Mount Athos Information

Mount Athos (Greek: Όρος Άθως, Oros Athos; English pronunciation: /ˈæθɒs/, Greek pronunciation: [ˈaθos]) 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 Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Today Greeks commonly refer to Mount Athos as the "Holy Mountain" (Greek: Άγιον Όρος, Agion Oros/Hagion Oros). In Classical times, the peninsula was called Akté (Ακτή) (sometimes Acte or Akte).
The peninsula, the easternmost "leg" of the larger Halkidiki peninsula, protrudes 50 kilometres (31 mi) into the Aegean Sea at a width of between 7 and 12 kilometres (4.3 and 7.5 mi) and covers an area of 335.637 square kilometres (129.59 sq mi). The actual Mount Athos has steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to 2,033 metres (6,670 ft). The surrounding seas, especially at the end of the peninsula, can be dangerous. In ancient Greek history two fleet disasters in the area are recorded: In 492 BC Darius, the king of Persia, lost 300 ships under general Mardonius (Herodotus "Histories" book VI (Erato), Aeschylus "The Persians"). In 411 BC the Spartans lost a fleet of 50 ships under admiral Epicleas. (Diodorus Siculus, "Bibliotheca historica" XIII 41, 1–3).
Though land-linked, Mount Athos is accessible only by a single boat, the St. Eshpigmenitis. The daily number of visitors entering Mount Athos is restricted and all are required to obtain a special entrance permit valid for a limited period. Only males are allowed entrance into Mount Athos, which is called "Garden of the Virgin" by monks, and Orthodox Christians take precedence in the permit issuance procedure. Only males over the age of 18 who are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church are allowed to live on Athos, either as monks or as workers.
List of religious institutions

Twenty monasteries

The sovereign monasteries, in the order of their place in the Athonite hierarchy:

1. Great Lavra monastery (Μεγίστη Λαύρα, Megísti Lávra, Great Lavra)
2. Vatopedi monastery (Βατοπέδι or Βατοπαίδι)
3. Iviron monastery (Ιβήρων; ივერთა მონასტერი, iverta monasteri) – built by Georgians
4. Helandariou monastery (Χιλανδαρίου, Chilandariou;Хиландар) – Serbian Orthodox
5. Dionysiou monastery (Διονυσίου)
6. Koutloumousiou monastery (Κουτλουμούσι)
7. Pantokratoros monastery (Παντοκράτορος, Pantokratoros)
8. Xiropotamou monastery (Ξηροποτάμου)
9. Zografou monastery (Ζωγράφου; Зограф) – Bulgarian Orthodox
10. Dochiariou monastery (Δοχειαρίου)
11. Karakalou monastery (Καρακάλλου)
12. Filotheou monastery (Φιλοθέου)
13. Simonos Petras monastery (Σίμωνος Πέτρα or Σιμωνόπετρα)
14. Agiou Pavlou monastery (Αγίου Παύλου, Agiou Pavlou, Saint Paul's)
15. Stavronikita monastery (Σταυρονικήτα)
16. Xenophontos monastery (Ξενοφώντος)
17. Osiou Grigoriou monastery (Οσίου Γρηγορίου, Venerable Gregory)
18. Esphigmenou monastery (Εσφιγμένου)
19. Agiou Panteleimonos monastery (Αγίου Παντελεήμονος, Agiou Panteleimonos, Saint Pantelemon; Пантелеймонов; or Ρωσικό, Rossikon) – Russian Orthodox
20. Konstamonitou monastery (Κωνσταμονίτου)

 Twelve sketes

A skete is a community of Christian hermits following a monastic rule, allowing them to worship in comparative solitude, while also affording them a level of mutual practical support and security. There are two kinds of sketes in Mount Athos. A koenobitic skete follows the style of monasteries. An idiorrhythmic skete follows the style of a small village: it has a common area of worship (a church), with individual hermitages or small houses around it, each one for a small number of occupants. There are 12 official sketes on Mount Athos.

• Agias Annas
• Agias Triados or Kafsokalyvíon
• Timiou Prodromou
• Agiou Andrea
• Agiou Dimitriou
• Timiou Prodromou Iviron
• Agiou Panteleimonos
• Profiti Ilia
• Theotokou or Nea Skiti
• Agiou Dimitriou tou Lakkou or Lakkoskiti
• Evangelismou tis Theotokou
• Bogoroditsa