Near a large stream, at the foot of Mount Athos, on the southwestern coast of the peninsula, stands the Monastery of Saint Paul. It is a 20-minute walk from its dock (arsanas) and an hour and a half from the nearby Monastery of Dionysiou. The founding date of the monastery is shrouded in the mist of legends and traditions. The monks recognize the founder as Paul of Xeropotamou, who arrived here by the middle of the 9th century. Sources testify to the existence of the monastery under its current name since 1108. Over the centuries, it took on a fortress-like form with its walls, battlements, and tall defensive tower, blending harmoniously with the rocky surroundings to create an architectural masterpiece.
After devastating raids in the 14th century, the monastery was rebuilt around 1360 by Serbian monks Gerasimos, Radonias, and Antonios Pigas. Financial support in the 15th century came from the Palaiologos emperors John VII and VIII, as well as Serbian rulers Gior and Lazar.
In the 18th century, the monastery declined, and it was nearly deserted during the Greek Revolution. Between 1816 and 1820, Monk Anthimos Komninos from Sylivria, abbot of the monastery’s dependencies in Romania and a friend of Patriarch Gregory V, doubled the monastery’s buildings, laid the foundation for the new katholikon (main church), and donated lands in Kassandra and Thassos. The last major disaster in its modern history was a fire in 1902 and a flood in 1911.
The katholikon celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of Christ, and according to sources, construction began in 1839, completing in 1844, on the feast day of Saint George. The masonry is made of marble, and it features 14 marble columns with capitals carved in Trieste. The marble iconostasis was designed in 1901 by Ioannis Lyritis from Tinos. Today, the katholikon is not adorned with frescoes. Visitors are drawn to the 6 chandeliers from Venice and the central brass chandelier, built in Dresden in 1669.
Between the monastery and its dock is the chapel of Maro, the daughter of the Serbian ruler Vragkovic, who married Sultan Murad II. According to tradition, in 1470, Maro transported and offered to the monastery the gifts of the Magi to the newborn Christ. As she disembarked and made her way to the monastery, a voice was heard calling her to stop, for there was another queen on the mountain, the Theotokos (Mother of God).
The monastery oversees the New Skete, dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos, where the ascetic Nicodemus the Athonite lived. It also governs the Skete of Saint Demetrius, or Lakkos Skete, on the northeastern side of the peninsula, between the monastery and the tower of Morfonou, which once belonged to the ancient brotherhood of the Amalfians.
Text: Dr. Antonios G. Dikaios / Theologian – Environmentalist.
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