Konstamonitou

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Konstamonitu Monastery

Moni Konstamonitu ( Greek Μονή Κασταμονίτου ) is an Orthodox monastery on the Athos peninsula in Greece . It is located in a flat high valley in the north-west of the island and takes last place among the 20 Athos monasteries.

history

Although the monastery was first mentioned in 1051, the fate of the next few years remains in the dark, as almost all written documents were lost. During the Middle Ages the monastery led a modest existence and hardly played a role in the fortunes of the monastic republic . After large parts of the building were destroyed by flames in the 1420s, the walls could be rebuilt thanks to donations from a Serbian general. This should herald the beginning of a heyday in which Slavic monks in particular settled in the area. After several glorious years, however, the monastery was hit again by fate. First the monastery suffered financial difficulties in the 16th century, then a second fire followed, which resulted in the desolation of the building. On the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople , the monastery was restored in the 19th century, but soon ran into financial problems again.

The number of monks, which was 65 in 1903, fell sharply in the course of the 20th century and reached its low point in 1978 with only 16 active monks. Since then the number has increased again, so that at the turn of the millennium there were again 26 monks in the service of the monastery.

Name legend

The current name of the Konstamonitu Monastery is based on an old legend. Medieval text sources agree that at that time only one monastery called Kastamonitu , the "monastery of the man from Kastamon " existed. The current name of the monastery, however, should testify that the origins of the complex go back to Emperor Konstan , son of Constantine the Great .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Andreas Müller: Mount Athos: History of a monastic republic . CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50851-0 , p. 112 .
  2. ^ Andreas Müller: Mount Athos: History of a monastic republic . CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50851-0 , p. 113 .