St. Panteleimon Monastery

Mount Athos, Greece

St. Panteleimon Monastery is built on the southwest side of the peninsula of Mount Athos. It is often referred to as 'Russian' and does have historical and liturgical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church; nevertheless, like all the other monastic settlements on Mount Athos, the monastery is under the direct ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and all its monks are citizens of Greece, usually naturalized.

The monastery was founded by several monks from Kievan Rus in the 11th century, which is why it is known as 'Rossikon'. It has been inhabited by mainly Russian monks in certain periods of its history. It was recognized as a separate monastery in 1169.

The monastery prospered in the 16th and 17th centuries being lavishly sponsored by the tsars of Moscovy, but it declined dramatically in the 18th century to the point where there were only two Russian and two Bulgarian monks left by 1730.

The construction of the present monastery on a new site, closer to the seashore, was carried out during the first two decades of the 19th century, with the financial help of the ruler of Moldo-Wallachia, Skarlatos Kallimachos. The monastery occupies the nineteenth rank in the hierarchical order of the twenty Athonite monasteries.

In 1913, the monastery was the site of a raging theological argument (Imiaslavie) among Russian monks, which led to tsarist Russian intervention and the deportation of approximately 800 of the monks on the losing side of the debate.

The Monastery of St Panteleimon was repeatedly gutted by fires, most famously in 1307 (when Catalan mercenaries set it aflame) and in 1968.

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Mount Athos, Greece
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Founded: 11th century
Category: Religious sites in Greece

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4.9/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Roman Z (6 months ago)
From what I have been, this is so far my favourite monastery on Athos. Piece of paradise on earth.
King SiZe (6 months ago)
One of the most beautiful places I had the opportunity to visit. Panteleimon Monastery and its monks are the pride of the Orthodox faith. I cannot single out what is a greater experience, the lodging, the liturgy, a joint lunch with the monks with prayer, or the ambience of the monastery. One day is certainly not enough for a place like this, and if God blesses me, I will visit it again.
Amedeo Dental (6 months ago)
This is a monastery attested 9 centuries ago! It is the home of the biggest bell in the christian world, home of many saints and relics of saint brought to this monastery along centuries, for shelter. The monastery is constantly growing, having multiple accommodations under construction. At the moment it hosts couple of hundreds of monk, once hosting around 3000 of them. Only men are allowed to visit and you need an invitation for being hosted here.
Panagiotis Papagiannakis (9 months ago)
An incredible experience! Women should be allowed to experience, to some degree, as they are and create humans. You must get passports (to enter any monastery @ 25.00 Euros) and you must purchase the bot ticket, an average of 15 Euros, each way, depending where you need to go... Passports MUST be purchased in advance, and you must have ypur passport if you are not Greek. The beauty of the richness in spirit of the visit can not be described... It must be experienced in life!
Ewa Święciaszek (2 years ago)
I'm lowering the rating because I can only see it from the boat. Athos is available only to men and only after obtaining special permission.
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