Here is another set of pictures graciously shared with us by a friend who recently visited Mt Athos, this time from the Koutloumousiou Monastery, which is 6th in the Athonite hierarchy of the 20 great monasteries. It was founded in the 1060s by a man named Kallistos Koutloumous, a prince of the Seljuk Turks who converted to Christianity, and received its first major benefactions from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118). For a long time, it was populated predominantly by Romanians, and the present structure of a large courtyard with the church in the middle mostly dates from the 14th century, with some later rebuilding and fortification.
A first view of the church. Below the break are a lot of pictures of the church’s interior, including some very nice frescoes in the narthex.
Going up into the monastery building...
one sees the wooden semantron, a board which is knocked with hammers, as a way of calling the monks to services, just as western churches use bells.
The central fountain.
The refectory was rebuilt after a fire in 18th century.
A miraculous icon in a chapel to the side of the main church.
The iconostasis is particularly fine. Relics venerated daily include a foot of St Anne and a hand of St Gregory of Nazianzus.
More views of the courtyard.
