It is located a very short distance from the Karyes. Although a forged manuscript in the monastery’s archive claims that it was founded by Alexios I Komnenos, the first written evidence of its existence is found in a document from 1169, signed by its abbot. The Monastery of Koutloumousiou, or Koutoulmousiou, followed the fate of other Athonite monasteries, being plundered during the pirate raids of the Catalans in the 14th century, and suffering the consequences of devastating fires in 1859 and 1870.
The legend preserves that it took its name from the patronymic of its re-founder Konstantinos, son of the Seljuk prince Azzeddin Koutloumous, who was baptized Christian and withdrew to Mount Athos. The small and poor monastery, until the 14th century, hosted 40 monks and acquired significant properties near Serres, Chalkidiki, and Wallachia. It reached its peak during the abbot Hariton’s time (1362-1381), who attracted the protection of the rulers of Wallachia. It also received generous financial donations from Andronikos II Palaiologos and Theodora Kantakouzene. It is told that Abbot Hariton, in 1371, had to allow the special monastic rule that lasted until 1856 as a concession to the monks from Wallachia who came to the monastery.
A pivotal moment in the history of Koutloumousiou occurred in 1428 when the monks took over the abandoned Monastery of Alypios. At that time, the two monasteries merged under the authority of a single abbot. The Catholicon is one of the smallest on the Mountain, dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior, and it was probably built during the tenure of Abbot Hariton. It features frescoes from the Cretan school painted in 1549, and a finely gilded wooden iconostasis from the 19th century.
The monastery has a total of 13 chapels, and it governs the Skete of Saint Panteleimon (1785). In 1842, the famous Athoniada School was established in the Koutloumousian Kellion of St. John the Baptist, where it operated until 1930. A precious legacy for the monastic community is the sacred relics traditionally gifted to the monastery by Emperor Alexios Komnenos: The incorruptible foot of the Theotokos Anna, the hand of Saint Gregory the Theologian, the skull of Saint Alypios, a piece of the True Cross, and others. The sixth in the hierarchy and twelfth in antiquity Athonite monastery treasures 750 manuscript codices and about 5,000 books in its library.
Text: Dr. Antonios G. Dikaios / Theologian – Environmentalist.
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