Agiou Pavlou monastery
Encyclopedia
Agiou Pavlou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox
monastery
in the monastic state of Mount Athos
, located on the easternmost peninsula of Chalkidiki, Greece
.
The monastery is in the western part of the Athos peninsula and its Katholikon
(main Church) is dedicated to the Presentation of Christ in the Temple
. Its feast day is celebrated on 2 February
. (Since the monastic community of Mount Athos observes the Julian Calendar
, which is currently 13 days behind the civil calendar, 2 February on the Julian Calendar falls on 15 February of the modern Gregorian Calendar
.)
The founder of monastery was Saint Paul of Xeropotamou. Between 1355 and 1365, Serbian noble Antonije Bagaš
buys and restores the ruined monastery, becoming its abbott. On October 14th, 1410, Serbian despot Đurađ Branković, with his mother and brother Lazar, donates Kuzmin
, as it was the wish of deceased Lazar Hrebeljanović.
Bishop Porphiry Uspenski (1804–1885) during his visit in October, 1845, took 12 leaves of the Radoslav Gospel, which according to his opinion were the most valuable and gave them to the Russian National Library
in St. Petersburg. The rest of the leaves which remained in the monastery were lost.
The monastery ranks fourteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries.
The library contains 494 manuscript
s, and over 12,000 printed books.
The monastery contains 31 working monks and has two idiorrhythmic skete
s (smaller, dependent monastic houses):
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in the monastic state of Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
, located on the easternmost peninsula of Chalkidiki, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Katholikon
A Katholikon or Catholicon is the major temple of a monastery, or diocese in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The name derives from the fact that it is the largest temple where all gather together to celebrate the major feast days of the liturgical year. At other times, the smaller temples or...
(main Church) is dedicated to the Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...
. Its feast day is celebrated on 2 February
February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Feb. 1 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - Feb. 3-Fixed commemorations:All fixed commemorations below are observed on February 15 by those churches which follow the Julian Calendar.-Feasts:...
. (Since the monastic community of Mount Athos observes the Julian Calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, which is currently 13 days behind the civil calendar, 2 February on the Julian Calendar falls on 15 February of the modern Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
.)
The founder of monastery was Saint Paul of Xeropotamou. Between 1355 and 1365, Serbian noble Antonije Bagaš
Antonije Bagaš
Anthony Bagaš was a Serbian nobleman from Kastoria that retreated to Mount Athos in between 1356-1366, where he later bought and restored the ruined Athonite monastery of Saint Paul with the help of Nikola-Gerasim Radonja in the 1380s, becoming its abbott - taking the monastic name Arsenios...
buys and restores the ruined monastery, becoming its abbott. On October 14th, 1410, Serbian despot Đurađ Branković, with his mother and brother Lazar, donates Kuzmin
Kuzmin
-Places:*Kuzmin, Kosovo, a village in Kosovo*Kuzmin , a village in Serbia*Kuzmyn, a village in Ukraine*Kuźmina, a village in Poland-People:Kuzmin or Kuzmina is a popular Russian surname shared by:...
, as it was the wish of deceased Lazar Hrebeljanović.
Bishop Porphiry Uspenski (1804–1885) during his visit in October, 1845, took 12 leaves of the Radoslav Gospel, which according to his opinion were the most valuable and gave them to the Russian National Library
Russian National Library
The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library from 1932 to 1992 , is the oldest public library in Russia...
in St. Petersburg. The rest of the leaves which remained in the monastery were lost.
The monastery ranks fourteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries.
The library contains 494 manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s, and over 12,000 printed books.
The monastery contains 31 working monks and has two idiorrhythmic skete
Skete
A Skete is a monastic style community that allows relative isolation for monks, but alsoallows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection...
s (smaller, dependent monastic houses):
- The Romanian Lakkoskiti and
- The Greek New SketeNew SketeNew Skete is the collective term for three Orthodox Christian monastic communities in Cambridge, New York :...