Inside Mount Athos: Greece’s Hermit Monks Cling to Cliffs in Search of God

At Karoulia, an isolated cliff connected Mount Athos, the ascetic monks person to ascent gangly rocks regular to get to their isolated cells. Credit: Greek Reporter

In the astir distant country of Mount Athos, the ascetic monks of ‘Karoulia’ unrecorded similar hermits having to ascent tall, unsafe rocks to scope each other, often putting their lives successful danger.

Karoulia is an isolated country of Mount Athos, located connected the 3rd peninsula of Chalkidiki successful bluish Greece. It is connected the southernmost enactment of Mount Athos connected a rocky, steep site. The hermit monks person built their cells wrong caves, holes, and stone protrusions.

The monks who unrecorded determination beryllium to the Megistis Lavras Holy Monastery, 1 of the 17 Greek Orthodox monasteries of the Mount Athos cluster. The Monastery is located connected a stone plateau of the Athos peninsula and is simply a one-and-a-half hr thrust from Karyes. Those who take to hike volition request astir 7 hours to scope the destination.

Aerial presumption of the country of “Koaroulia” connected Mount Athos, wherever the ascetic monks unrecorded isolated from the different monasteries. Credit: Apostolos Makris / Greek Reporter

Mount Athos is the oldest monastic community successful the satellite with continuous Christian beingness and monastic traditions dating backmost to astatine slightest the 8th century.

Today, determination are 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries connected Mount Athos, and the different 3 beryllium to the Russian, Serbian, and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches, respectively. In total, determination are implicit 2 1000 monks determination who unrecorded an ascetic beingness isolated from the remainder of the world.

Women are not allowed wrong 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the shore, and adjacent pistillate animals are forbidden. It is believed that the beingness of women volition distract the monks, tempting them distant from celibacy and generating impure thoughts.

Karoulia hosts ascetic monks who unrecorded successful sixteen huts connected the huge, vertical rocks that emergence from the sea. Access to Karoulia is difficult, if not dangerous, and requires bully climbing skills.

The country got its sanction from the pulleys (karoulia successful Greek), which the hermits usage to propulsion their baskets of supplies up to their alcove cells.

Father Vasilios prays astatine the Mount Athos Karoulia makeshift chapel. Credit: Apostolos Makris / Greek Reporter

A hermit monk’s beingness connected the borderline of Mount Athos

Karoulia ascetic monks person dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ. They person denounced worldly goods and amenities of corporal life, staying distant from temptations. The monks’ regular beingness is comprised of plentifulness of supplication to God, and they shy distant from earthly comforts altogether. The hardships of beingness astatine Karoulia and the dedication of the monks to specified a mode of beingness is grounds of their devotion to God.

The Karoulia monks past connected precise small nutrient and portion rainwater collected successful buckets and barrels. For sustenance, they permission retired baskets hanging from pulleys into which different monks and fishermen spot supplies, usually dried breadstuff and olives. They devour conscionable capable to survive.

The monks enactment themselves by coating beatified icons and producing items specified arsenic woven baskets and rosaries that they speech for supplies successful Daphne, a larboard colony that serves arsenic the maritime constituent of introduction to the Mount Athos monasteries.

Most of the ascetics’ clip is genuinely spent successful prayer. The services, usually held astatine night, are held successful the monasteries and tin past for up to six hours. One of the services begins astatine 2 a.m. and ends astatine 6 a.m., arsenic the monks judge supplication is easier erstwhile the monastery is astatine its quietest.

The ascetic monks astatine Karoulia usage pulleys to get supplies up to the gangly rocks. Credit: Apostolos Makris / Greek Reporter

Ascetics take this beingness of isolation and simplicity to consciousness person to God and support themselves distant from things that mightiness distract them from their prayers.

Father Vassilios spoke to Greek Reporter astir his calling and the harsh surviving conditions which, successful reality, service the intent of allowing himself and the different monks to ore connected supplication to God truthful that they whitethorn unrecorded a axenic beingness physically, spiritually, and mentally.

He says that helium and his brother, Dorotheos, were into wrestling but needed absorption successful life. His determination to take the monastic beingness was, helium felt, the volition of the Virgin Mary herself. Hence, the 2 brothers arrived to Mount Athos, wherever they were instantly embraced by the elder monks.

“When we came here, we felt the Fathers’ lukewarm clasp from the opening and we wanted to stay. It was the Virgin Mary’s wish,” helium said. “She’s the 1 that guided maine here.”

The harsh beingness astatine ‘Karoulia’ connected Mount Athos

Father Vassilios said that the 2 brothers followed the Fathers’ program, including the liturgies, wakes, and each the rites of a cosmic monk. The Fathers treated them similar his children. However, the astir important thing, helium says, is that the elder Fathers taught them however to combat temptation.

“The combat against temptation is the hardest conflict for man. The Fathers taught america however to combat temptation and win,” helium says.

Father Vassilios’ compartment is successful Karoulia, perched connected a stone precocious supra the sea. Karoulia is the hardest spot to entree successful the entirety of Mount Athos. To get to the monastery oregon sojourn the cells of Father Vassilios’ brothers astatine Karoulia, helium has to ascent vertical cliffs, stepping connected recesses and clefts of the rock. At definite points, chains nailed to the rocks are needed.

Father Vassilios astatine Karoulia rocks. Credit: Apostolos Makris / Greek Reporter

Father Vassilios’ chromatic compartment is arsenic spartan arsenic the beingness of an ascetic monk dictates. “This is wherever the ascetics agelong earlier america lived,” helium said. “It was a harsh, monastic life. One of them was surviving lone connected prickly pears for 9 months. Another ascetic drank h2o with a small chromatic successful it lone connected the weekends and thing else. Their relics are implicit astatine the monastery.”

“Life present is hard; precise unsmooth I would say. We person occupation going up and down the rocks. And we person earthquakes and landslides that marque things harder,” helium explained.

For the ascetic monk, astir hardships are owed to atrocious upwind and landslides. Part of the extortion of his monastic cave compartment successful the rocks was damaged arsenic a effect of a landslide, and a chap monk was adjacent killed by an avalanche. “It was a horrible sight,” Father Vassilios says grievously.

Despite the hardships and adversities, Father Vassilios says the Virgin Mary looks implicit them and keeps them retired of harm’s way. Meanwhile, the remote, inaccessible Karoulia keeps the ascetic monks grounded truthful that they whitethorn debar earthly temptations.

At Karoulia of Mount Athos the ascetic monks person to ascent gangly rocks regular to get to their cells. Credit: Greek Reporter