Last week, Vladimir Putin took a previously cancelled
pilgrimage to a male-only monastic community on
Mount Athos in Greece. He visited the Russian Orthodox monastery of Saint
Panteleimon, pictured here, one of over 20 monasteries that make up Mount Athos, the oldest monastic republic still in
existence.
Located on the Athos peninsula of Chalkidiki, east of Thessaloniki, Mount Athos is home to over 1,500 monks of
Serbian, Bulgarian, Russian and Romanian decent, who are entitled to Greek and European citizenship, regardless of
their country of origin. By order of the protocol of the monastic state, only men are allowed to visit, and even female
animals are kept to a minimum on the Holy Mount. There are specific
instructions on how to request a visit to this center
of eastern orthodox monasticism, which looks like a beautiful place, although I guess I’ll never know…anyone ever
been?
The Macedonian Heritage site gives a
comprehensive history of the holy city, including descriptions of the art and architecture of the twenty distinct
monasteries. There is also a handy link
to Mark Dubin’s trekking guide
of the region from a 1993 Lonely Planet guide book.