AUTHOR'S PREFACE
 

In 1972, the year of the first of my 22 visits to the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos, monastic life there had reached the nadir of a decline that had begun more than 40 years earlier, exacerbated by Communism in Russia and its satellites and World War II.  From over 7,000 in 1903, the monastic population had dropped to about 1,490 in 1965.  Year by year, fewer men donned the habit and time took its inevitable toll on the aging.  Sources of money dried up, especially in the 1920’s when the Turks drove several million Greeks out of their homes in Anatolia to be resettled in Greece.  As part of a plan to accommodate such a large influx, the Greek government expropriated monastic landholdings on mainland Greece with a promise of indemnities that never fully materialized.  From Russian and Slavic countries under the Communist yoke, there was not even a promise of payment for properties expropriated.

On Athos, buildings, farms and trails all showed the effects of time and lack of maintenance.  There were a few exceptions among the [monks] who had special skills, such as painting of icons, preparation of incense used in worship services, weaving and sewing clothing, but all of the 20 monasteries suffered.  Overall there was serious decline, both physical and spiritual.  In this dark period a few leaders stood out.  In 1974, it was my great good fortune and privilege to meet one of them, the aged abbot of Dionysiou Monastery, Archimandrite Gabriel, who had been a tower of strength during his nearly 50 years as abbot.

Considering the dire straits of most monasteries, many in Greece were predicting that this monastic republic would cease to be such, that over a thousand years of history would come to an end.  Politicians and business people in Greece were suggesting that perhaps the tourist industry could inherit this beautiful place and its fascinating buildings.  Few monks shared this view, however.  The Holy Mountain, the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos, had weathered other periods of serious decline in its long history, and especially this piece of ground and way of life had been consecrated to the Virgin as her Garden, most monks believed in Her protection.

In 1968, just four years before my first visit, a monk moved from a kelli to become the abbot of a monastery that was about to close.  With him came a number of young monks and seekers who had been attracted to the charismatic leadership of this spirit-filled man.  In the next several years, a number of other monastic leaders appeared and became abbots of other declining monasteries.  Young men from all walks of life and educational backgrounds came with them, and others have continued to come in increasing numbers to become novices and then monks under these abbots and spiritual fathers.  The changes that have occurred in the period between 1969 and 1996 have been spectacular, almost unbelievable.  This is the exciting era of change and renewal I have been privileged to witness and to document in Miracle on the Monastery Mountain.

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All photos and text on this site © Douglas Demetrios Lyttle