The Holy Mountain

For over a thousand years, Mount Athos has established itself as the most influential spiritual center of the Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Eastern Church the most important "Theology" is done, not through academic study, but through prayer. For this reason, among the most influential people in the Church are those who have dedicated their entire lives to prayer: the men and women who have chosen the path of monasticism.
Mount Athos is located in the Chaldiki region of Greece, a few hours drive from Thessaloniki. Athos has 20 monasteries, each with several "sketes" (smaller monastic communities) attached to them. Today approximately 1400 monks live in this area.

(above picture: Ouranopolis)
To get to the Holy Mountain I flew to London and then, after a night in the city, continued to Thessloniki. After a 3 hour bus ride I arrived at Ouranopolis, a small town where pilgrims catch the ferry to Mount Athos. I enjoyed some Greek cuisine at one of the many seaside restaurants and stayed the night at a hotel. The following morning I caught the ferry to Daphne, the main port of the Athonite Penninsula. A short, but overcrowded, bus ride took me up a winding mountainous road to Karyes, the "capital" of Athos, where I (with some difficulty) explained to some Greek 'bus' drivers that I needed to get to Iveron Monastery.

Since my entire stay was at Iveron Monastery, I won't go into more detail about the rest of the Holy Mountain. If you are interested, you can read about my previous journey to Mount Athos here or visit this web site for more information.

In the case of pilgrims to the Holy Mountain…it is always the gravely afflicted and sensitive or else the small children (the simple) who learn something. The small children are our example of maturity and readiness for entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. – Archimandrite Vasileos (former Abbot of Iveron Monastery), from The Saint.

If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hadst, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me (Matthew 19:21).

Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I (1 Corinthians 7:7-8).

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Iveron Monastery

My destination at the Holy Mountain was Iveron Monastery. I had visited this monastery last June on my first visit to the mountain. My previous visit to the monastery had been short and was one stop on a "tour" of 5 monasteries. After my experience last year, I resolved to return to Iveron to remain long enough to taste the life and daily rhythm of the community.
Since the 11th Century, Iveron has been a battlefield where monks fought the demons and passions through prayer and asceticism. It contains many treasures, including a rich library, several Holy relics (including Saint Gregory Nazianzus, St. John Chrysostom, St. Demitrius, St. Panteleimon, St. Stephen the Protomartyr, and many others), and the famous wonder-working Portaitissa Icon. You can read about this important icon here (Be sure also to read about the contemporary miracle that happened in Canada!). The monastery is located on the Eastern shore of the Athonite peninsula, surrounded by large gardens and beautiful mountainous scenery.




Is it good for the theologian to study the Gospel, to study the Fathers? … Yes, all these things are helpful—but if he remains simply at the level of collecting information, he has achieved nothing. St. Gregory Palamas says: “If you think about God a thousand times but do not experience the divine, you have not truly learned anything.” We may well ask then: How can we simply people experience the divine? But we are all simple; and the saints above all are the truly simple ones. – Archimandrite Vasileos (former Abbot of Iveron Monastery) from The Saint

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

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The Outer Grounds

Here are some pictures I took of outside the Monastery:

This is the view looking from the water. Notice the large crane and scaffolding at the front of the monastery. The EU has committed tens of billions of Euro for restoration work at Athos to preserve it as a treasure of heritage.




This is a view from the road in front of the monastery. In the distance you can see Stavronikita monastery.




I took this picture from a trail when I was hiking back to Karyes.






These two pictures are from the gardens surrounding the monastery. While Iveron doesn't grow all of its produce, its large gardens provide much of the food for the monks and pilgrims who visit.




This is a view from one of the gardens.




On the south side of the monastery this centuries-old bridge caught my eye. It was so beautiful and serene!

"My child... the world is vain, temporary. Don't be frightened by this struggle. A small resistance wins great crowns. Reflect on Heaven, think of what awaits you where you will go. Joy and delight unutterable! Only endure, be attentive to yourself, be ready. Give your heart to Christ. Love Him Who has loved you" - Ignatius the Confessor (counsel to an afflicted monk) from Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos Volume 2.

Flowers do not open in the icy winds of winter; they open in the warmth of spring. A man does not open his heart in the face of threats, but in a climate of love, where an atmosphere of trust has been created. And love is not sentimentality, but sacrifice. The saints love, and they demonstrate that God is our Father and that He is ecstatic love. – Archimandrite Vasileos (former Abbot of Iveron Monastery), from The Saint.

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The Inner Monastery

Here are some pictures from inside the monastery:

The monastery is arranged somewhat like a castle, with high walls, an inner courtyard, and, as you see in this picture, a large watchtower. This design provided a protective structure to guard against the many invasions that afflicted the monasteries over the centuries.



This is the interior view of the monastery entrance. This was often my view when I sat in the courtyard reading, journaling, or talking with pilgrims.



The Katholikon (central church) is protected within the vast walls of the monastery. In addition to the Katholikon there are several chapels in various areas of the monastery grounds. I will talk more about the worship that took place here in a later post.



This is the room I stayed at in the guesthouse. It was actually quite nice and gave me a lot of privacy. Other than the fact that there was no shower (to which I had access), it was better than some of the hotels I had stayed in on the way!



My room connected to this balcony, which towered about 30 feet or so above the monastery gardens. I would often retreat here to read, journal, or contemplate while taking in the beautiful mountain scenery.



This is a view of the refectory (dining hall) from the guesthouse. The bell tower can be seen hovering above the monastery courtyard.




This is the Phiale which contains the Holy Water. The underside of the dome had some beautiful (but faded) mosaics of various events from the Scriptures relating to water.

All Saints through humility were elevated, honored, glorified, made wondrous and sanctified by God. If you take away humility no one would be a Saint. - Elder Joseph the Hesychast

As flower comes before every fruit, so exile of body or will precedes all obedience. On these two virtues, as on two golden wings, the holy soul rises serenely to heaven. – St. John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent.

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The People

Here are some pictures of the many wonderful people I met.
We were not permitted to take pictures of the monks without their blessing, so all of the following pictures which include monks are thoroughly blessed!

This is Father Ieremias who was one of the monks in charge of the guest house. He is one of several monks from Australia who has come to Iveron Monastery. I was blessed to be invited for several conversations with him here at the guest house.



Father Ierotheos is one of the monks charged with keeping the Portaitissa Chapel (seen here in the background). When pilgrims wish to see the icon in this chapel, he comes to open the chapel for them. He is another wonderful monk from Australia and I was blessed to have the opportunity to soak in his wisdom and kindness!



This is Father Luke, a priestmonk from America. He had been staying for the past few weeks at Simon Petra Monastery (the other side of the Athonite Peninsula) and came to visit Iveron. In addition to several engaging conversations, we also enjoyed a hike to the chapel you see here, which is a few mountainous kilometers from the monastery.



On the left is Andrew, an Australian novice at the Monastery with whom I went on an invigorating hike to the Iveron Skete. On the right is Dr. Harry Boosalis a professor at St. Tikhon's Seminary in Pennsylvania. Every year he brings Seminarians from America to visit the Holy Mountain. He was a great blessing to me, helping me connect with the various people at the monastery.



This picture was taken in Karyes (the capital of Athos) on my way back to Daphne (the port from where I departed). On the left is Father Luke, who I introduced above. On the right is Philip, with whom I had just hiked from Iveron. It was an absolutely beautiful hike and it was complemented by some very enjoyable company. Philip is a writer who has produced several independent films and written several plays. He also teaches art history at a university in Boise, Idaho. Interestingly, he converted to Orthodoxy when researching for a film about a Russian character!

The elder said: When I put myself in order, I put in order a bit of the Church, whenever we can be of one mind. - Elder Paisios (20th Century monk from Mount Athos).

One thing is our aim - love for Christ, for the Church, for our neighbour. Love, worship of, and craving for God, the union with Christ and with the Church is Paradise on earth. Love towards Christ and towards one's neighbour, towards everyone, including enemies. The Christian feels for everyone, he wants all to be saved, all to taste the Kingdom of God. - Elder Porphyrios of the Holy Mountain

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The Worship

Prayer is the most important aspect of Athonite existence. To my knowledge, the monasteries at Athos complete the entire Orthodox cycle of services. Each day at Iveron prayers started at 3:30am with the Midnight office, followed by Orthos (Matins), the First Hour, and the Divine Liturgy. In the evening we served (I believe) the Ninth Hour, Vespers, and a service called the Paraklesis. The prayers were all in Greek and relatively difficult to follow (despite my rudimentary knowledge of Greek), but it was beautiful to constantly greet and dismiss each day in prayer.

This is a picture of the Katholikon (central church) where most of the services were held. To read a description of one of the services from my journal, click here.



I found this picture on the Internet, since we were not permitted to take pictures inside the places of worship. I couldn't find a picture of the inner katholikon at Iveron, but this photo (from Gregoriou monastery on Athos) will give you an idea of what it looked like. Notice the large "choros" (circular chandelier) in the center. At Iveron this stunning ornament was about 15 feet in diameter and encircled with candles and icons. There was also a large golden chandelier in the middle as well as one to each side of the choros. There was no electricity in the katholikon, so all the lighting was with candles. At the back is the iconostasis (the screen with the icons which separates the nave from the altar.



This is the famous wonder-working Portaitissa ("Gatekeeper") Icon, one of the most important pilgrimages on Mount Athos. You can read about this icon, as well as its "Canadian" connection here. If you would like to read a little bit more about the Orthodox tradition of icons, click here).



This is a picture of the katholikon at Vatopedi (from the internet). It gives you an idea of what the church looks like when the candles on the chandelier are fully lit. While I was at Iveron, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a festal service commemorating the monastery builders. To read about this breathtaking experience (complete with swinging chandeliers), read the excerpt from my journal here.

Prayer is by nature dialog and union of man with God. Its effect is to hold the world together. It achieves a reconciliation with God. – St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

Who, then, is the faithful and wise monk? It is the man who has kept unquenched the warmth of his vocation, who adds fire each day to fire, fervor to fervor, zeal to zeal, love to love, and this to the end of his life. – St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

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Final Thoughts

My stay at Iveron Monastery was a wonderful experience. The monks embraced me into their community with open arms and made me feel at home in their midst. I stood where monks have stood for over one-thousand years, interceding for the world before our Creator. It was beautiful to see such deep devotion to God, such a radical denial of the world for the sake of the Kingdom. Through their prayers and the intercessions of all the Saints, may our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ grant us His mercy, to the glory of His name forever. Amen.

Angels are a light for monks and the monastic life is a light for all men. Hence monks should spare no effort to becoming shining examples in all things, and they should give no scandal in anything they say or do. For if the light becomes dark, then all the deeper will be the darkness of those living in the world. – St. John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent.

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