HILANDAR MONASTERY

Nestled in a forest in the north of the peninsula, this great Serbian monastery (Ιερά Μονή Χιλανδαρίου/Iera Moni Hilandariou, Манастир Хиландар/Manastir Hilandar) is one of the most famous on the Athos. It was founded in 1198 by two important Serbian figures: King Stefan Nemanja, who founded the Nemanjić dynasty but gave up his throne to become a monk, and his son, Saint Sava, a great figure of Orthodox Christianity in the Balkans. Occupying fourth place in the Athonite hierarchy, the monastery played a central role in relations between Serbian and Byzantine rulers, as well as in the spread of a common culture, with many painters and intellectuals having worked here. Hilandar was also at the heart of several scandals. In 1347, Emperor Dušan Nemanjić found refuge here... with Empress Helena! This was one of the very few breaches of theavaton rule prohibiting women from entering the peninsula. And, more recently, the monastery has discreetly welcomed war criminals wanted by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Ravaged by fire in 2004, the complex still preserves its precious icon of the Bogorodica Trojeručica ("Three-armed Virgin") attributed, according to tradition, to John Damascene (^8th century), as well as some ^14th-century frescoes in the catholicon and St. George's tower. Nearby (3 km to the northeast), on the coast, is the beautiful but ultra-conservative Esphigmenou monastery.