Εσφιγμένου | |
Monastery information | |
---|---|
Full name | Sacred Patriarchal and Stauropegic Monastery Esphigmenou |
Dedicated to | Ascension of Christ |
Diocese | Mount Athos |
People | |
Founder(s) | Theodosius II & Pulcheria (According to Athonite tradition) |
Prior | Archimandrite Elder Methodius (Papalambrakopoulos) (de facto); Archimandrite Elder Bartholomew (Gazetas) (de jure) |
Site | |
Location | Mount Athos, Greece |
Coordinates | 40°21′10″N 24°08′17″E / 40.352689°N 24.138053°E |
Public access | Men only |
The Sacred Patriarchal and Stauropegic Monastery Esphigmenou (Greek: Ιερά Πατριαρχική και Σταυροπηγιακή Μονή Εσφιγμένου) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Ascension of Christ in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It is built next to the sea at the northern part of the Athonite peninsula. Located near the Hilandar monastery, it is the northernmost of all Athonite monasteries.
The current monastery dates back to the 10th century, while tradition holds that the site had been used as a monastery since as early as the 5th century. Esphigmenou ranks eighteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries and since the early 1970s has been embroiled in legal and ecclesiastical disputes. It is considered amongst the most conservative of the monastic houses on Mount Athos.[1]