Prodromos, Mount Athos
Greek Orthodox | |
Site | |
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Location | Mount Athos Greece |
Coordinates | 40°8′36.83″N 24°23′2.38″E / 40.1435639°N 24.3839944°E |
Public access | Men only |
The Skete of Prodromos (
It is one of the two Romanian establishments at Mount Athos, the other one being Lakkoskiti.
As with all Athonite monasteries and sketes, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Currently, 25 monks live in the Skete of Prodromos.
History
The oldest records of
As the number of Romanian monks increased around him, Iustin thought of broadening their cell by making it into a skete, and made a request to the Great Lavra, who agreed and gave its blessing. But Iustin died in 1816. His successors asked the Great Lavra for a deed to establish the skete. In 1820, they received a document of 13 articles, stating that a cell would be recognized "to the devout tribe of Moldavians for creating a coenobitic skiti". The operating conditions were that it belongs to the Great Lavra, that it will be a cenobitic skete, will have a "dikaios" (=hegumen), will have its own seal, and will obey to its duties to the Great Lavra (like the other Athonite sketes). Part of Moldavia (the Latinized exonym of Moldova) of that time belongs now to Romania, while another part is today an independent country bearing the name Moldova and the rest is part of Ukraine.
1821 marks the beginning of the
The building of the skete's church began in 1857 and ended 1866 when, on 21 May, on Saints
The church, 30 m long and 8.5 m wide, has three domes, and it was painted in 1862-1863 by painters from Romania in a
Seeing his wish fulfilled, hegumen Nifon retreated to a cell in a nearby St. Athanasios cave in 1870, and died in 1899. First he was buried in the cave to which he had retreated, then his remains were moved to the vault underneath church's altar.
Initially named Moldavian Skete Prodromos, after
Over the years the skete was enlarged, but the
On April 11, 2007, the
Holy relics
The skete, like all establishments of the Holy Mountain, holds holy
Icons
The skete has, alongside icons of saints celebrated over the course of the year, five large icons, of which three are thought to perform miracles.
The Icon of
There are also The Icon of Theotokos, the one protecting from fire, The Icon of St. John the Baptist, The Icon of Three Holy Hierarchs, The Icon of the Holy Mountain.
Library
The skete's library has over 5000 volumes and about 200 manuscripts of which The History of Athonite Monasteries, written by anchorite monk Irinarh Şişman (1845–1920) a century ago, consisting of 10 volumes, with beautiful ornaments, depicts the history of the Holy Mountain, all its monasteries, and the Romanian establishments in them.
Cemetery
According to traditional practice on the Holy Mountain, the skete's cemetery has only one gravesite. It is a simple one, and it is used for all the monks who pass away. This is for two reasons. One is the lack of space for a large cemetery on the mountainous terrain. The body is then exhumed after three years (as no coffin is used in the burial, the body decomposes quickly) and the bones are afterward kept in the nearby ossuary. The second reason is that the remains may be holy relics, and exhuming them is a means to acknowledge this and treat them appropriately.
List of cells
Some cells in the main area of the skete include:[2]
- Evangelismou tis Theotokou
- Ag. Mina
- Ag. Skepis
- Ag. Tris Ierarches
- Ag. Tris Pedes
- Ag. Fanourios
- Os. Vaarlam ke Iosif
- Isodia tis Theotokou
Dikaioi (hegumens)
- Nifon, 1866–1870 (anchorite in the last part of life, d. 1899)
- Hieromonk Damian, 1870–1890 (anchorite in the last part of life)
- Hieromonk Ghedeon (anchorite in the last part of life)
- Hieromonk Antipa Dinescu
- Hieromonk Hrisostom
- Archimandrite Petroniu Tănase, 1985–2011 (b. 1914, Fărcasa village, Neamț County, Romania, d. February 22, 2011; bachelor of Theology, attended also Mathematics and Philosophy courses, Athonite monk since 1978)
- Hieromonk Atanasie Floroiu, since February 13, 2011 (elected by the community on February 6 following the retirement of Fr. Petroniu. He was tonsured as a monk on December 5, 1975, at Sihăstria Monastery and is an Athonite monk since 1977, being part, like his predecessor, of the same group of monks that left for Athos to resuscitate the monastic life at the Prodromos Skete)[3][4]
Gallery
See also
- Mount Athos
- Great Lavra, the monastery Prodromos belongs to
- Lakkoskiti, the other Romanian establishment on the Mountain
Notes
- ^ "Deputaţii "generoşi" de 250.000 euro cu schitul Prodromu" (in Romanian). Cronica Română. 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
- ISBN 978-0-473-41386-6.
- ^ "Nou egumen la Schitul românesc Prodromu din Sfântul Munte" (in Romanian). Mesagerul. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2013-01-08.
- ^ "Schitul Prodromu din Athos are un nou egumen" (in Romanian). Basilica. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-01-08.
Bibliography
- "Scurt îndrumător pentru pelerinii români" (Short Guide for Romanian Pilgrims), by Romanian Skete Prodromos, C.N.I. Coresi S.A. Ed., Bucharest, 2006.
- "Sfântul Munte Athos - Grădina Maicii Domnului" (Holy Mountain Athos - The Garden of Theotokos), 2nd edition, by monk Pimen Vlad, St. Martyr Artemios cell, Lakkoskete, Holy Mount Athos.