Monasteries of Mount Athos

The Holy Dionysiou Monastery, fifth in the hierarchy of Athonite monasteries, is dedicated to the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (the Forerunner). It was founded in the mid-14th century by monk Dionysios from Koryssos in the Kastoria precinct (1310/5-1390) with the financial support of emperor Alexios III the Great Komnenos of Trebizond (1350-1390). In 1378, it suffered a pirate raid during which all monks were captured, during the time the blessed Dionysios was in Trebizond. The Patriarch Antonius IV issued a sigillion in 1389, declaring it a patriarchal monastery. The monastery, like all Athonite establishments, was financially supported by the rulers of the Danubian Principalities during the 16th century, such as the ruler of Wallachia Neagoe Basarab (1512-1521), the rulers of Moldavia, Petru Rareș (1527-1538, 1541-1546) and Alexandru Lăpuşneanu (1552-1561, 1564-1568), etc.

The monastery is built on top of a narrow, steep rock. It has all the characteristics of a fortified, enclosed complex with a particularly confined courtyard, dominated by the katholikon, which was built in 1540 (after the devastating fire of 1534) and frescoed in 1547 by the Cretan painter Tzortzis.

In the wings of the precinct there are chapels, the synod building, the sacristy, the monastic cells, the dorter and other ancillary spaces. The refectory was frescoed in two different phases: in the mid-16th century and in 1603. Scenes of the Revelation were depicted in the exterior portico, bearing Western influences. The tower of the monastery was built with the financial contribution of the ruler of Wallachia Neagoe Basarab (1520). There are chapels in the wings, many of which are frescoed.

The monastery holds one of the most remarkable collections of works of art, such as portable icons, liturgical objects, illuminated manuscripts, etc. Included amongst the oldest icons is the bilateral icon with the ktetor Alexios III the Great Komnenos and St. John the Baptist holding the effigy of the katholikon on one side. Among the treasures of the monastery, an ivory icon with the representation of the Crucifixion (10th century) stands out, as well as the elaborate reliquary of Nephon II which was crafted in 1515 with the financial contribution of Neagoe Basarab, and others.

Two elaborate wood carvings have been preserved in the monastery: the door panels of the main church of the katholikon from the second half of the 14th century and the doors of the refectory, carved in the 16th century. 

Liakos