What secrets does Athos keep? Secrets of the Holy Mountain

Saint Athos (in Greek “Agion Oros”, that is, Holy Mountain) is a peninsula in Eastern Greece, in the region of Chalkidiki. In the southeastern part of the peninsula rises Mount Athos with a height of 2033 meters. For Orthodox Christians around the world, Athos is one of the main holy places, the earthly destiny of the Mother of God.

The Athos peninsula has been considered holy since ancient times. The ancient Greeks built a number of temples here dedicated to Apollo and Zeus. The sanctuary of Zeus was called Athos, hence the name of the peninsula.

After the Greeks adopted Christianity, the first monastic settlements began to appear on the peninsula. According to church traditions, in 44 after the Nativity of Christ, the Mother of God, together with the apostles, went to the island of Cyprus, but on the way the ship got into a storm just next to Athos.

As soon as the ship approached the shore, the pagan temples collapsed, and marble idols announced in human language the arrival of the Virgin Mary on the peninsula.

Everyone who saw this miracle instantly believed and was baptized in Christian faith, and Athos itself has since become the earthly inheritance of the Mother of God. Then, according to legend, the icon of the Iveron Mother of God came to Athos by water.

It is believed that when she leaves the Holy Mountain, the world will end. The first large monastery was founded here in 963 by Saint Athanasius of Athos, who is considered the founder of the entire way of monastic life accepted on the Holy Mountain.

Now the monastery of St. Athanasia is known as the Great Lavra. And just half a century after it, in 1016, the first Russian monastery called Xylurgu appeared. Later, the monastery of St. Panteleimon was transferred to the Russian community.

During the Byzantine era, 20 monasteries appeared on the peninsula, of which one was Russian, one Bulgarian, one Serbian, and the rest were Greek. In addition, there are many secluded cells and hermitages for hermits.

They say that since ancient times, 12 hermit elders have lived in secret cells on Athos, who almost never appear to people, even to the Athos monks themselves. If one of the elders dies, the rest bury him in the rocks and in return call for a new novice.

According to legend, at the hour of the end of the world, these 12 elders will leave their cells and serve the last liturgy. Now all the monasteries on Mount Athos live according to the laws and regulations that developed in the Byzantine era. Even the existing rules for visiting the Holy Mountain are based on the Golden Bull of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Monk (1060), which has been only slightly modified over the past millennium.

Access to Mount Athos is strictly prohibited for women. There is also a legend associated with this ban. They say that at the beginning of the 5th century. Palakidia, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius, returning from Rome to Constantinople, wished to settle the Holy Mountain and especially one of the monasteries built at the expense of her father. As soon as Placidia approached the entrance to the temple, she heard the voice of the Mother of God coming from the icon in the wall niche.

The voice ordered Placidia to leave if she considered herself a virtuous Christian and did not want to tempt the monks with her presence. The shocked princess left, and entry has since been prohibited for women and even female pets. By folk beliefs, the birds do not build nests on Athos and do not hatch chicks, obeying the will of the Mother of God.

Athos is an independent monastic state. The life of monks in Athonite monasteries is spent in works and prayers; it is entirely devoted to serving God.

The European Council has repeatedly demanded that the Greek government open access to Mount Athos to everyone, including women. The Orthodox Church strongly opposes this, because then the earthly lot of the Mother of God will turn into an ordinary tourist spot. Holy Athos is the road to Heaven.

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The monastic republic is probably the most mysterious territory on earth, the secrets of which never cease to be interesting to the whole world, but at the same time do not require solving. We have collected the most famous mysterious facts about Holy Mount Athos. Many of them have the status of legends, but at the same time, they remain in the memory of generations.

The monastic republic is probably the most mysterious territory on earth, the secrets of which never cease to be interesting to the whole world, but at the same time do not require solving.

We have collected the most famous mysterious facts about Holy Mount Athos. Many of them have the status of legends, but at the same time, they remain in the memory of generations.

THE DESIGNATION OF THE VIRGIN

According to church tradition, the Mother of God, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, was preparing by lot to go to Iberia, but an Angel announced that apostolic work awaited her in another place. The ship was caught in a storm and landed at Mount Athos. The pagans met Mother of God and received baptism. The Mother of God said: “This place is my lot, given to me by my Son and my God.”

Having blessed the people, She added: “May the grace of God abide in this place and on those who remain here with faith and reverence and keep the commandments of my Son and God. The blessings they need for life on earth will be with little difficulty in abundance, and heavenly life will be prepared for them ", and the mercy of my Son will not fail from this place until the end of the age. I will be the intercessor of this place and a warm intercessor for it before God."

Tradition has also preserved the words of the Mother of God:

“For free service to God there is no other more convenient place than Mount Athos, which I accepted from My Son God as My inheritance, so that those who want to retire from worldly worries and confusion of the world would come there and serve God there unhindered and calm. From now on This mountain will be called My heliport. I love this place much, and the time will come when it will be filled from end to end, north and south, with many monks. And if they work for God with all their hearts and faithfully keep His commandments, great I will make them worthy of gifts on the great day of My Son..."

12 (or 7) INVISIBLE ELDERS

The Monk Paisius the Svyatogorets once met an amazing old man who told him that he lived on the top of Holy Mount Athos. The elder helped the monk find the way to the monastery of St. Anna. Later, Father Paisius wrote: I was told that on the top of Mount Athos there live twelve—others called the number seven—hermits, and I wondered if the one I met was one of them. I told the experienced elders about what had happened, and they confirmed: “Yes, this must be one of the venerable hermits living secretly on the top of Athos.”

BAN FOR WOMEN

According to legend, in 422, the daughter of Theodosius the Great, Princess Placidia, visited the Holy Mountain, but was prevented from entering the Vatopedi monastery by a voice emanating from the icon of the Mother of God.

The ban was violated during Turkish rule and during civil war in Greece (1946-1949), when women and children were saved in the forests of the Holy Mountain.

Now for women entering the territory of Mount Athos there is a penalty criminal liability 8-12 months imprisonment.

ASPID WATER

“The tongue of the dragon” - this stone was given to Athanasius the Great by Emperor Nicephorus Phocas. Four times a year a ritual is performed with it - the stone is immersed in a vat of water and air bubbles come out of it, the water seems to boil. After the rite of blessing the water, the monks sprinkle it on their cells and drink it. They say that aspid water not only drives away snakes, but also helps in cases of snake bites.

SINGING OF ANGELS

We will neither confirm nor deny the veracity of this event; we will present it only as a story about which a lot has been said.

One pilgrim came to Athos. At night he went out into the courtyard and saw the light in the temple. Coming closer, he heard singing and thought that a divine service was going on, but the doors of the temple were closed.

He looked out the window and saw angels in white robes singing the Cherubic Song. The pilgrim ran to the hotel, took a recording device and managed to record only the end of the angelic singing. The film “Singing of Angels on Mount Athos” was made based on this event.

THE PASSAGE OF TIME AND PRAYER FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

Many pilgrims noticed amazing fact: on Mount Athos, time flows differently: monks and novices manage to do many things in a day. Before the whole world wakes up, up to 300 Divine Liturgies will be celebrated on Athos.

Byzantine times are still preserved on Mount Athos. 12 o'clock at night most often occurs at sunset. A new day begins at sunset, so Athonite time differs from Greek - from 3 hours in summer to 7 hours in winter.

Services in monasteries begin at midnight. When the world sleeps, on Athos they continuously pray for the whole world, from century to century.

SANCTIES OF ATHOS

The ancient Athonite monasteries store countless riches: miraculous icons and relics of the holy saints of God.

Great Lavra (X century)

Relics of Peter Athos, cave of the saint. Main temple The monastery is an example of the “Svyatogorsk” type of architecture. A rich sacristy, which contains, for example, the clothes and crown of the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros Phocas.

Vatopedi (X century)

Belt of the Virgin. The miraculous Athos icons of the Mother of God “The All-Tsarina” (XVII century), “Underwater”, “Slaughtered”. Chapter of John Chrysostom.

Iversky (X century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Iveron.

Hilandar (XII century)

(Serbian)

Miraculous icon of the Mother of God, Particles of the crown of thorns, cane and shroud of Jesus Christ. Relics of saints. The monastery is considered the cradle of the Serbian people.

Dionysiatus (XIV century)

Part of the relics (hand) of the prophet John the Baptist. The miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Akathist".

Kutlumush (XI century)

The carved iconostasis of the main temple is one of best works art on Mount Athos.

Pantocrator (XIV century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Gerontissa” (“Old Woman”) is one of the most revered on Mount Athos. Relics of saints.

Xyropotamus (X century)

The largest particle of the Holy Cross on Mount Athos.

Zograf (X century)

(Bulgarian)

Miraculous icon of St. George. Place of death of 26 Zograph martyrs (Orthodox monks burned in the 13th century by the Uniates).

Dokhiar (X century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” (10th century), which became famous in the 17th century.

Caracalla (X century)

Part of the relics (head) of the Apostle Bartholomew.

Philotheus (10th century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Sweet Kiss” (became famous during the time of iconoclasm; according to legend, it arrived at the monastery from Constantinople, traveling along oxen). The right hand of Saint John Chrysostom.

Simon Peter (XIII century)

Part of the relics ( left hand) Saint Mary Magdalene.

St. Paul (X century)

Gifts brought by the Magi to the newborn Jesus. The iconostasis of the main temple is an example of the Athonite school of wood carving.

Stavronikita (XVI century)

Miraculous mosaic icon of St. Nicholas (“Oyster”) (XIII – XIV centuries)

Xenophon (X century)

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria”, mosaic icons of Saints George the Victorious and Demetrius of Thessalonica (XIV century)

Gregoriat (XIV century)

A piece of the Holy Cross, the relics of saints.

Esphigmen (XI century)

The monastery belongs to the Greek “Old Calendarists”; it does not commemorate the Patriarch of Constantinople and does not have canonical communication with other monasteries of Athos.

Saint Panteleimon (Russian)

It consists of two monasteries: the “old” (10th century) and the “new” (18th century). Mass settlement of Russians in the monastery began after 1497. The largest bell on Mount Athos is located here. Services are conducted in Greek and Church Slavonic. The main shrine is the head of the Great Martyr Panteleimon the Healer.

Konstamonite (XI century)

Part of the mantle of Jesus Christ. Miracle-working icons: the First Martyr Stephen (8th century) and the Mother of God “Hodegetria” (12th century)

"Orthodox heritage of Ukraine on Holy Mount Athos" - for "UNIAN-Religion".

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Since ancient times, it was believed that four places on earth were under the special protection of the Mother of God - the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Ukraine, the lands of ancient Iberia, which are part of modern Georgia, the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery in Russia and the Greek Mount Athos. Moreover, the latter is the most mysterious and closed. There are twenty monasteries operating here at the same time, belonging to different Orthodox churches peace.

These days, one of the main shrines of all is traveling around Russia for the first time, accompanied by persistent guardians - strict and silent Greek monks. Orthodox world– Belt Holy Mother of God. At the end of October, it was brought from the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, where it has been carefully preserved for several centuries. The number of people wishing to see the shrine, which according to legend was woven by the Mother of God herself shortly before her earthly death, is so great that the organizers were forced to expand the list of cities where the relic should visit. In every city where the shrine arrives, tens and hundreds of thousands of people come to bow to the modest belt of camel hair, endowed, according to legend, with incredible energy of love and holiness.

And in Moscow, at the State Historical Museum, the exhibition “Mount Athos. Image of the Holy Land." The goal of the project is to introduce one of the most significant places for Christians around the world - one of the inheritances of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The exhibition is based on a unique photo archive collected by Athonite monks over the past thirty years. More than 200 photographs, the authors of which were permanent residents of Athos, tell about the everyday life and holidays of the inhabitants of the Holy Mountain, about the world around them and guests, whom, however, the only monastic republic of its kind accepts rather reluctantly.

Under the protection of the Virgin Mary

Athos is a peninsula, in the southeastern part of which a majestic mountain called the Holy Mountain rises like a pyramid. Since the dawn of its history, Athos has been surrounded by legends and secrets. As the legend says, when the Greeks adopted Christianity, in 44 after the Nativity of Christ, the mother of Jesus along with the apostles went to the island of Cyprus, but on the way the ship got into a storm right next to Athos. As soon as the ship approached the shore, the pagan temples collapsed and the marble idols human language announced the arrival of the Virgin Mary on the peninsula. Everyone who saw this miracle instantly believed and was baptized, and Athos itself has since become the earthly garden of the Mother of God. Then, according to legend, the icon of the Iveron Mother of God came to Athos by water. It is believed that when she leaves the Holy Mountain, the world will end.

The Mother of God personally takes care of everyone, the monks say. And they point to a tiny light cloud hovering at the very top of the mountain in the middle of an absolutely clear sky. When a cloud hangs over the peak, it means the Virgin Mary is on the peninsula. But none of the photographers managed to capture this cloud on film. Accident? Hardly, the monks smile.

For a long time, the settlement of Orthodox monks on Mount Athos was small. The first large monastery was founded in 963 by Saint Athanasius of Athos, who is considered the founder of the entire way of monastic life adopted on the Holy Mountain. Now the monastery of St. Athanasia is known as the Great Lavra. And half a century after its founding, the first Russian monastery called Xylurgu appeared there. Later, the monastery of St. Panteleimon was transferred to the Russian community.

At the time of its glory, Holy Athos included 180 Orthodox monasteries. The first monastic hermitages appeared here in the 8th century AD, and the republic received the status of autonomy under the auspices of the Byzantine Empire in 972. A few centuries later, Byzantium lost its former strength under the pressure of the crusaders on the one hand and the Turkic tribes on the other. Athos had to exist independently, endure persecution from the papacy, and pay taxes to the conquerors of the region. As a result, only 25 monasteries “survived”. Only in the middle of the 19th century, after the proclamation of Greek independence, did peaceful times begin for the Holy Mountain.

Russian monks appeared here during the time of the baptist of Rus', St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, and the Russian monastery on the site of the current Panteleimon Monastery was founded in late XVIII centuries. The monastery, which was once inhabited by 3 thousand monks (today there are only 40), houses the head of St. Great Martyr Panteleimon, numerous holy relics, miraculous icons, priceless books and manuscripts. It is curious that in the Russian monastery there have actually been no monks of Russian nationality for a long time; they are all mainly Ukrainians.

There is a legend that since ancient times, twelve hermit elders have lived in secret cells on Mount Athos, who almost never appear to people, even to the monks themselves. If one of the elders dies, the rest bury him in the rocks and in return call for a new novice. According to legend, at the hour of the end of the world, these twelve elders will leave their cells and serve the last liturgy.

By the way, an interesting tradition: when a monk dies, he is buried without a coffin, wrapped in a mantle. A cross is placed over the grave. Three years after death, the body of the deceased is removed again. If it has decayed, it means that the ascetic has been forgiven and is in heaven. If the body does not decay, it means that the monk has passed on to another world with unrepentant sins. In this case, the body is buried for another year, during which they intensely pray for the salvation of the soul of the deceased. After this period, the body, as a rule, decays. Then a skull with a name inscribed on the forehead, less often with a short biography, placed in the ossuary on special shelves.

Wonders of Athos

This is an ancient tradition, and indeed all the monasteries on Mount Athos live according to the laws and regulations that developed back in the Byzantine era.

The life of monks is spent in works and prayers; it is entirely devoted to serving God. Divine services are held in strict accordance with the regulations in the morning and evening hours. In their free time from prayer, the monks cultivate the land, care for domestic animals, paint icons, and study the writings of the holy fathers. Animals, by the way, are only domestic animals here, those that are used in auxiliary work. Neither the cry of birds nor the roar of animals distracts ascetics from prayer.

Miracles are the order of the day here. Almost every object in the monastery churches has some kind of miracle associated with it. Thus, in the Zograf Monastery there is an icon of St. George the Victorious, which, according to legend, was depicted on the surface prepared for painting. Over seven centuries, the monks recorded so many healings at the icon that one bishop did not believe in their veracity. Arriving at the monastery, he allowed himself to touch the face of St. George with his finger. The finger stuck to the icon. For several days the monks prayed, pulling the bishop like that turnip, but Saint George never let go of the bishop. I had to cut off the tip of the finger, which has been preserved to this day in a dried form on the icon and warns everyone about the need for a reverent attitude towards shrines.

And in the Vatopedi monastery there is miraculous icon, who once defended the temple, driving out the Turks. In the 18th century, when Greece was under Turkish yoke, he moored to Mount Athos Turkish ship with the soldiers. They went ashore and headed to the monastery. The abbot came out and asked the soldiers to leave immediately and not to anger the Mother of God, since the appearance of armed persons in the temple was perceived as an insult to holiness. The Turks just laughed at the monk’s words and entered the monastery. There they began to get drunk, riot, shoot in the air, and one of the soldiers, shouting: “Show me your power,” shot at the icon and hit the hand of the Mother of God. Immediately after the shot, a strong green beam of light jumped out of the resulting hole and hit the Turk on the bridge of his nose. The soldier fell backward, writhing in convulsions, screaming in pain and asking for water. “I can’t!” he shouted, “there’s such heat inside that I’ll burn alive!”

Then he jumped up and rushed to the sea, hoping to cool off in its waters. But even at sea he did not calm down. He came out of the water like a madman, took a rope and hanged himself on an olive tree.

Other Turks, horrified, ran out of the monastery and spent the night on the seashore. When they informed the Sultan in Constantinople about what had happened, he gave an order never to enter Athos. This enchanted place is what he called the Garden of the Virgin Mary on Earth. The hole from that shot is still on the icon.
Even the Second World War did not destroy Athos - during fascist occupation A petition was sent from all the monasteries to Hitler asking him not to send troops into the territory of the peninsula. Hitler granted the request and even more. He placed a unit on the border of Athos that did not allow anyone to enter the holy land.

Therefore, in the Athonite monasteries until today unique collections of ancient books, extensive libraries, collections of precious church utensils, priceless ancient frescoes and mosaics have been preserved. The most important Christian relics are also kept here: in addition to the belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, these are particles of the Venerable Tree of the Holy Cross, the incorruptible relics of saints and even the Gifts of the Magi. Externally, the monasteries of Athos are real museums of Byzantine times, majestic fortresses built directly on rocky mountain slopes.

Women are not allowed

In order to get to Athos, you need to have not only a Greek visa, but also a special entry permit - the so-called diamonitirion, that is, a pass to Athos. The number of people entering Mount Athos daily is limited - 110 people with a general pass and an unlimited number with a private one, but there are only a few of these. All these rules apply only to men. A woman can only look at Athos from a distance, from the deck of a ship.

Ladies have not been seen here for more than a thousand years - back in 883, Emperor Basil the Macedonian, by his decree, established a ban on the territory of Mount Athos not only for women of any age, but even for female animals. To prevent a woman in disguise from being among the visitors, in the old days only bearded people were allowed here, and they checked whether the beard was real - they pulled the hair. They also say that earlier the monks even shot birds that flew onto the island so that a female would not be caught between them.

There is a legend about how at the beginning of the 5th century. Palakidia, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius, returning from Rome to Constantinople, wished to settle the Holy Mountain and especially one of the monasteries built at the expense of her father. As soon as Placidia approached the entrance to the temple, she heard the voice of the Mother of God coming from the icon in the wall niche. The voice ordered Placidia to leave if she considered herself a virtuous Christian and did not want to tempt the monks with her presence. The shocked princess left. The Serbian queen Maro, who arrived in Athos on a luxurious ship in 1470, also had to turn back. She brought rich gifts to the local inhabitants, but she was not able to walk more than ten steps on this land. According to legend, an angel met her and asked her to return to the ship.

Nowadays, of course, guests are not pulled by their beards, but rather asked to show their passport. But even a fake document will not save a woman who decides to enter a man’s monastery. Local guides like to tell tourists a story about a French tourist who... men's clothing and made her way to the island with a false passport. Having chosen a secluded corner on the beach, she went for a swim. Then, out of nowhere, a shark appeared and dined on the brave but unlucky woman.

By the way, according to a law adopted in 2005, a lady who sets foot on Mount Athos can be sentenced to a year in prison. But European feminists are not giving up and, not for the first time, are trying to pass through the European Parliament a law to change the status of the Holy Mountain as infringing on women’s rights. But is it so easy to abandon traditions that have not changed for thousands of years?

During its existence, Athos has occupied a special position among all other countries - the way of life here is not subject to worldly laws. This is a place where silence, that is, eternity itself, speaks expressively. Everyone has their own path to Athos, the monks say. Here all life, all actions are rethought. Here a believer especially feels the presence of the Mother of God and the miracles that happen every day in this amazing place. The life of the Holy Mountain is hidden from the world, but the fate of humanity is closely connected with it.

Prepared by Alexandra Bilyarchik
based on materials

The Legend of the Invisible Elders of Athos

The legend of the invisible elders is a beautiful legend for pilgrims. But for the residents of Athos this is not a legend. This is a living reality. Here are some examples:
The story of Paisius Svyatogorets
When I came to the Holy Mountain for the first time in 1950, I happened to get lost on the way from Kafsokalyvia to St. Anna (the monastery of St. Anna is located on the southwestern coast of the Holy Mountain and is subordinate to the Great Lavra...
Instead of going to the monastery of St. Anne, I followed the path that led to the top of Mount Athos. Having walked a fairly long section of the path, I realized that I was going up, and began to look for a way to return. While I was looking for a way back and asking the Mother of God to help me, suddenly a hermit appeared before me, whose face radiated light.
He looked about seventy years old, and from his attire one could conclude that he had never communicated with people. He was wearing a cassock made of canvas, all faded and tattered. The holes in the cassock were tied together with wooden rods, with the help of which peasants usually fasten leaky bags when they do not have a bag needle and twine. With him was a leather bag, also faded and with holes, tied in the same way. Around his neck he had a thick chain on which hung a box. In all likelihood, there was some kind of shrine in it.
Before I could even open my mouth, he said to me: “My child, this road is not to St. Anne,” and showed me the right path.
It was clear from everything that a saint stood in front of me.
I asked the hermit:

Where do you live, old man? He answered me:

Here,” and pointed to the top of Athos.

I was exhausted by searching for an elder who could give me spiritual advice, and therefore I even forgot what the date and day of the week was then. I asked the hermit about this, and he answered me that it was Friday. Then he pulled out a small leather bag, which contained sticks with rifling, and, looking at them, said what the date was then. After that, I took his blessing and walked along the path indicated to me, which led me straight to St. Anne. After that, my thoughts constantly returned to the bright shining face of the hermit.
Later, when I was told that twelve—others called the number seven—hermits live on the top of Mount Athos, I wondered if the one I met was one of them. I told the experienced elders about what had happened, and they confirmed: “Yes, this must be one of the venerable hermits living secretly on the top of Athos.”

Another legend about one famous hermit:
...Passing through the New Skete, he met Father Neophytos, who lived in the kaliva of St. Demetrius. Here he stayed for a while and confessed. Father Neophyte told him a lot different stories about ascetics. When he heard about the hermits living on the top of Mount Athos, his heart lit up. irresistible desire imitate them. He asked Father Neophytos’ blessing to join his community, become a monk, and then go to asceticism high on Mount Athos. So he did...

Athonite pagan temple Idolio
Athos Kerasya
Fear is the power of the demonic world, with the help of which demons control the vain earth. It permeates all the motives of people, distorts all their feelings. This is the hidden engine of the world... It is through this fear that the dark force has open access to every person in Christianity. Fear is, so to speak, pure demonic energy.

Kerasya is the most high place Athos, where hermits live. It is located at an altitude of approximately 800 meters....

A little higher than Kerasya there is a huge rock, called by the Greeks Idolio, that is, Idol, because the oldest pagan temple on Mount Athos is located on it. Visiting this place is strictly prohibited.

A secret path leads to a stone - an altar...

Who comes here along the secret path?

There are many temples on Mount Athos dating back to the 6th-4th millennium BC. After all, in those days pagans lived on Athos. There were entire cities of idolaters. They chose the most beautiful places for the temples. Idolio is located on one of the most beautiful cliffs of the Holy Mountain. The path leading there is already in the fog - this is the height at which we enter the clouds.

At the nearest intersections there are Crosses to prohibit evil spirits exit from the Gorge...

On the temple there is a huge altar made of solid stone, approximately 2 by 3 meters in size. Human sacrifices were made on it; drains were carved on the sides for blood, which flowed into a huge stone bowl (we will talk about it later). When killing a person, the pagans drank his blood...

The most a nice place

Here people chose the most beautiful place and... killed... It was not out of cruelty that people made such terrible sacrifices, but rather out of despair. God is too far away. The gods are too close. And their character is too fickle: today they help, tomorrow they mock. And as a gesture last hope people killed each other in front of idols: maybe at least this will make the gods more merciful...

Here, the inhabitants of ancient Athos every year sacrificed their beloved and only-begotten child to Kronos, or some persecuted person ran around the altar three times, and then the priest, piercing his womb with a spear, burned him on a burning fire...

In the era of antiquity, there was a legal office here, according to our concepts: a sacrifice was made here when concluding a very important, most likely fateful, agreement. The contracting parties, according to ancient custom, walked between the parts of the human sacrifice. This custom is based on the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bretribution: the perjurer faces the same fate as the victim. They believed that if one of the contracting parties violated the oath, then the bodies of the oathbreakers would be immediately torn into two parts by invisible “spirits”...
IN historical era the common sense of Greece struggled with this terrible relic - the sacrifice is replaced by sprinkling the altar with his blood, or the person is thrown off the cliff, taking measures to ensure that he is saved...

But the dark energy remains in these terrible places... Even the trees around are drying up from horror...

In such places you understand what darkness humanity was in before Christ, and what freedom Christ opened to the human spirit. This is freedom from the fear that permeated every aspect of pagan life. People died thousands of years ago, but their horror remained and continues to live in this place...

Here is truly a terrible place, in which the evil energy of hell comes out, like the magma of a raging volcano. Then, like radioactive contamination after an explosion, this horror, along with clouds, spreads and envelops nearby cliffs for centuries...

That is why the warriors of Christ, the hermits, come here - to fight with evil spirits, to give battle to the devil in his very lair. Here all the masks are taken off... This will be our further story, if God bless...

Athos Magula
(Skete of St. Basil the Great)

There are several legends about Magul on the Holy Mountain. According to one, the monastery of Magul was located slightly above the Great Lavra. According to another, the monastery of Magul was located above the Kuplumush monastery. Here we will talk about the third legend. This is probably what happened: three monasteries in different time were called by this name...

Live rockfall on Magul

There are many scary places on Mount Athos associated with a special presence dark force. But this place is truly frightening, because, as they say, there was no smell of dark energy here. This is a deeply Christian place. Most Afonites do not even suspect its existence. Those of the old hermit monks who know about him prefer not to even utter this word - Magula. And if they cannot pass this place, since only one path passes through it and there are a lot of snails, then they try to pass it quickly. Magula is Greek for cheek.

Top of the cliff. This is the Face of Athos. Magula in the shadows.

If you come to this place, you won't believe your eyes. This is a huge stone slab with an area of ​​hundreds of meters - even and smooth like glass. Among living stone screes and rock teeth sticking out to the sky, there is a huge stone plateau made of a single solid stone. Periodically, stones fall from the surrounding steep cliffs and fly across this plateau, causing entire screes. Anyone who sees this can only say: “This cannot be!”

Plateau from above: hundreds of meters long...

This plateau is like a huge runway for the unseen. aircraft or even the Athonite space airfield. Such an ending would probably be the most optimistic for our history. But, unfortunately, this gigantic plateau has nothing to do with space. Although, if it is appropriate to use such terms, then we would call Magula a cosmic curse...

Oral stories about Magula vary slightly, so we found and translated an ancient manuscript with the legend of this place.

An ancient legend about the site of Magul, where the Skete of Basil the Great was located

(translation from ancient Greek by Vasily Girin)
“During the time of the great king, called Mavrogenus by the Greeks, the fathers from Kafsokalyvia arrived from the monastery to this place and founded the Monastery of Magula. Seeing how deserted it was, the fathers decided to build cells and a temple. Since they had no money, one of them went to the king. Previously, he served as a military commander for the king. The king was quite surprised to see his commander in monastic robes, and gave him enough funds to build a small monastery. The temple was consecrated in honor of St. Basil the Great. That's why the monastery was called the monastery of Basil the Great... That's how this secluded monastery appeared. Subsequently, one elder retired to another place, and another abba labored here.
After some time, due to the action of the envious devil, discord began in the brotherhood of the elder. The confessor tried many times to calm the warring brothers, but it did not bear fruit. Then something unexpected happened, going beyond ordinary ideas... For some time, the two brothers lived in enmity, and went to services together without talking to each other. One day during the Service everyone heard a roar and terrible thunder…»
This is where the legend ends...

The Magula monastery was located on a steep slope. But the monks worked and made pezuli out of the slope, planted grapes, but almost nothing else grew here. It was a very beautiful slope, covered with small holm oaks. There was a spring here, and an inconspicuous path led to Arsana, a pier that has survived to this day, as silent proof that this monastery is not fiction or legend. He really was and disappeared in an instant...

...there were not only traces left, but not even scree, everything was swept away into the sea...

So, let’s continue the story: “everyone heard a roar and a terrible thunder...” A huge rock, which was located approximately at an altitude of 500 m, fell on the monastery and literally swept it off the face of the earth. The blow was so strong that there were not only no traces left, but even scree, everything was swept away into the sea. The deep rock base itself was exposed - a single solid plateau, shining in the sun, like the huge cheek of the Holy Mountain. Truly, the Holy Mountain received a monstrous slap on the wrist from someone’s huge hand...

Isaiah 14:27 For the Lord is Almighty

Determined and who can cancel

This? His hand is stretched out, and who

Will it turn her away?!

There is no doubt that the monks are a living part of the Holy Mountain. And if they do not correspond to their calling, do not fulfill their purpose, then the entire living Organism opposes them. Magula is truly a terrible place. The word of the prophet was fulfilled:
Jer.21:5 I myself will fight

I stretch out my hand against you and

With a strong muscle, in anger and in

Furious and in great indignation!

Can this place be called the curse of the Father? Don't know. But even walking through it, you feel goosebumps running through your skin... You think with horror about the words of the Lord: Matt.7:19 0 - so this is not an allegory?!

...Every tree, not

Bearing good fruit,

They cut it down and throw it into the fire...

Have we really never left? Old Testament?! And seeing these terrible stones, instead of “Abba Father” I want to pray to the Lord:

Ps.79:5 How long, O Lord, will you

Will be incessantly angry

Does Your jealousy burn like fire?

Reporter Andrey Shilov after his visit to Athos:
“Athos has its own concept of the “axes of evil” in modern world, and Washington is unconditionally assigned the role of a pole through which the main such axis passes. True, judging by most statements, Afonites tend to see America not so much as the primary source of evil, but as an instrument of a “global Masonic conspiracy”, from which it itself sometimes suffers.

IN last years, according to reviews knowledgeable people, the feeling that humanity is surviving" last times", on Athos is growing. The increasing intrusion of the outside world into monastic life causes rejection and protest among many, even when pursuing outwardly good goals: more and more monks are using, for example, mobile phones. And what can we say about the rumors that the Council of Europe, for the sake of political correctness, wants to open access to the Holy Mountain for women and generally turn it into almost a free tourist zone! The reaction to such “intrigues” is, for example, prophecies that a terrible earthquake is about to occur on Athos and the whole of it will plunge into the depths of the sea.

I myself, however, have only read about such predictions. But the words of one of the elders that “on Athos now, as before in the world, and in the world - as in hell,” conveyed to me by his young novice, create a fairly clear idea of ​​​​the mood of at least part of the Agiorites.”
http://www.politjournal.ru/preview.php?action=Articles&dirid=57&tek=3660&issue=106

At the same time, the monks on Athos, apparently, sympathize with communism and automatically (for us this is illogical, but for them it is quite) - puten. Although -

“The first time Vladimir Putin planned to visit Mount Athos was in December 2001. He was supposed to fly there by Greek Air Force helicopter. But that day it played out over the peninsula blizzard, and because of this the flight was cancelled. In September 2004, the President of Russia was supposed to come to Mount Athos at a great landing ship Russian Navy"Yamal" from the Turkish port of Izmir. But it happened tragic events in Beslan. After this, Orthodox newspapers around the world wrote that “The Mother of God does not allow Putin within her borders.”

and about the belt:

the scandal broke out long before the trip to Russia, the monastery discovered in its library documents that the Greek authorities had given it a piece of state land back in the Middle Ages. The trial began and proceeded suspiciously quickly. Then it turned out that, apparently, the Athos Monastery gave bribes to the fat ducks in the government so that the issue would be resolved in its favor.

“But during the investigation, suspicions arose of forgery of ancient real estate documents. In addition, it turned out that the humble Athonite monks manage many offshore companies registered in Cyprus, play on stock exchanges, have shares in the mining industry of Greece and Cyprus, several hotels and other real estate in many Balkan countries. “But they practically don’t pay taxes,” wrote the New York Times (the newspaper is biased against the monks).

The website of the independent information and analytical group “Balkananilis” reported back in November 2008, citing publications in the Greek press, that a commission of the Greek parliament found 200 million euros in the bank accounts of Abbot Ephraim (who brought the Belt to Russia).
As a result, everything came to light and several big shots from the government flew away. New dudes began to dig, and financial holes were revealed, which they immediately began to publicly shake out. If not for this, the situation with Greece's default could have been quietly postponed for a long time.

“And who knows, maybe the Greek government would have continued to hide false reporting, and the world would not have been in a fever if not for the enterprise of the monks of Vatopedi.”

In early December, a popular Greek magazine published excerpts from a new book by Greek journalist Manolis Kottakis: sensational materials revealing the former prime minister's relationship with the monks of Vatopedi, the background behind his decision to deploy two Russian anti-aircraft missile systems on the Greek island of Crete missile systems medium-range S-300 costing $115 million each, reasons for supporting the Russian Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project and discussions with Vladimir Putin on plans to increase Russian influence in the Mediterranean.

Even at the very beginning of the scandal “about the exchange of lands between the monastery and the state,” many world newspapers wrote that Abbot Ephraim had long been nurturing ambitious plans “to become an important behind-the-scenes figure in the formation of the “Orthodox Vatican,” the center of which is in his own monastery.” The Turkish newspaper Turkish Daily News noted at the time: “... the truly charismatic chief monk was quite capable of creating a serious network of valuable connections between political and business circles both inside and outside Greece; he was indeed in charge of attracting many international celebrities to the beautiful surroundings of Vatopedi, including Prince Welsh Charles and the President of Russia."