The Simonos Petras Monastery sits on a sheer cliff on Mt. Athos, 755 feet above the Aegean Sea. Its seven stories of Byzantine architecture are imposing even from the deck of a boat 500 yards offshore.
This is the only way most visitors see the Simonos Petras Monastery and 19 other monasteries on the Athos peninsula. Thousands of visitors each year take a three-hour cruise or private boat tour with companies like Athos Sea Cruises to view them.
Osios Simon, a hermit living in a nearby cave, founded the monastery in 1257. As the story goes, on Christmas night, he saw a flickering light. The third time the light appeared, the Virgin Mary said, “Build me a monastery where the light is showing, and the name of that monastery shall be ‘The New Bethlehem’.”
Simon found masons who reluctantly agreed to do the work. On their first day, a monk serving them food and wine slipped and fell into a steep ravine while holding the wine pitcher and cup.
The monk appeared unharmed on the cliff’s edge, still holding the full wine pitcher and cup. The masons thought this was a miracle by the Virgin Mary and enthusiastically completed the construction.
The Simonos Petras Monastery has 12 smaller churches under its protection. I visited one of them, the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation in Ormylia. Affiliated with the Ormylia Foundation, it’s the largest women’s monastery in Greece, providing preventive care to underserved communities in the region. The monastery is also a renowned center for Byzantine iconography and cultural heritage research.
Life of the Sisters
The Holy Monastery of the Annunciation, founded in 1974, featured an entrance surrounded by a wooden fence made with chestnut stakes (kaproulia) from Mt. Athos. Nails (gyftokarfa) stud the massive chestnut gate at the entrance in the traditional architectural style of the monasteries on Mt. Athos.
A cobblestone path lined with olive trees led to the lovely reception courtyard (archontariki) shaded by acacia, pine, magnolia, cherry laurel, maple, and lemon-cypress trees.
A sister greeted us and offered coffee, tea, and loukomi, candy flavored with rose water and almond essence. We enjoyed our refreshments while she told us about life at the monastery.
Over a hundred sisters from all over the world live at the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation. All have jobs according to their talents and interests. Some cultivate organic olives and produce the monastery’s extra virgin olive oil brand. Others make honey, jams, liqueurs, and personal care products such as soaps, lotions, and ointments.
Sisters who enjoy crafts carve religious icons out of wood or make vestments with fabric they make by hand on old looms. Those who are musically inclined are famous for their beautiful chanting. The sisters have recorded and published several CDs and DVDs.
The Monastery: Beauty and Tradition
Our tour began with a visit to the exquisite Old Chapel of the Annunciation of the Virgin, one of the oldest buildings on the grounds, where the sisters celebrated the first divine liturgy after establishing the monastery.
Its wood-carved icon stand, stunning icons, and frescoes are characteristic of Northern Greece and Halkidian churches built in the 19th century.
The sisters who work in the monastery’s painting workshop repaired and restored many of the pieces in the sanctuary.
Frescoes, Mosaics, and a Baptismal Font
Two remarkable frescoes represent the Second Coming and the Assembly of the Holy Fathers on Mount Athos in vivid red, blue, yellow, and green hues. In Byzantine art, blue represents the sky or heaven, while red symbolizes celebration. Yellow represents light and purity, and green symbolizes fertility, victory over life, and hope.
Frescoes in the Old Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin represent the Second Coming and the Assembly of the Holy Fathers on Mount Athos. (Photo Credit: Marni Patterson)
As we walked through the grounds, the sister pointed out a hospital, nursing home, and workshops for drawing, embroidery, and weaving on our right. Living quarters were on our left.
Built in 1978, an intriguing crucifix-shaped subterranean baptismal font is used for adult baptisms. In ancient cathedrals and churches, baptisteries were separate from the main church because people were not allowed inside consecrated places of worship until they had been baptized. Baptisteries were subterranean structures because candidates were fully immersed during the sacrament.
Our last stop was the beautiful East Courtyard with its Catholic church, bell tower, and Vial of Sanctification. The church, constructed in the typical Byzantine style, features domes, arches, and columns.
Sisters from the mosaic and painting workshops designed and laid the floor and created the magnificent murals in the sanctuary. They also designed and laid several mosaics in the courtyard, including one at the church entrance that depicts Noah’s Ark.
A Commitment to Heritage and Service
We left the monastery for the nearby Ormylia Foundation.
The Foundation administers several social programs. Two of its largest are the Center of Panagia Philanthropini (Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary Who Loves Humankind), the only monastic medical center in Greece, and a Byzantine iconography and cultural heritage research center.
The Center of Panagia Philanthropini was the brainchild of Elder Archimandrite Emilianos, the Abbot of the Simonos Petras Monastery from 1974 to 2000. His lifelong dream was to create a medical center to serve people experiencing poverty. It became a reality when a wealthy shipowner donated his fortune to the Foundation.
Private donations, philanthropic organizations, including the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Greek ministries, and grants from the European Union and European Free Trade Association funded the construction of additional buildings and equipment.
During our meeting with George Karagiannis, Director of the Art Diagnostic Center and Scientific Officer, we learned that the organization offers free breast and cervical cancer screening services for women from remote rural areas and economically depressed communities.
The founders decided to focus on women’s health because there are few resources for women in underserved communities. Because of this, many needed advanced care at their time of hospitalization. The center’s secondary focus is on medical services for poor children.
Byzantine Iconography and Cultural Heritage
In recent years, the Center developed an extensive knowledge base for Byzantine iconography and cultural heritage. As a resource for scientists and educators, the Center promotes the development of new methods to improve laboratory infrastructure. It also protects artifacts important to Greece’s cultural heritage.
In one current project, a team of art analysts is studying ruins at the City of Aigai site. Aigai (now called Vergina) was the first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia.
In the 19th century, archaeologists discovered a palace and over 300 tombs, some dating back to the 11th century BC.
During my visit, I saw a side of Greece most visitors never have the opportunity to experience. It was impressive to see how the monastery and Ormlyia Foundation retain spiritual ties with the past — while supporting missions that address the issues of today.
If you go to the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation
Ormylia is west of the Sinthonia Peninsula, the middle of the three “fingers” of the Halkidiki Peninsula. You can visit the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. No reservations are required. The monastery closes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s also open to the public for prayer services on major feast days.
If you’d like to spend the night at the monastery, call (30) 237-104-1278 to make a reservation. The staff only answers the phone on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Please note that there’s a six-month waiting list. Men are rarely allowed to spend the night.
Visiting The Ormylia Foundation
The Ormlyia Foundation is a living research and medical center. If a visitor has a special interest that matches one of its missions, they can arrange a tour. Call (30) 237-104-1498 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm weekdays. Or contact the staff by email at info@ormyliafoundation.gr.
The Pass Partout Tourism Marketing and the Halkidiki Tourism Organization sponsored my trip to Greece and the visit to the monastery.
Read more of Marni Patterson’s work at https://mptravelwriting.com/.
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