HISTORY

The Holy Monastery of Xenophontos is located by the sea, on the southwest side of the peninsula of Mount Athos. It is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr George the Trophy-Bearer. According to oral tradition, on the current site of the Monastery, there existed a small Monastery of Saint Demetrius, within which a chapel erected by Saint Xenophon, the senator, survives to this day. In the late 10th century, before the year 998, the miraculous arrival of the icon of Saint George by sea led to the construction, in his honor, of the old Katholikon of the Monastery, by the first Hegumen, Xenophon, from whom the Monastery received its name.

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From the earliest centuries, the Monastery received the support and donations of the Emperors of Constantinople, and with the zeal and sacrifices of the Monks, it reached its peak in the 14th century. Periods of prosperity followed, marked by intense activities (building extension, the frescoing of the Katholikon - Refectory, the acquisition of Metochia, etc.); however, there were also periods of decline (plundering by pirates, persecutions of Monks, etc.). During the Ottoman rule, taxes and the lack of men weakened it significantly. In 1784, it became cenobitic once again; it was repopulated by the company of Hieromonk Paisios the Kausokalyvite, who became the Hegumen. Under his spiritual administration and radiance, the Monastery flourished, and the conditions were created for the expansion of the building complex with a new large wing (1801) and a new Katholikon (1819-1839), the largest on Mount Athos.

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