03 August 2015

#940 Belgrade, Serbia


Hilandar Monastery (GreekΜονή ΧιλανδαρίουSerbianМанастир Хиландар/Manastir Hilandarpronounced [xilǎndaːr]) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava and his father, Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, who later became a monk there. It was the center of Serbian religious and secular culture and "the first Serbian university", The Mother of God through her Icon of Three Hands (Trojeručica), is considered the abbess.

Mount Athos (/ˈæθɒs/; Greek: Όρος ΆθωςΟros Αthos [ˈoros ˈaθos]) is a mountain and peninsula in Northern Greece. A World Heritage Site and autonomous polity within the Hellenic Republic under the official name Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain (Greek: Αὐτόνομη Μοναστικὴ Πολιτεία Ἁγίου Ὄρους, Aftonomi Monastiki Politia Agiou Orous), Mount Athos is home to 20 stauropegial Eastern Orthodox monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
Mount Athos is commonly referred to as the "Holy Mountain" (Greek: Ἅγιον Ὄρος, Agion Oros [ˈaʝ(i)o(n) ˈoros]) and the entity as the "Athonite State" (Greek: Αθωνική Πολιτεία, Athoniki Politia). In the Classical era, while the mountain was called Athos, the peninsula was known as Acté or Akté (Ἀκτὴ).
Mount Athos has been inhabited since the ancient times and is known for its nearly 1,800-year continuous Christian presence and its long historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least 800 A.D. and the Byzantine era. Today, over 2,000 monks from Greece and many other Eastern Orthodox countries, such as BulgariaSerbia and Russia, live an ascetic life in Athos, isolated from the rest of the world. The Athonite monasteries feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical value.


Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 1988


Thank you, Milan !

Sent on: July 23, 2015
Received on: August 3, 2015

No comments: