St. Athanasius the Athonite

Q: Who was St. Athanasius the Athonite?

St. Athanasius the Athonite (born c. 920–died c. 1000) was a Byzantine monk who founded communal monasticism at Mount Athos in Greece and organized the scattered solitary monks and hermits of the region into the Great Laura (a monastic community).

Q: What was the miracle of St. Athanasius the Athonite?

St. Athanasius the Athonite is associated with the miracle of the sacred spring at Mount Athos in Greece. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to Athanasius in the village of Karyes and told him to return to the Great Laura—the monastery at Mount Athos that was then under construction—with a promise that he would find there the necessary materials for its completion. Athanasius asked her for a sign, and she instructed him to strike a stone with his staff . Immediately, water began to pour forth. The spring, which still exists, was later said to have healing properties.

Q: What did St. Athanasius the Athonite do in 963?

In 963 St. Athanasius the Athonite began organizing the scattered hermits and monks of the region of Mount Athos in Greece into the Great Laura (monastic community) and introduced a Typicon (rule) for cenobites based on the codes by St. Basil of Caesarea and St. Theodore Studites .

Byzantine monk

Also known as: Athanasius of Trebizond

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History

Who was St. Athanasius the Athonite?

What was the miracle of St. Athanasius the Athonite?

What did St. Athanasius the Athonite do in 963?

St. Athanasius the Athonite (born c. 920, Trebizond, Asia Minor—died c. 1000, Mount Athos, Greece; feast day July 5) was a Byzantine monk who founded communal monasticism in the hallowed region of Mount Athos, a traditional habitat for contemplative monks and hermits.

Originally named Abraham, he took the monastic name of Athanasius when he retired to Mount Athos after forsaking the sophisticated, urban monastic life in Constantinople; there he had served as spiritual director to the general Nicephorus Phocas, later the emperor Nicephorus II Phocas.

In 963, with imperial support, Athanasius organized the scattered solitaries on Mount Athos into the Great Laura (Greek laura, “monastery”). There, he introduced a Typicon, or rule, for cenobites (monks in community life) based on similar codes by the 4th-century monastic founder Basil of Caesarea and the 9th-century reformer Theodore Studites.

Various ecclesiastical and political factions opposed this monastic innovation and forced Athanasius to flee to Cyprus after the death of Nicephorus in 969. He returned to Mount Athos, however, in response to a command he claimed to have received in a vision of the Virgin Mary. Formal acceptance and financial assistance came from Nicephorus’s successor, the emperor John I Tzimisces, who in 971–972 had settled the controversy by granting Athos its first charter.

Athanasius died in the collapse of a building he was about to dedicate. His writings include a supplementary rule for monks (Hypotyposis), incorporating elements of Greek and Syriac monasticism; a detailed annotation (Diatyposis) of provisions for monastic transfer of authority; and a liturgical directory particularly for the Easter season.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Barbara A. Schreiber.