Vatican Orthodox
Mont Athos is the easternmost and largest of the three promontories of the Chalkidiki peninsula in the Aegean Sea, with Mount Athos 47 km long and the peak of Athos 2033 m high. On Athos there is an Orthodox "monastic republic" and 20 monasteries (Orthodox monasteries). At present, there are about 2000 monks living here and still, according to ancient tradition, women are not allowed. For Orthodox Christians, Athos has a unique significance as one of the spiritual centres of Orthodoxy.
According to legend, the Mother of God is buried here, who found shelter here during the persecution of the Apostles. In her memory, there is a law on Mont Athos that no woman may enter the entire peninsula, nor may any animal of the female sex be tolerated here. This was decreed in 1045 by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX.
The emperor Theodosius the Great had the first temple of the Mother of God built here in the 4th century, in the 5th century the first monastery was built and in 885 Athos was declared the seat of monks and hermits by the Byzantine emperor Basil I. By the 11th century, most of the 20 monasteries were already standing, as were the kellia (cells) and hermitages. The Byzantine Empire gave significant support to the monasteries, so that until the 15th century Athos was an Orthodox cultural and religious centre. After the conquest of the Byzantine Empire, the situation deteriorated and the monasteries survived only thanks to the sponsorship of Christian rulers from the Danube lands. In 1794 the Athos School is founded, the monasteries expand, new monks arrive and Athos experiences its golden age. Athos experienced another revival in 1826, when the monks who had fled the Turks returned.
In the 19th century, large numbers of Russian monks flocked to Athos. On 5 November 1912, the Greek flag was raised in the small port town and in 1924 Greece recognised the legal sovereignty of the Athos territory.
The painting depicts the interior of one of the temples of Athos, where the mosaic image of the Mother of God is located in the apse. The sun's rays from the right enter the temple, which is also lit by a number of candles. Priests stand in front of the iconostasis and offer the relics of the saints for pilgrims to kiss. In the glow of the lights float cherubs carrying models of four other Orthodox monasteries: the Serbian Chiliandar, the Russian Panteleimon, the Zoographer and the Bulgarian Vatoped. Behind the cherubim we see the images of four igumens - the superiors of the aforementioned monasteries. In the foreground stands a young man supporting a blind old man - the young man is again Mucha's self-portrait.
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