Distant view of the Great Lavra

Photographer

Horlbeck, Frank R.

Date

• June 24, 1979

Summary

• Distant view of the Great Lavra monastery. The Great Lavra is the first coenobitic monastery established on Mount Athos. (Lavra means a monastic complex with a large population). The monastery was founded in 957 by St. Athanasius of Athos (with a chrysobull from Emperor Nikephorus Phokas), and its foundation initiated the systematization of monasticism across the Athonite peninsula. The monastery was well supported by subsequent Byzantine emperors and later, after the fall of Constantinople, by Danubian princes and the Russian czars. The main church (catholicon – or communal church) was built in 963 and is located in the center of the courtyard. It boasts beautiful frescos in the nave painted by Theophanes the Cretan dating to 1535. Of the fifteen small chapels in the monastery, two (dedicated to: St. Michael Synadon, 1560; the Virgin Koukouzelissa, 1713) are also located in the courtyard. In front of the entrance to the catholicon is a phiale (water fountain for liturgical or ceremonial use). Opposite the catholicon is the refectory (trapezon - or dining hall). The monastery also contains a rich library with thousands of historical manuscripts and over ten thousand books.