Skiti Ag. Panteleimonos: detail of map of Peter Howorth (buy it here)
It was a long-standing wish to finally pay a visit to this almost forgotten place on the Holy Mountain, which became reality on September 24th 2023. Another reason that triggered me to visit this place are the drone images monk T. made in 2020 and published on this weblog in post 2264.
Most pilgrims on Athos have seen this skete from a distance, either by car from Karyes to Iviron or to Lavra, or you may have seen it, almost hidden by the bushes and forests, from the kalderimi footpath leading from the Koultoumousiou monastery to Iviron (complete hike is 5,7 km). The hike to the skete is easy and short, after Koutloumousiou monastery mainly over dirt roads (.
Although the skete is close to Karyes, hardly any pilgrims go there.
Google Earth- a short hike from Karyes to the skitiThe dirt road to the skitiwith a bunker like object
Let’s explore this special place on Athos: Greek signs say the name I.C. Koutloumousiou, on maps usually the name skiti Ag. Panteleimonos is used. The skete is owned by Koutloumousiou.
The entire settlement consists of 13 kalyvae or cells (of which 7 are deserted), a main church/kyriakon, an ossuary/cemetery and a bell tower. One of the disadvantages of walking in the morning on Athos is that most monks either work indoors or in the fields, or sleep after a long night’s vigil. That is why unfortunately we have not had contact with any of the residents of this skete.
A first view over the skete, hidden in the valleyThe main church of Ioannis Prodromos and bell tower, accompanied by two large pine treesThe bell towerAnother side of the tower. If you look at the tiles on the right of the two windows on the firts floor is might date from 1712 ?Underneath the tower: a fresh water tapInside the bell towerNext to the three story bell tower is a refectory and an archontariki (guesthouse).The square in front of the kyriakon with the large pine treesThe kyriakon of Ioannis Prodromos is partly frescoed in1868, but we did not go inside.The door to the church and an iron semantronA marble inscription from KEDAK (to remember a restauration?)The kyriakon with another cell in the backgroundThe side door to the church/ossuary, with an inscription above itThe inscription (with the word ‘thanate’-death) and with two (primitive) cherubim above. Next to the left cherub I can read the number 18, so this painting/text might date from the 19th century. The kyriakon was built in 1790.Inside the ossuary of skiti Panteleimonos
a little door to the ossuaryStairs lead to the graveyardthe grave of Mitropolitis Fotikis AmbrosiosIn a lost corner of the graveyard: a broken vesselThe main square with the two pine treesMore cells of the sketeFoMA signs: the paths to Iviron and KaryesThe monopati to Ivironthe path goes downhill to the stream, where the main path Iviron starts.
This is an engraving from 1810 of skiti Panteleimonos, made by Theodosios Rosos. The lower zone depicts the skete of Ag. Panteleimon, with its kyriakon, bell tower, cemetery church and the kalyvae of the skete. Lower left, in the churchyard of the kyriakon and next to the skete’s olive press, is represented a holy water rite.
Recently, on March 3 2024, a fire broke out in one of the cells of skiti Panteleimonos. Monk Theophylact, who lives in the cell, was unharmed. For more information read this article.
The tower of Amalfi drone photographed by Monk Theodosius with Morfonou beach in the background. The building on the right is the first cell of Skiti Lakkou.
the location of Morfonou
If it is not to windy the Ierissos ferry goes as far as Morfonou. Morfonou is nothing more then a beach and a few boathouses and is in fact the harbour for Skiti Lakkou. The next stop would be the Lavra arsanas but that harbour is too small and the waves are getting higher at the end of the peninsula.
This is the peer where the ferry trip ends and where the ship sails back to Ierissos passing Karakalou, Filotheou, Mylopotamos, Iviron, Stavronikita, Pantocratoros, Profitou Eliou, Vatopedi, Esfigmenou and the arsanas of Chilandariou. High up the hill is the Amalfi tower visible.
the beach
The day that we sailed from Ierissos tot Morfonou it was almost completely calm, no wind and hardly any waves.
the fisherman housesAmalfi tower
We walked up in the direction of Skiti Lakkou and saw the tower of this lost monastery from the other side. This monastery was founded by monks of Amalfi in the 10th century. The Amalfinon monastery was the most prominent of the three former monasteries for Latin-speaking Christians on Mount Athos before the Great Schism of 1054.
ruins
These ruins located right under the tower on the road to Lakkou are probably of the Amalfion monastery. The slopes of Mount Athos in the background.
On the internet I came across this site, iNaturalist, where a checklist has been published with the animals and plants that have been identified on the Holy Mountain.
This gave me the idea to go through my own archive and share the nature photos I have collected over the years. I start with beautiful photos taken by monk T. with his Canon EOS-1DS camera.
22-09-2023: Sografou – praying mantis – (photo Wim Voogd)3-10-2019: Xeropotamou: hummingbird bee in ragwort (photo Wim Voogd)3-10-2019: Xeropotamou: thistle butterfly (Vanessa cardui) in a plant named European heliotrope (photo Wim Voogd)26-9-2013: Docheiariou – wolf spider (photo Wim Voogd)26-9-2013: Docheiariou – gekko (in the same room as the wolf spider!) (photo Wim Voogd),
24-09-2023: and last but not least: a video with only the sound of howling jackels heard (and not seen) from a balcony in Iviron
Last week, Stefanos Katrinakis from Greece contacted us: he had a question about a photo we published in November 2023 in blog 2291, “The festivities of Lavra’s 1000 years.” According to Stefanos, the man in the third – black and white – photo from 1963 is called Evgenios Kastanias, who was the brother of his grandmother – or his uncle.
The photo of (probably) Father Evgenios Kastanias at Megista Lavra in 1963 by Ger Dommerholt
Stefanos shared this amazing story about the life of Evgenios on Mount Athos.
“Evgenios was born on July 26, 1914 on the island of Crete and died on November 1, 2009 at the age of 95. He arrived on Athos as a young boy when he was only 12 years old in 1926 and lived in Kelli of Theotokou Kastania in Provata/Assumption of Mary.
Provata – kelli Theotokou Kastania – detail of the Peter Howorth map
He lived on Athos for 82 years, while his total life span was 95 years. Those 82 years on Athos made him one of the longest-living Elders. He became an Elder when he was only 14 years old when the boat sank on its way from Athos Morfonou to the island of Limnos. All the monks of Kastania drowned, except for himself (14 years old) and another very old monk, from that time in the 1930s.
He had an extremely demanding life on Athos, as the period was extremely turbulent (World War II 1940-1944, Civil War in Greece 1946-1948). He helped soldiers who took part in the struggle for independence of Greece in many battles. What was very special about him is that he was a very charismatic priest and he brought many souls close to Jesus Christ.”
This is a photo of Father Evgenios that Stefanos shared with us:
Father Evgenios Kastarias – 1914/2009
Wim Voogd, 26/2/2024 (thanks to Stefanos Katrinakis)
With the generous assistance of my good friend monk T I am able to show you some more unique pictures from Sografou monastery, which he made made in 2004 and 2005 with his Canon EOS-1DS, almost 20 years ago this year. Just enjoy this lovely photo survey:
In this post we take a closer look at the interior of the Chapel of Saint Georgios.
But first I can share some photos from nine years ago, taken in 2005 by monk T., who today sent me the photos he took at this location (thank you very much!).
Below are three photo’s I made in the exo-narthex:
a wood stovekitchen items and an icon of St George and the Dragona heavy grill in a window to the church
The church is build in 1850 and has an interior that is common in most East European churches on Athos, that means the walls are white and without any murals.
2023: the dome of the chapel with remnants of blue paint and golden stars.2023: the interior of the church with white walls, towards the exit door, with our Bulgarian friend Metodi (on the right) explaining the things we see in English
The colorful iconostasis of the chapel. In the photos I show you below are – I think – three types of painting skills represented. The first ones are is the most professional or highly skilled icons, just next to mid-entrance in the iconostasis.
To the right of the door: the Lord Jesus and St GeorgiosTo the left: the Panaghia with the Child Jesus and two Saints: Agios Ioannis Prodromos and Agios Nicolaos
The second type of paintings can be found on the doors in the middle of the iconostasis, with images that represent a more folk way of painting, and on an icon that hangs on the wall.
The more primitive style of painting on the door of the iconostasisA row of Saints on the top level of the iconostasis with a large Cross on top.On top of the doors in the middle:a small painting of a Holy SaintThe icon of the Archangel Gabriel: also a more primitive painting style
This last type of painting I found in this Chapel is the most surprising: here the artist took the liberty of painting in a free style, that is, he used his imagination to paint different types of flowers to fill some panels in the iconostasis. It is not very common to see this kind of free art on Athos, but here in this chapel is an unique example.
A prayer chair in the corner, with cleaning supplies and a fire extinguisherA standard to place books onDifferent paintings and an almost faded etching on the wall, The almost faded etching in Bulgarian, for me almost impossible to translate, although I could read that the text is about some kind of Patriarch. Part of the text is in calligraphy.
Later that evening we returned to the monastery, very pleased that mr Metodi invited us to visit this special location on Athos and I am proud to present the images (for the first time on the internet?).
The entrance to the monastery
And thanks to Monk T who contributed to this post with his fine and professional pictures from 9 years ago.
Screenshot Google Earth: the opposite hill with Agios Georgios Kyriakon or chapel
The toothless old man who helped me access the hill and open the gate
As mentioned in previous posts, I spent a week at Sografou Monastery in September 2023, together with my friends from the FoMA footpath clearance team. Over the course of a week you get to know the other pilgrims a little better, and in this case it was a friendly old man who didn’t speak a word of English. On September 20, he watered the roses along the wall leading to the gate, where two recently created large mosaics can be seen, but he had no key.
Agios Georgios
II made it clear to him (with a lot of gestures and a few German and English words) that I wanted to visit the unknown hill. In the end I think he understood that I wanted that, because the next day the English-speaking Bulgarian pilgrim named Metodi Mladenov took us to this unknown place after Trapeza (read more about him in post 2301 and about the library of Sografou). The only thing I knew about this hill was that you could find a church or chapel dedicated to Ag. Georgios there.
The first gate: the kladerimi to the Agios Georgios chapel
The next day we climbed the hill together with a small group of pilgrims and Metodi, who brought the keys, to open the iron gate. Shortly afterwards we came to a second gate, but it was unlocked.
The kalderimi that leads uphillThe wall and the second gateThe Kyriakon and surrounding buildings/cells of workers or monks
From the top of the hill you have a stunning view of the Sografou monastery. Most old postcards were taken from this position. Not much has changed in 120 years.
Sografou on a postcard (around 1900)Sografou seen through this (recently build?) arch
After entering a courtyard we saw these buildings:
On the left the Kyriakon and on the right the cells, with a bronze bell and stacked firewood. The state of maintenance of the buildings on the right is rapidly deteriorating. And in the background: the arch that can be seen in the previous photo.The same corner, seen from a different positionThe Kyriakon
We were told that until recently the buildings were used by laymen and workers, along with some monks. Today all buildings are uninhabited and abandoned.
Some parts of the buildings are already falling into rubble and roofs and walls are crumbling, but an old-fashioned toilet could still be used!
The water tap with a basin
The stone with a cross above the water tap, with an illegible inscription made in 1895.
Bell from1921Blue doors with a button to ring the bell, locked with a piece of woodThe Kyriakon with some scaffolding and a very old vine above the doorMade in 1850The FoMA team, with (fltr) Lukas, Pieter, me, Roger and Abraham (sitting) – photo by MetodiThe whole group, including some Bulgarian pilgrimsThe view to the North: a wall and the green hills of Athos
Wim Voogd, 5/2/2024
(in the next post we have a closer look inside the Kyriakon)
In 1554 a Franciscan friar of Angoulěme/France, André Thevet, published his first book, Cosmographie de Levant. The author had recently returned from a three year journey to Constantinople and the Holy Land, and the Cosmographie was the first of a number of geographical works. One of the maps he had also drawn and published in 1575, is from Mount Athos.
This map is now for sale on Ebay, where I found these pictures.
The map shows a condensed version of Athos, with a number of names of monasteries and skitis. The isle of Lemnos is seen on the right, with birds flying in the sky. It is said that Thevet never set foot on Athos, as the location of the monasteries is not very precise. This also counts for an even older map from Buondelmonti, who already made a map of Athos around 1420/30 (see also the article below).
(A copy of?) Cristoforo Buondelmonti’s Liber Insularum ArchipelagiThe top of the Holy Mountain with a chapel and hermitages/the Panaghia refuge. The monasteries of Lavra, Vatopedi, Filotheou and Agiou Pavlou are very close to each other! What S. Helie and Yuero might be I do not know, maybe Hilandariou and Iviron?The same part of the map, now including Dionysiou and S. Basil (?). Fishermen in boats can be seen and old sailing ships with rowers.On the left part of the map Xenofontos, Sografou and Hierissos are depicted, and the islands of Amouliani.Pictured here is the island of Thassos and Le canalle: it could be the Xerxes Canal, which is in fact close to Ierisssos and Nea Roda
This is the text in French that accompanies the card. Here you can also read the names of other monasteries, such as “Chelandar, Pantocratorou, Caracoul, Glygoriou, Rusio, Angelos, Castamoniti”, which are not depicted on the map, and Karyes, which is also missing.
Read more about old Athos map in this article of Veronica Della Dora.
Around New Year’s Eve of 2014-2015, Herman and I went on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos with our sons. It was a very special experience because of the snowfall. The first night on the Holy Mountain it had snowed the whole night. The next morning, after breakfast we got involved in a snowball fight with the monks in Gregoriou. We reported on this on the weblog. (see post 1664 and post 1720 on this weblog.) That report generated a huge response; weblogs and news organizations took over the news in various forms.
The story received a new sequel in the late spring of 2023. I had signed up to maintain the old pilgrim paths with FOMA. On the boat from Ouranopolis to Dafni I had an amazing conversation with one of the other participants, Richard Devereux, from England. He told me that he had written a poem inspired by the snowball-throwing monks. He had seen a photo of the event. Of course I was immediately interested in the poem and I told him about our experiences in the winter of 2015. Very much to his surprise as well. We decided to exchange information. Richard sent the photo that inspired him. We checked the picture. It was taken by Herman Voogd, during the snowball fight in Gregoriou. The photo was not used in our initial weblog post on this subject, but on a later one (post 1720). So it was distributed in the digital world and Richard picked it up. A number of sites had used the photo, so we found out. Richard remembered another trigger for his poem: “I stayed at Grigoriou Monastery for four nights in September 2022 with the Friends of Mount Athos. In the evenings we spent time with Father Damianos, a bookbinder, who is an English monk who has lived there for about 30 years. One evening I asked him how he found winter on Athos and, specifically, if there were snowball fights and snowmen. He said there were – it was the young monks who did it”.
Anyway. It is more than just a unexpected chain of events. How the snowball fight inspired us for a web log post, how that post found its way through the digital world, how it was picked up by an Englishman who was inspired to write a poem about the event. And how all of that came together by a change meeting on the ferry to Dafni.
With the author’s permission, we are pleased to publish his:
The photo that inspired Richard Devereux by Herman Voogd december 2014
Winter on Athos
As Winter opens wide her arms To embrace and hold the Holy Mountain, Blizzarding snow impedes and slows The ascent of the Jesus Prayer to Heaven.
The fall is deep. Walls built to keep Pirates out, now gird and insulate Against the plunder of pitiless cold That threatens to snatch the frail and old.
A hungry wolf comes warily down And pads the path to a hermit’s cell. At night, the shrieks of jackals slice The muffled banks of steep ravines.
Down one of which Leigh Fermor fell, Not twenty yet. He spoke with Death But a guardian angel lifted him out And delivered him to a roaring hearth.
Above the pantile roofs, there rose, In winters past, high wisps of smoke, Gentle grey against the white, From fires where fingers splayed for heat.
Young tonsured monks and novices, When a depth has settled, are kids again – Someone starts a snow-ball fight And the black robes are soon white-splattered.
What they need is a snowman friend: One grabs a shovel, another a carrot And a Jack-the-lad dares to hang A monk’s black veil from the frozen crown.
But they don’t have the Abbot’s Blessing. This spells trouble. He has seen their games; And decided to turn an indulgent eye, Sure that God will be smiling too.
Richard Devereux
(Richard send us an explanation of Leigh Fermor: “The reference in the poem to ‘Leigh Fermor’ is to Patrick Leigh Fermor, a great English travel writer. He walked from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople in the winter of 1935. He spent his 20th birthday there. He had a fall in snowy conditions and almost died. This is told in his book ‘The Broken Road’. In 1944, in the Second World War, Patrick Leigh Fermor was a British officer and, with the help of resistance fighters, the antartes, kidnapped a German General, Heinrich Kreipe, and smuggled him over the mountains and by boat from the south coast to Egypt.”)
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