Monastery Osiou Grigoriou

Founded: Beginning of 11th century
Founder: Unknown (from Thessaloniki)
Feast-day: 27th of July
Library: 1300 Greek manuscripts and 600 Slavic manuscripts
Collection: The iconostasis and the frescoes of the Russian School (19th century)

 

The Monastery Osiou Grigoriou is located directly southeast of Simonos Petras .It seems raised on a rocky, multifarious piece of land and as if a powerful hand is holding it in place . At the end of the well constructed pebbled street which begins down by the tarsana and runs through a thick cypress forest,is the smalll marble entance to the courtyard.

The foundation of this Abbey was in the beginning of the 14th century and is attributed to Osios Grigorios the Young who was a student of the well known religious teacher Grigorios of Sinaitou. The first indications that certify its existence, are seen in documents from the first half of the 14th century. Positive information of its following history is absent to us for a big interval.Sure news was reported in 1500,claiming there was devastating arsony, extermination of monks and desolation of the Abbey, after wild piratical raids. However, later in a document of the Sinaxis in 1513, there are reports on the reconstruction of new buildings, with sponsoring from the then souvereign of Moldavia Stefanos and the guardianship of the abbot Spiridonos.During this period (16th century) it is also reported that the northern (bisector two pipe) wing with the old pylon, the belltower, the tower and others were built .A series of documents from the 17th century,are based on the delimitation of its region of belongings that stretch north further inland and as far as to the adjacent abbey of Esfigmenou on the other side of the peninsula.

The Russian monk and pilgrim of Mount Athos Vasili Barski, gives an interesting description on the shape of the Monastery before the middle of the 18th century. In 1761 a big fire burned most of the buildings and destroyed the catholic. For her rectification, leading role had the monk and guard Ioakim Vesmintarios. The reconstruction of the new catholic began around I 770. Serious damage was also caused to the Abbey from the Greek Revolution in 1821, when installed there, as well as in other abbeys, were teams of Turks (who burnt old books etc). Towards the end of the 19th century new buildings were erected in the west and in the north, which, surrounding a new courtyard, contributed in the almost doubling of the preexisting Abbey (eg the arhontariki: 1892, the new gateway entrance in the shape of a square : 1896). the buildings in the Tarsana have been transformed into guest houses and quarters , because of the insufficiency of space inside the Abbey. Among the wearthy heirlooms that this monastery has ,we must report the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, known within the abbey as the Virgin Mary of Paleologinas ,similar to the icon of Odigitrias(She who leads) , on which the words "In honor of the respected Lady Maria Asaninas Paleologinas ,Lady of Moldovlahias"are quoted.