Athos, Mount
Athos, Mount. Peninsula in NE Greece (c.48 × 10 km. in area), named for the mountain at its end. Known as the ‘Holy Mountain’ (Hagion Oros), it is the principal centre of Orthodox monasticism. It is an autonomous monastic district, in effect a theocratic republic from 1927. Its importance dates from the foundation of the monastery of the Lavra in 962. Most communities are coenobitic, with the ‘idiorrhythmic’ houses, in which each monk arranges his own work and meals, gradually disappearing.
Of the twenty monasteries, seventeen are Greek; there is one Russian, one Serbian, and one Bulgarian. A rule forbids women, or even female animals, to set foot on the peninsula.
Of the twenty monasteries, seventeen are Greek; there is one Russian, one Serbian, and one Bulgarian. A rule forbids women, or even female animals, to set foot on the peninsula.
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Athos, Mount