As a woman however, it is a physical impossibility for me to even consider going near the holy site as I am barred from entering. It really is as simple as that. Only men can visit and even then they have to fulfil all sorts of criteria. Firstly, any man wanting to set foot on the holy Mount Athos has to apply for a special entrance permit, a certain kind of ‘religious visa’ and secondly, it is preferred that these visiting men are members of the Christian Orthodox Religion. Apparently even Catholics, as the closest church to the Orthodox faith are not really welcomed as the monks living at Ayion Oros are not too enamoured with the Catholic Church.
Likes and preferences aside, the holy site of Ayion Oros goes back right to the time of Mary, the Mother of God, when the Blessed Virgin was sailing to Cyprus to visit Lazarus and her ship was blown off course to the then pagan Mount Athos and was forced to anchor near the port of Klement. It is said that the Virgin walked ashore and was truly taken aback by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of this imposing mountain and so asked her Son, Jesus Christ if she could have it as her own garden. A voice was then heard to proclaim, “Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved.” It was at that supremely significant moment then, that the mountain was consecrated as the garden of Mary, the Mother of God and was placed out of bounds for all other women.
Historically, while the mountain has been a devout Christian Orthodox site since Mary’s visit, Mount Athos goes all the way back to the time of the Greek Gods and mythologically, it got its name from the Thracian giant Athos, who was involved in the battle between the Giants and the Gods. One version of the story tells us that during this conflict, Athos threw a huge rock against Poseidon (the god of the sea), but the rock slipped through his fingers and fell into the sea, creating the land which became known as Mount Athos; the other version claims that it was actually Poseidon who threw the rock against Athos, which crushed him, resulting in him being buried beneath, thus creating the name Mount Athos.
Whichever way one may choose to look at the creation of the holy mountain, the fact remains that as a place, it has been the centre of worship, dedication and devotion of Orthodox monks since around the fifth century AD and has been, and still is, the only place in Greece which is completely dedicated to prayer and the worship of God.
The twenty monasteries which make up Ayion Oros, the Holy Mount, together form a self-governed state of the Greek Republic, falling under the direct spiritual leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. It was officially established in 963AD when a monk called Athanasios the Athonite built the Great Monastery of Great Lavra, but has been seen as a spiritual destination by monks and those seeking an ascetic lifestyle since it was first settled by monks and hermits in the fifth century.
Ayion Oros is today officially divided into twenty self-governed territories, based on twenty individual monasteries, each with their own cardinal head and separate establishments (cloisters, cells, cottages, etc.).The lifestyle of the monasteries follows that of a commune existence which means that there is common liturgy, prayer, housing, eating and work amongst all the monks. The cardinal heads, called the Superior are elected by the monks of the specific monastery and once voted in, hold the position for life.
Even the time on Ayion Oros runs strictly according to the Julian Calendar and not the present-day Gregorian Calendar which was adopted by most of Western Europe in the sixteenth century. In a practical application this means that the monasteries are literally ten days behind the rest of the world.
In the past, the number of monks on the holy mountain were said to be dwindling, but the last few years have seen a resurgence of devout men taking their vows and choosing to spend their lives in the service of God.
What is even more interesting about these monks is that this new generation is in fact educated – most to a university level and so find themselves tasked with the rather large project of cataloguing all the huge deposits of goods of value found at Ayion Oros. In fact, until recently, no recognised study and archiving had been carried out at all on all the extremely valuable medieval art treasures – icons, liturgical vestments, crosses, chalices, chalices, ancient Christian texts – but with the help of an EU-funded project to catalogue, restore and protect all these religious legacies, these monks are now involved in this monumental task.
As the twenty monasteries are in Greece, one would also assume that all the monks would in fact be Greek. It could therefore come as a surprise to know that there are Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian monks also present at Ayion Oros and in fact, there are specific monasteries dedicated to these monks.
Whether you look at the holiest of mountains as a result of a majestic battle between a mythological giant and a god, or a place where men dedicate themselves to a life of prayer and worship to the ultimate Divine Being, there is no doubt that setting foot on Ayion Oros is sure to take you to another spiritual level completely.
Of course, this only applies if you’re a man.
Weight for me tomorrow. Paul
Paul Lambis is the author of “Where is Home?” – A journey of hilarious contrasts.
For more information on Paul Lambis, and to order his book online,
visit www.paul-lambis.com
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