Simonopetra monastery

Simonopetra monastery
Simonopetra, southern view.
Simonopetra
Simonopetra
Simonopetra

Coordinates: 40°11′23″N 24°14′44″E / 40.18972°N 24.24556°E / 40.18972; 24.24556

Simonopetra Monastery (Greek: Σιμωνόπετρα, literally: "Simon's Rock"). Also Monastery of Simonos Petra (Greek: Μονή Σίμωνος Πέτρας) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. Simonopetra ranks thirteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries.

The monastery is located in the southern coast of the Athos peninsula, between the Athonite port of Dafni and Osiou Grigoriou monastery. While the southern coast of Athos is quite rugged in general, the particular site upon which the monastery is built is exceptionally harsh. It is built on top of a single huge rock, practically hanging from a cliff 330 meters over the sea.[1] The monastery has today 54 monks.

Contents

History

The monastery was founded during the 13th century by Simon the Athonite, who was later sanctified by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Osios Simon the Myrrohovletes. Tradition holds that Simon, while dwelling in a nearby cave saw a dream in which the Theotokos instructed him to build a monastery on top of the rock, promising him that she would protect and provide for him and the monastery. The original monastery was called by Simon "New Bethlehem" (Greek: Νέα Βηθλεέμ) and is to this day dedicated to the Nativity of Jesus.

In 1364, the Serbian despot Jovan Ugljesa funded the renovation and expansion of the monastery. In 1581, Simonopetra was destroyed by a fire, in which a large portion of the monks died. Evgenios, the monastery's abbot, travelled to the Danubian Principalities hoping to raise funds to rebuild the monastery. The most important donor was Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia, who donated large portions of land as well as money to the monastery. In later years the monastery was also burnt in 1626 and the last great fire happened in 1891, after which the monastery was rebuilt to its current form.

During recent centuries, the monks of the monastery were traditionally from Ionia in Asia Minor. However, during the mid 20th century the brotherhood was greatly thinned out due to great reduction in the influx of new monks. The current thriving brotherhood originates from the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron in Meteora as in 1973 the Athonite community decided to repopulate the almost abandoned monastery.

Architecture

The monastery consists of several multi-storied buildings, the main being in the place of the original structure, built by Simon. The main building has been described as the "most bold construction of the peninsula".[2] The monks of Simonopetra traditionally count the floors from top to bottom, thus the top floor is the first floor and the bottom floor the last. The monastery is built on top of the underlying massive rock and the rock runs through the lower floors.

The expansion and development of Simon's original structure almost always followed one of the monastery's great fires. Following the 1580 fire and with the funds gathered by abbot Evgenios, the western building was erected. The eastern building was built following the 1891 fire mostly with funds raised in Russia.

Choir

In recent years, the choir of Simonopetra has grown in reputation among Byzantine music specialists and enthusiasts. The monastery has published a series of collections of ecclesiastic Byzantine chants by the choir. Of these, Agni Parthene is the most popular and has earned the choir and the monastery widespread recognition.

Recordings

  • Hymns from the Psalter (1990)
  • O Pure Virgin (Agni Parthene) (1990)
  • Divine Liturgy (1999)
  • Great Vespers (1999)
  • Paraklesis (1999)
  • Service of Saint Simon (1999)
  • Sunday Matins (Orthros) (1999)
  • Service of St. Silouan the Athonite (2004)

References and notes

  1. ^ mountathos.gr
  2. ^ Greek Ministry of Culture

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Monastery — of St. Nilus on Stolbnyi Island in Lake Seliger near Ostashkov, Russia, ca. 1910 …   Wikipedia

  • Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist — Archimandrite Sophrony The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist is a monastic community for both men and women, directly under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is located in Tolleshunt Knights, near Maldon, Essex, in England,… …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Athos — Ἅγιον Ὄρος Agion Oros (Αυτόνομη Μοναστικὴ Πολιτεία Ἁγίου Ὄρους) Aftonomi Monastiki Politia Agiou Orous location of Mount Athos in Greece …   Wikipedia

  • Michael the Brave — Mihai Viteazu redirects here. For other uses, see Mihai Viteazu (disambiguation). Michael the Brave Portrait by Aegidus Sadeler (Prague, 1601) Reign 1593–1601 Coronation …   Wikipedia

  • Dafni (Athos) — Map of the Athonite peninsula. Dafni, view from the sea …   Wikipedia

  • Agni Parthene — (Αγνή Παρθένε) is a liturgical hymn composed by St. Nectarius of Aegina, drawn from the Theotokarion (Book of Hymns to the Mother of God). Sometimes performed in Orthodox churches at the beginning of Vespers. English Translation O Virgin Pure:by… …   Wikipedia

  • Monastere de Dionysiou — Monastère de Dionysiou Monastère de Dionysiou Le monastère de Dionysiou (en grec : Μονή Διονυσίου, Monastère de Denys) est un des vingt monastères orthodoxes du Mont Athos. Il est situé au sud ouest de la péninsule. Il occupe la 5e place… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Monastère De Dionysiou — Le monastère de Dionysiou (en grec : Μονή Διονυσίου, Monastère de Denys) est un des vingt monastères orthodoxes du Mont Athos. Il est situé au sud ouest de la péninsule. Il occupe la 5e place dans le classement hiérarchique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Monastère de dionysiou — Le monastère de Dionysiou (en grec : Μονή Διονυσίου, Monastère de Denys) est un des vingt monastères orthodoxes du Mont Athos. Il est situé au sud ouest de la péninsule. Il occupe la 5e place dans le classement hiérarchique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Monastère de Dionysiou — Présentation Culte orthodoxe Type Monastère …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”