Stavronikita Monastery
During the early 19th century Greek War of Independence, the Stavronikita Monastery, along with the entire Mount Athos, experienced harsh times and was once abandoned. Subsequently, the monastery suffered severe damage due to three fires in 1864, 1874, and 1879. The rebuilt monastery was also burdened with debt. By the second half of the 20th century, the monastery had been largely abandoned. From 1981 to 1999, the monastery underwent restoration and reinforcement.
Iviron Monastery
Iviron Monastery was founded by two Georgian monks, Ioane and Tornike Eristavi, between 980 and 983 AD, to house Georgian monks. The name 'Iviron' is the Greek name for the ancient Georgian kingdom of Caucasian Iberia. The monastery ranks third on Mount Athos. The monastery's library holds 2,000 manuscripts and 20,000 books in Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. The monastery possesses the most relics of saints on Mount Athos.
Philotheou Monastery
Philotheou Monastery was founded by Blessed Philotheos at the end of the 10th century. In 1539-1540, the monastery was restored by King Levan of Kakheti and his son Alexander II of Georgia, with frescoes depicting them in the refectory. The library houses 250 manuscripts and 2500 printed books (500 of which are in Russian and Romanian). The monastery is home to 60 monks.
Karacalla Monastery
It stands on the southeastern side of the peninsula, housing 50 monks. Its library holds 330 manuscripts and 3000 printed books. Founded in the 11th century, the Karacalla Monastery fell into decline in the 13th century due to pirate and Latin invasions.
Pantokratoros Monastery
The monastery was founded by Alexios and Ioannis in 1363. The library houses 350 manuscripts and 3500 printed books. The documents of the monastery are written in Greek and Turkish. Today, the monastery has about 17 monks.
Great Lavra Monastery
Nikephoros II had promised to become a monk at Great Lavra, but his death prevented this. His successor, John I, doubled the empire's permanent endowment. The emperor also gifted Great Lavra many other properties, including the island of Saint Eustratius and the Monastery of Saint Andrew in Thessaloniki. The number of monks increased from 80 to 120. In 1655, Dionysius III, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, donated his personal property and became a monk. Athanasius died along with six workers when the dome collapsed during the construction of the church. The architectural style of this church was emulated by other monasteries.
