The most famous, recognizable and "native" to all Russian-speaking pilgrims on Mount Athos is the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon the Great Martyr and Healer. "Russik", as they call it here, is a bridge of 1,000 years between Russia and the center of world spirituality!
"Majestic" and "magnificent" are the two words by which the monastery of Panteleimon is usually described. It is the largest monastery on Athos in size and abundance of churches, built with all the breadth of the Slavic soul. In addition to the Church of St. Panteleimon and the Church of the Protection of the Holy Mary, the ancient church in the name of St. Mitrofan and the smaller church in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, there are about 30 more churches on the territory of the Russian monastery! The monastery is located between Daphne Quay and the Xenophon Monastery on the coast of the peninsula. It is built by a picturesque bay and amazes by the grandiosity of its multi-story buildings.
"Gerasim is a monk, by the grace of God, presbyter and hegumen of the monastery of Roses" - so in 1016 was signed the document, which for the first time witnessed the presence of the Russian monks on Athos. This year we are celebrating the 1000th anniversary of Russian monasticism on the Holy Mountain. According to tradition, St. Anthony, the founder of Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra and the founder of ancient Russian monasticism, did his life here. In 1030 another name of the monastery was added to the name of the monastery ("monastery of the Roses"), it was called "Monastery of Our Lady of Xylurgu". In translation from Greek "ksilurgos" ("ξυλουργός") means "carpenter" or "woodworker": Russians were known for their wooden architecture, unlike the Greeks, who built from stone. After 140 years, when Rus was ruled by Vladimir Monomakh, the Thessalonica monastery, which had fallen into decay and was abandoned by the Greeks, was given to the Russian monks, unable to fit into the small skete "Xilurgy". It was named in honor of the great martyr Penteleimon. This part of today's Russek is called Old or Nagorny and is a small hermitage with the remains of ancient buildings ... Nowadays the main monastery is lower, closer to the sea.
Since XIII century Russia suffered from the Tatar-Mongolian invasion, due to which the contacts with the Athonites were cut off for a long time... And in 1307 the monastery itself was burnt by Catalan pirates. Only the tower of saint Sava preserved, the remains of which can be seen today. The Russian monastery practically died out... Saint Sava of Serbia took monastic tonsure there during this period. Thanks to the brotherly help of the Serbian princes and kings, the Russian monastery was reborn. By the time of the reign of Moscow Prince Vasily III, the monastery began to revive. And after 1497, during the time of the "Terrible Tsar" John, when the troubles of the foreign yoke were forgotten, Russian monks began to arrive on Athos again.
Surprisingly, the next fading of the monastery is connected with the Russian ruler himself.... Because of the anti-monastic policy of the emperor Peter I, the stream of Russian monks on Athos completely dried up for 70 years... In 1721 the last Russian hegumen Varlaam died. The Ottoman Empire, in turn, burdened the monastery with crippling debts and stopped the inflow of Russian monks to the Holy Mountain. The old monastery existed until the end of the 18th century, after which it fell into disrepair.
In 1835 with the blessing of the confessor of Russian svyatogorskites Staretsky Arseniy Athonsky came here Starets-Hieromonk Jeronim (Solomensky) with 7 disciples... The monastery was now closer to the sea, where in 1803 was founded the modern monastery of St. Panteleimon. With the transfer of the center of the monastery to the new place, according to tradition, the Church of the Holy Dormition was moved to the Coastal Russek. Hard to imagine, but by 1885 there have already served 600 Russian monks! At the beginning of the XX century the number of Russian monks on Athos reached 5000 (more than 2000 of them - in the Panteleimon monastery), with the total number of the Athos community being 10000. In 1913 there was even the question of granting the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery the status of the Lavra and the Russian Andreevsky and Ilyinsky sketes the status of independent monasteries! However, the notorious events in Russia prevented this from happening, the influx of monks into the monastery dried up again, and not only the support, but also all communication with the motherland ceased.
Now the Panteleimon Monastery takes the 19th place in the hierarchy of the Holy monasteries; the brotherhood numbers more than 50 monks, almost all of them from the CIS countries.
The main shrine of the Russian monastery is the fair head of the holy Great Martyr Panteleimon, a priceless decoration and treasure both of the monastery and the entire Holy Mount Athos. Byzantine emperors, Serbian rulers, Turkish subjects - who alone had not experienced the beneficial help of the Great Martyr? Whose heart has not been touched by the prayers to the heavenly patron of the "Monastery of Roses"... The prayers to St. Panteleimon have invariably resulted in numerous healings.
The heads of the revered saints are kept here: St. Silouan of Athos, St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist; St. Anfim, Bishop of Nicomedia; St. Ignatius of Athos; St. Ignatius of Euphoniasis and St. John the Baptist. Ignatius of Athos, Euthymius of Athos, and Acacius of Athos; part of the left leg of St. Andrew the First-Called in the village of St. Andrew of Athos. Andrew the First Called in a silver reliquary; part of the right hand of the right hand of St. John of Russia, and many other relics. All in all the Russian monastery on Athos - St. Pantheleimon Monastery keeps relics of over 300 Greek, Russian and Georgian saints.
The only temple in the world in honor of All Saints Russian Princes and Tsars is located on the territory of the monastery. In addition to the rich library and archive, there is another noteworthy place worth visiting for a pilgrim - the monastery's unique museum complex, dedicated to the millennial legacy of Russian monasticism on Athos. In addition to the exhibits of Christian history, there are exhibits of ancient times: the times of the Greco-Persian wars, Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire, when on Mount Athos there were ancient Greek cities-polis; exhibits of the Byzantine Empire and the Turkish dominion.
St. Panteleimon Monastery is a connection of Russian-speaking people with their spiritual roots, it is a touch to the millennial history of Christianity. Russian language in communication, openness, Slavic cordiality and understanding is what makes the monastery a true Home. And every home has its own order... Here, when the sun goes down, they set the clocks to midnight... Time really changes its course here... Do you want to plunge into another reality? Then you're here!
