The Gates of Heaven is exactly what we can call the Iveron Monastery.
Here is the Iveron Icon of the Theotokos, called "Gatekeeper" or, in Greek, "Portaitissa". The Mother of God opens the gates of mercy to all who knock on them in faith and prayer.
Iviron is a historic spiritual fortress of the Georgians, guarding with harsh walls the fiery, open-hearted monks to God. Iveron monastery, like Vatoped, is located on the east coast of the peninsula and looks more like a fortress than a monastery... Who hasn't stormed these grandiose walls! Pirates, Maltese, Arabs, Spaniards, Turks. The sea brought many disasters: for example, the first monastery of the VIII century, called "Clementos" (St. Clement's Lavra), was destroyed by Arab pirates. In 980 a group of monks from Iberia (Iberia, the ancient name of Georgia) came here.
The monastery was rebuilt by John Iberius and/or John Tornikios (possibly the same person). It is known that John Tornikios was a royal advisor to the court of King David of Georgia who escaped from his worldly life and career to a monastery. He first went to Macedonia, then to Mount Olympus in Bethany, and then to Mount Athos. He was one of the favorite disciples of the Venerable Athanasius of Athos. There is information that the Byzantine emperor Basil II invited John as an advisor and commander in suppressing the rebellion of Bardas Sklir. After the suppression of the rebellion, John returned to Athos and built a monastery on the emperor's generous donations.
The Georgians enlarged and fortified the monastery, and after 1010 it would be called Iberian, i.e. belonging to the Iberians (Georgians). However, in 1357 Iviron was given to the Greeks, who outnumbered the Georgians. The sea still brought many troubles, the monastery was restored several times by donations of Byzantine, Serbian, Georgian and Russian rulers. The last time this happened after 1845 and 1865, when only ashes were left of the monastery. From time to time the monastery faced seemingly insurmountable economic difficulties, but the Gates of Mercy were not closed to those who asked. In the 16th century, the monks went to their homeland, to the Georgian king Alexander XVI, to whom they handed the keys of the monastery, asking for support, which was not long in coming. Debts were paid and the number of brethren increased. In the middle of the XVII century, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich invited the Iberian monks to Russia. The tsar's daughter was healed by a copy of the Iveron icon which the Athonite monks brought with them. In gratitude for this, Alexei Mikhailovich gave them Nikolsky monastery in the center of Moscow and generously bestowed gifts. It is not for nothing that the Iveron icon was so revered in Russia... However, the closest connections of the monastery were, of course, with Georgia.
In spite of the fact that the last inhabitant of the monastery of Georgian descent died in 1955 and the monastery became totally Greek, Iveron was for many centuries a Georgian spiritual center in which the influence of Georgian monastic practice and tradition was strongly felt.
Although the sea has brought so many troubles, the main comfort of the monastery for many centuries also came from the sea. According to tradition, the Iveron icon of the Mother of God sailed here and emerged from the sea abyss not far from the monastery. At the place where hermit Gabriel took the icon in his arms, there is now a church of the Virgin Mary and several cells.
The main cathedral of the monastery (XI century) is also Virgin - it was built in honor of Her Assumption monk George Varazvache. The katholikon was rebuilt in 1513, but the most beautiful marble facing was preserved from the ancient cathedral. Interestingly, the Iversk icon is not in the main temple, but nearby - in the chapel of Our Lady of the Gate. The Queen of Heaven herself wished it so: the icon has been transferred into the cathedral several times, but each time it ended up in the chapel. Apart from this one, there are 15 more chapels in the monastery. There are 150 relics of saints kept in Arkhangelsk chapel, as well as a part of the Holy Cross.
Among the numerous paintings of the chapels and the temple, images of the monastery's narthex are curious: among the saints one can see images of Greek philosophers - Solon, Sophocles, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle and Plutarch, as well as kings Alexander and Darius. Similar images are known to be in the Great Lavra of Athanasius of Athos.
In addition to the shrines in the monastery there are many significant objects - the treasury of the monastery is extremely rich. There are embroidered with gold sacred vestments, church utensils, crosses, communion bowls, medallions, miters, all the parts of the hierarchic vestment of Patriarch Dionysius IV, the mantle of Gregory V, the wonderfully embroidered curtain of the royal gate made by the needlewoman of Kokkon Orolog with the image of the Mother of God and many other sacred objects. The most unusual of these is probably the sakkos of Emperor Tzimiskes with patterned arabesques, as well as images of 10 lions and 4 double-headed eagles, although it is believed that the relic is a bishop's vestment of the 15th century.
The rich library also holds many secrets and surprises - here are illustrated Greek manuscripts, as well as the most valuable letters of donation (chrysoules) of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (946 and 958), Roman II (960), Basil II (980) and other emperors.
In the hierarchy of the 20 Svyatogorsk monasteries Iveron takes the third place. At present - since 1991 - the monastery is coenobitic. Notably, not far from the monastery there is a cell and a church of St. John the Evangelist. There live here about forty Georgian monks, all in Iveron now ascends to about 90 monks. Who knows, maybe in the future it will become Georgian again...? After all, the Gates of Heavenly Grace will never close with the prayers of Our Lady.
