Esphigmenou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox

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

Monasticism

Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...

 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...

 in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, dedicated to the Ascension of Christ. It is built next to the sea at the northern part of the Athonite peninsula. Located near the Hilandar monastery

Hilandar

Hilandar Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava and his father, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja of the medieval Serbian principality of Raška...

, it is the northernmost of all Athonite monasteries. The current monastery dates back to the 10th century, while tradition holds that the site had been used as a monastery since as early as the 5th century. Esphigmenou ranks eighteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries and has since the 1970s been a source of controversy due to conflict with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...

. It currently holds a brotherhood of approximately 115 monks, which makes Esphigmenou the most populous monastery in Athos.

Name

The monastery's name translates to Greek literally as tightened. There exist conflicting traditions regarding the naming of the monastery. One attributes the name to the fact that the monastery is built on a stretch of land, tightened by three surrounding hills and the sea. Byzantine emperor John Komnenos

John Komnenos

John Komnenos or Comnenus can refer to:* John Komnenos , Byzantine general, along with his wife Anna Dalassene progenitor of the Komnenian dynasty...

 in his book Proskynetarion tou Agiou Orous tou Athonos (Greek: Προσκυνητάριον του Αγίου Όρους του Άθωνος) describes the monastery thus:

It is called "Esphigmenou" because it is restricted by three small mountains, close to the sea.

Another tradition attributes the name to the monk that either founded or renovated the monastery. It recounts that he used to wear a tight rope around his waist, therefore the monastery got the name "of the tightened".

History

Athonite tradition attributes the foundation of the monastery to the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II

Theodosius II

Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...

 and his sister Pulcheria

Pulcheria

Aelia Pulcheria was the daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius and Empress Aelia Eudoxia. She was the second child born to Arcadius and Eudoxia. Her oldest sister was Flaccilla born in 397, but is assumed she had died young. Her younger siblings were Theodosius II, the future emperor and...

 during the 5th century. According to the same tradition this early monastery was destroyed by a huge rock that fell from the nearby hills. According to the same tradition its remains can still be found 500 metres from the existing monastery. Historical and archaeological evidence cannot safely confirm this tradition and therefore the precise time of the monastery's foundation, as well as its founders cannot be positively identified.

The evidence can however confirm that as early as the late 10th or early 11th century the monastery existed. It is mentioned in at least three manuscripts. The monastery is referred to in a letter by Paul of Xiropotamou dating from 1016. The will

Will (law)

A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...

 of the monk Demetrius of Chalki, dating from 1030, is signed by a monk who calls himself "Theoktistos monk and abbot of Esphigmenou monastery". Finally, the monastery is mentioned in the second Typicon

Typikon

The Typikon, or Typicon; plural Typika is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the various Eastern Orthodox Christian church services and ceremonies, in the form of a perpetual calendar...

 of Mount Athos in 1046.

The monastery greatly prospered until the Ottoman conquest. Many Byzantine emperors, such as John V Palaiologos

John V Palaiologos

John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...

, contributed to this prosperity, as did the leaders of other orthodox states such as Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia

Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty , was the King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks until his death on 20 December 1355. Dušan managed to conquer a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time...

 and George, Prince of Rascia

George, Prince of Rascia

Đurađ Branković , also known under the patronymic Vuković and frequently called George Branković in English-language sources, was a Serbian despot from 1427 to 1456 and a baron of the Kingdom of Hungary...

. This prosperity was however shrouded by constant disputes over land issues with the neighboring Vatopediou monastery

Vatopedi

The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, Greece, was built during the second half of the 10th century by three monks, Athanasius, Nicholas, and Antonius, from Adrianople, who were disciples of Athanasius the Athonite...

, as well as by many pirate raids and two great fires that damaged the monastery during the 14th century. According to manuscripts held in the monastery's collection, the pirates posed a serious threat to the monastery because the sea near it is usually calm compared to the seas around the rest of the Athonite peninsula. Because of these reasons the monastery was eventually ruined and practically deserted which allowed the nearby monasteries of Hilandar

Hilandar

Hilandar Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava and his father, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja of the medieval Serbian principality of Raška...

 and Zograf

Zograf Monastery

The Saint George the Zograf Monastery or Zograf Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece...

 to grab various portions of land from it, which lead to further legal disputes.

However, the monastery managed to recover eventually, as evidenced by a manuscript dated from 1569 that tells of 51 monks working for its reestablishment. In 1655, Czar Alexis I of Russia

Alexis I of Russia

Aleksey Mikhailovich Romanov was the Tsar of Russia during some of the most eventful decades of the mid-17th century...

 gave the monks permission to travel throughout his lands every five years to raise funds for the monastery. During the same period the rulers of the Danubian Principalities

Danubian Principalities

Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...

 also made significant contributions to the monastery. During the early 18th century, Bishop Gregory of Melenikon made donations to the monastery and eventually become one of its monks, undertaking a renovation of the monastery. Also, Bishop Daniel of Thessaloniki took care of the monastery's finances and, with the consent of the Athonite community and Patriarch Gerasimus III of Constantinople

Patriarch Gerasimus III of Constantinople

Gerasimus III was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1794 to 1797....

, made the monastery a cenobium. The relevant patriarchical edict was published in 1797 by Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople

Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople

Gregory V was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808 and from 1818 to 1821. He was responsible for much restoration work to the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George, which had been badly damaged by fire in 1738...

, who also rebuilt the southern part of the monastery that had been ruined.

A series of competent abbots (Acacius, Euthymius, Theodoritus and Agathangellus) greatly renovated and expanded the monastery, to the point where the current structures date almost exclusively from their time. The successor of Agathangellus, Lucas, founded an iconographic

Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...

 school, that greatly served the monastery for an extended period of time.

During the Greek War of Independence

Greek War of Independence

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

, the monastery, being the northernmost monastery of the peninsula, suffered gravely from the Ottoman armies that ravaged Mount Athos. However, during this period, it did experience some degree of prosperity.

Controversy

Esphigmenou along with other Mt. Athos monasteries, sketes and monks, have been involved in a decades long dispute with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...

.

The monastic community 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...

 is under the direct spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch and all Athonite monks are canonically

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 required to commemorate (Greek: να μνημονεύουν) the Patriarch. However, since the 1970s, Esphigmenou, along with other Mt. Athos monasteries, have accused the Patriarchate of being ecumenist

Ecumenism

Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...

 and refuse to commemorate the Patriarch. These accusations stem from numerous complaints from all Mt. Athos Monasteries {Letter from all 20 Mt. Athos Monasteries}. These complaints mainly consist of canon law prohibiting Orthodox from praying with heretics, i.e. the Patriarch having common prayer services with the Pope of Rome, the conciliatory approach that has been adopted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate towards the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 as manifested by meetings of the ecumenical patriarch with the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, and the unilateral lifting of the anathemas by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 against the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s.

The monks of the monastery were cut off from the rest of the monastic communities and cannot participate in the common meetings at Karyes

Karyes (Athos)

Karyes is a settlement in Mount Athos. It is the seat of the clerical and secular administration of the Athonite monastic state. The 2001 Greek census reported a population of 233 inhabitants...

, the administrative center of Athos. The Esphigmenites are generally referred to as zealots by the outside world, although many consider many of the monks of Mt. Athos as "zealots" albeit for differing reasons ex. many on Mt. Athos fear bar codes on any food items. While they regard themselves as "Genuine Orthodox Christians" or "Orthodox Christians in Resistance", seeing other Athonites (commemorators of the Patriarch) as ecumenist heretics, while using as their motto the phrase Orthodoxy or Death.

The relationship between the Esphigmenites and the Ecumenical Patriarchate has greatly deteriorated since 2002, when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople declared them as being in schism

Schism (religion)

A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...

 from the Orthodox Church (using a rule that many believe was created to keep Roman Catholics out of the Holy Mountain). Since the Constitution of Greece

Constitution of Greece

The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...

 prohibits schismatics (or Roman Catholics) from dwelling in Athos, the Esphigmenites were ordered by a Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

 court to leave the monastery, however they refused to comply. The case was taken to the Greek Supreme Court but they refused to rule on the case and did not overturn the lower court's eviction (Supreme Court stated that it did not have jurisdiction).

The Ecumenical Patriarch reacted by declaring the Esphigmenites illegal, and sanctioned the formation of a new brotherhood, that recognizes the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate. Esphigmenou again gained global attention in December 2006 when members of the new brotherhood tried to force their way into the monastery's offices in Karyes

Karyes (Athos)

Karyes is a settlement in Mount Athos. It is the seat of the clerical and secular administration of the Athonite monastic state. The 2001 Greek census reported a population of 233 inhabitants...

. The Esphigmenou monks in the building attempted to defend themselves from the sledge-hammer wielding attackers who had smashed the front door of the building, repelling the intruders with the only things they had to defend themselves with – crowbars and fire extinguishers. In the ensuing clashes seven monks were severely injured.

In January 2007, the district attorney of Thessaloniki conveniently pressed charges against the beleaguered Esphigmenou monks for embezzlement of over 150,000 euros and the estate belonging to the monastery.

The BBC interviewed the Greek governor of Mt Athos, George Dalacouras, during which the charges against the monks were brought into question as being politically motivated and another pressure tactic to force the monks out.

Architecture

The monastery is home to various important structures. Although the monastery dates back as early as the 5th century, the current structures were built mainly during the first half of the 19th century. The general outline of the monastery is a rectangular wall which forms a spacious inner courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard lies the catholicon surrounded by the wings that house the monks' cells, the guest-house and the refectory.

Its catholicon

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...

, which is dedicated to the Ascension of Christ, was built by the abbot Theodoritos, between 1806 and 1810. It is built at the site of an earlier catholicon and in the manner of Athonite churches. It was inaugurated by Patriarch Gregory V in 1811. The construction of the catholicon was greatly aided by personal donations from Bishop Ignatius of Kassandreia. The temple itself is spacious and majestic and bears eight domes on its lead-covered roof, the central dome being the largest. The marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 used for its construction was transported to Athos from Tinos

Tinos

Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...

, the place of origin of the church's architect, Paul.

The nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 of the catholicon was decorated with iconography in 1811 and the sanctuary

Sanctuary

A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...

 in 1818 by the iconographers Veniamin, Zacharias and Makarios. The decoration was completed in 1841 with iconography of the narthex

Narthex

The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...

 by the iconographers Ioasaf, Nikiforos, Gerasimos and Anthimos. The altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

, the iconostasis

Iconostasis

In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...

, as well as other features of the temple, date back to this era. The iconostasis in particular, which depicts scenes from the Old and the New Testaments, is carved wood, covered with golden plating and is considered one of the most important post-Byzantine iconostases in Athos. The catholicon also has two chapels, a vestibule

Vestibule (architecture)

A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...

 and a porch

Porch

A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...

, added in 1845 by Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus VI of Constantinople, a previous Esphigmenite monk.

Outside the southeastern corner of the catholicon there is a font

Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 (Greek: Φιάλη), that is used to keep holy water

Holy water

Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...

. It was built in 1815 by the abbot Euthymios, at the site of an older similar structure that dated from the time of John V Palaiologos

John V Palaiologos

John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...

. The structure is roofed by a dome that is held up by eight marble columns, connected by sculpted marble metopes.

The refectory

Refectory

A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...

 is the oldest building in the monastery. It is a semi-detached building in the west wing, across from the catholicon. It is a rectangular building, renovated in 1810 by Abbot Euthymios. Its iconography, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries still survives, albeit greatly damaged by the fires that the Ottoman soldiers lit to accommodate themselves during their stay in the monastery during the Greek revolutionary war.

The monastery also has 13 chapels, eight inside the main complex and five outside. Among the inner chapels, the most important are the chapel of the Presentation of Mary

Presentation of Mary

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary , or The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple , is a liturgical feast celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox Churches....

 and the chapel of the Archangels at the sides of the catholicon. The other inner chapels are distributed at various sites inside the monastery and contain no frescoes but house important icons. Of the outer chapels, the most notable is the chapel of Saint Anthony of Kiev

Saint Anthony of Kiev

Anthony of Kiev was a monk and the founder of the monastic tradition in the Kievan Rus'. Also called Anthony of the Caves he, together with Theodosius of Kiev, co-founded Kiev Pechersk Lavra ....

, the founder of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Kiev Pechersk Lavra or Kyiv Pechersk Lavra , also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine....

, that lies just across from the monastery.

Cultural treasures

The monastery's treasury houses many important relics. The treasury, along with the monastery's library are temporarily housed over the catholicon's narthex. Among important cultural treasures, such as crosses, books, garments, etc., Esphigmenou has in its possession a large (3.05×2.80 m²) part of Napoleon Bonaparte's tent

Tent

A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...

, which was donated to the monastery by Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople. The monks use this once a year, at the celebration of the Ascension of Christ, as a tent over the entrance of the catholicon.

The so called Cross of Pulcheria lies at the catholicon's altar, which also houses cases of holy relics

Relic

In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...

 and a very important Byzantine mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

 icon

Icon

An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...

. The icon is barely 0.15×0.07 m² and depicts Christ

Christ

Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...

 in a standing position in great detail. The icon is surrounded by a silver frame that depicts the apostles, while holy relics are embedded on its lower side.

The monastery also has a large collection of manuscripts. Its library houses 372 manuscripts, of which 75 are parchment

Parchment

Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...

, some bearing iconographic decoration. Famous among these is the renowned Minologion, coded #14, that bears 80 miniatures

Miniature (illuminated manuscript)

The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...

. The library also holds a collection of roughly 2,000 printed books, while 6,000 more are housed in another part of the monastery, on the second floor of the northern wing.

External links

• Site of the Esphigmenou monks
• Esphigmenou on the Athos website
• Greek Ministry of Culture: Holy Monastery of Esfigmenou
• Macedonian Heritage – The Monastery of Esphigmenou
• Stance of the Church of Greece and Mt.Athos community on the dispute
• Athenian news agency article on the dispute (Greek)
• Kathimerini newspaper, November 2005 – article about the Esphigmenou Monastery (Greek)
• Kathimerini newspaper, May 2005 – Letter from Mount Athos (English)