NEWS

Monks eating in the refectory

Monks eating in the refectory (interior of the Trapeza, looking west).Vatopedi monastery.Only one inscription of 1319/20, built on the western face of the katholikon exonarthex, referring to its renovation, as well as the refurbishment of the olive press, survives today from the Byzantine refectory of the Monastery.

The engravings are depicted as a cruciform, while in most written sources it is characterized as “cruciform.Barskij, perhaps referring to his apses or to his ceramic decoration, evaluates her as more beautiful outside than that of the Great Lavra. The Byzantine refectory was obviously equipped with the marble tables that were later placed in the present, probably in the same location as it was.

The new refectory was built in 1785. It has a cruciform top view, niches at the edges of the three antennae of the cross and auxiliary rooms inside the eastern side. In front of this side there is a high arched arcade on which a floor is divided into rooms. In this place is the present museum of the Monastery. The refectory, which still retains the original exterior frames, is adorned inside with frescoes of 1786, crafted by Makarios Galatsianos.Mount Athos is one of the most important centres of the Orthodox Christian world, consisting of 20 monasteries and approximately 2,000 monks. Located on a Greek peninsula, it is home to the oldest surviving monastic community on Earth. The way of life for the monks is practically unchanged since the first monks arrived in the ninth century. Most of the monks live within the walls of their chosen monastery, but others choose to live in complete isolation, away from any distractions.