold lettering (parchment codex No. 46).
• Today 47 monks live in the monastery: 29 Kemrese, 10 Englishmen, 2 Scots, 5 Irishmen, 1 New South Cambrian
• Abbot Daniel Morgan

Saint Maron (Maronite)

• 1066 - The monk Kastamonites founds the monastery of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr.
• 1307 - The fifteen remaining monks of the Monastery of Saint Stephen are transferred to the Monastery of Sts. Peter and Paul. Monks of the Catholic Maronite Rite, fleeing the persecution of the Mamelukes are invited to occupy the Monastery of Saint Stephen, which they rename the Monastery of Saint Maroun.
• 1879 – Fire destroys the whole monastery.
• Among the monastery’s treasures are a miraculous icon of St. Stephen, a work of the 8th century, and two wonder-working icons of Our Lady Hodeghetria and Our Lady Antiphonetria.
• The monastery also possesses a piece of the True Cross, a Byzantine liturgical bier cover, vestments, and sacred vessels.
• The library contains 110 manuscripts and approximately 5,000 printed books.
• Today 37 monks live in the monastery.
• Abbot Majid Chamoun

Saint Thomas (Assyrian)

• 1257 - The Monastery of New Bethlehem is founded by Blessed Simon the Myrrhobletes.
• 1570 – The monastery, including its archives, is totally destroyed by fire.
• 1601 - The katholikon of the Monastery of New Bethlehem is built and dedicated to the Nativity of Jesus giving the monastery its new name.
• 1678 - The monastery is deserted because of heavy Turkish taxation.
• 1794 - Ioasaph of Mytilene arrives and begins the restoration of the Monastery of the Nativity.
• 1891 - The katholikon of the monastery is destroyed by fire and rebuilt in its present form.
• 1894 – The monastery is abandoned.
• 1994 - The Assyrian Church is invited to send monks to occupy the abandoned Monastery of the Nativity, which they rename the Monastery of St. Thomas.
• The monastery is the most daring construction on the Holy Mountain. It stands at a height of 330 metres on the end of a rocky mountain range.
• The monastery's archive contains a host of documents in Greek, Turkish, and Romanian, together with inscriptions, and musical and other manuscripts, to which must be added its printed books, the whole of which is post-Byzantine.
• The monastery possesses a treasury of works of art, consisting of icons, vestments, silverware, antimensia, seals, and engravings.
• Today 52 monks live in the monastery: 27 Persians, 9 Iraaqis, 3 Lebanese, 4 Kurdistanis, 1 Mongol, 2 Tibetans, 5 Kaxmiris, 1 Alyaskan
• Five brothers staff the Clinic of Christ Healer in Ammouliani.
• Mar Xoch Zaya