The Touristic Info Halkidiki informs: Mount Athos - Monasteries and skites
Visit the Athos- monasteries
Adventure - pirates - seagulls - dolphins - monks and as highlight the Mount Athos with its over 1000 year old history and its impressive monasteries.
Monasteries
On the Holy Mount Athos, there are several monasteries, whose total number by the Typikon of 1783 and since 1924 is also by law set to 20. There are further 12 Skites and various Kellie and hermitages.
The monasteries themselves have almost all the same basic architecture. Thus, the outer complexes are usually built like a fortress, often with towers, battlements and parapets so that they could often defend themselves more efficiently in the past - but unfortunately not always - successfully against pirate attacks. The structure of the monasteries is usually applied rectangular. The outer walls, the inner catholic courtyards, the monastery church, which always has a cross with a dome. In between these buildings there are the common rooms and monks' cells.
Those who have the intention to visit a monastery or even to stay there are well advised to first register by telephone. Because sometimes visitors don't fit the monks at certain times not at all, or the beds are already full.
Below are the monasteries, not alphabetically, but according to the typical list of the monastic republic hierarchical ranking of 1 to 20. This has existed since the 16th Century unchanged and was confirmed by the Typikon of 1783.
Moni Megistis Lavra
Greek Orthodox, Holiday: July 5
Moni Karakalou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: June 29
Moni Vatopediou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: March 25
Moni Philotheo
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: March 25
Moni Iviron
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: August 15
Moni Simonos Petras
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: December 25
Moni Chilandariou
Serbian Orthodox, Holiday: November 21
Moni Agiou Pavlou
Greek-orthodox holiday: February 2
Moni Dionysiou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: June 24
Moni Stavronikita
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: December 6
Moni Koutloumousiou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: August 6
Moni Xenofondos
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: April 23
Moni Pandokratoros
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: August 6
Moni Osiou Grigoriou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: December 6
Moni Xiropotamou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: March 9
Moni Esfigmenou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: 40th day after Easter
Moni Zografou
Bulgarian Orthodox, Holiday: April 23
Moni Agiou Panteleimonos
Russian Orthodox, Holiday: July 27
Moni Dochiariou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: November 8
Moni Konstamonitou
Greek-orthodox, Holiday: December 27
Skites
Some monks do not live in the monasteries, but in Skites. Skites are village-like monk settlements. In every house of those settlements live from 3 to 6 monks und/or novices. Every Skiti has it's own church or chapel and is led by a prior, who is subortinate to the mother-monastery.
Kellies
Even smaller then Skites are these single accomodations, in which at most 6 monks also live together. Although they are also subordinate to a monastery, they can mostly determine their own way of life.
Hermitage
Once many hermits or wandering monks, who lived a life of absolute asceticism in secluded huts or even caves, were on Athos. Such journeymen are today rather rare, but they existed in a not so small number.
