reported missing to the Police Department of Karyes on November 29 was found dead on a rocky coastline in the “Monoxylitis” area of Mount Athos With the assistance of personnel from the Police Department of Mount Athos and the Fire Department of Karyes the monk’s body was recovered and transported to a location accessible by sea it was taken to the mainland using a private vessel The body is being transferred to the Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for an autopsy The Mount Athos Port Authority is conducting a preliminary investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident Source: ANA-MPA / Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas the Patriarchate of Jerusalem solemnly celebrated the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women... Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the Theotokos.. it was announced that two Roman Catholic institutions in Bavaria have decided to jointly.. A car once used by Pope Francis during his 2014 visit to Bethlehem is being transformed into a mobile.. the Monastery of Saint Vlash in Albania hosted a festal Divine Liturgy on the.. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece presided over the festal Great Vespers at the historic.. (function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [] cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt callback: cb } ); } } }})(); © 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website These cookies do not store any personal information Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website Photo: vimaorthodoxias.gr ���� While there are already churches dedicated to the great 20th-century ascetic St the Holy Mountain itself now has its first consecrated church built in his honor The church was consecrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon of Xanthi on Sunday morning, reports vimaorthodoxias.gr Follow us on Facebook A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Mount Athos monastic community in northeastern Greece on Saturday afternoon The earthquake’s epicenter was located 8 kilometers northwest of the Karyes settlement The focal depth was estimated at 5 kilometers Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck the Mount Athos monastic community in northeastern Greece on Friday morning According to the Athens Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens the quake’s epicenter was located 10 kilometers west-northwest of Karyes at a depth of 13.7 kilometers The earthquake was preceded by two smaller tremors a seismologist at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki He emphasized that this level of seismic activity is not unusual for the region the municipality of Aristotelis suspended all school activities on Friday School directors were instructed to ensure students’ safe dismissal and organize transportation arrangements stressing no immediate danger from the seismic activity Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money The family of Stephen Groce created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Made with love by funeralOne Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the St Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos who has often talked about his strong Orthodox faith will join celebrations for the 1,000th anniversary of the Russian presence at the ancient all-male monastic community of Mount Athos Mount Athos in Greece is a revered site for the Orthodox Church — and potentially attractive as an unorthodox route for Russian money into Europe Eliza Triantafillou contributed to this story Become an NPR sponsor Unknown individuals have defaced a wall along the main road connecting the port of Dafni with the capital of Mount Athos The graffiti accuses the newly appointed Civil Administrator of Mount Athos of being a traitor and alleges that he serves the interests of the NATO military alliance The slogan is signed “Mount Athos,” adding a troubling dimension to the act of vandalism Abbot Bartholomew of Esfigmenos Monastery expressed deep concern in a public statement condemning the incident as part of a broader campaign of intimidation “After the internet and some decadent media the attempts at intimidation have now spread within Mount Athos itself What was once a place of peace is turning into a place for thuggery due to the long-standing indifference of the Greek State to our continuous appeals for the protection of Mount Athos and the dereliction of duty by the Greek Police “Anarchy and thuggery by unknown individuals threaten to put a tombstone on the self-governance of Mount Athos and completely dissolve it.” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled by air to Antalya Paraskevi “Voula” Harakas Copses Voula Harakas Copses passed away peacefully on March 24 Voula was born on Christmas Day of 1932 in Karyes As the oldest child and only daughter of Fotini Diamadouros and Konstantine N Her family lived through the burning of parts of their village during the WWII occupation of Greece and they endured the impoverished conditions of its unsteady aftermath and service that stayed with her all her life “Saint Voula,” amongst friends and family Voula’s family immigrated to America Although she completed high school in Tripoli she rose to the challenge of attending and graduating from Greenville High School while simultaneously learning English Not only did she learn the English language but recently shared with her children that she also played on the GHS girls basketball team She took a job at Thompson Handkerchief in Accounting which was fitting for her as the daughter of a tailor and which fostered her lifelong interest in sewing Voula was reintroduced to her future husband at a Greek wedding Pano (Pete) Copses was also born in Karyes but had immigrated with his brother Bill Copses to Toronto Pete and Voula married in 1957 and eventually settled in Spartanburg They soon partnered with the Stathakis family to open the Sugar ‘n Spice Voula contributed her talents as a Greek pastry chef and as a math whiz keeping the books for decades at “The Spice.” Voula is survived by her husband of 68 years as well as Voula’s closest friend and sister-in-law Voula was a devoted “Yiayia” to her three grandchildren Parras Black (Ray) perfectly represented by her legendary loukoumades and pastries and nephews in Greece and America as well as the many adoptive friends-turned-family whom she welcomed into her home for countless meals over the years “Thea Voula” was a tireless hostess never blinking at the idea of inviting 40-50 people for Christmas or Easter celebrations She showed her love so tangibly by preparing her “tiropites,” her garden-grown “vlita” greens Anyone sitting at her table understood Voula’s culinary artistry “Kali orexi” (Bon Appetit!) was her love language and her pursuit of excellence Voula’s talents and heart for service extended seamlessly into her church family She was a devout and faithful member of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Spartanburg since 1961 serving on the Ladies Philoptochos Society including holding the position of Treasurer She was also very active in the many successful Greek Festivals she was active in the Karyes Adelphotis Society Visitation for friends and family will be at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm with a Trisagion prayer service at 7:30 pm Funeral service will be at 12 O’clock noon SC 29303 followed by interment at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens Our family wants to thank all the caregivers from Spartanburg Regional Hospice and Summit Hills Memory Care who were with us until her last breath Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Memorial Fund Two new seismic tremors were recorded on Monday afternoon in the wider region of Mount Athos in Chalkidiki with its epicenter located 11 kilometers west-northwest of Karyes with its epicenter 11 kilometers east of Ouranoupoli and a focal depth of 15 kilometers The quakes were felt by both residents and visitors in the area Metropolitan Pavlos of Drama officiated at the Divine Liturgy which was performed by the fathers of Karyes The procession of the icon of “Axion Estin” in Karyes and the surrounding area lasted six hours The holy icon was accompanied by the Holy Epistasis of Mount Athos Proto-epistatis Elder Stephanos Hieromonk of Hilandar Monastery Hieromonk of Xeropotamos and Elder Nicodemus of Saint Paul the civil administrator of Mount Athos and a multitude of Orthodox believers from various countries Following the invitation of the Holy Cell of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Karyes of Mount Athos which belongs to the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra the Elder Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi went to Mount Athos to participate in the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation accompanied by the Protosyncellos of the Ecumenical Throne and the Chief Protodeacon of the Holy and Great Church of Christ where they were received by the Elder of the Cell of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Karyes of Mount Athos The Metropolitan of Derkoi then visited the Holy Administration of Mount Athos where he was warmly received by Father Stefanos Chilandarinos and Father Nikodimos Agiopavlitos Then he venerated the Holy and Miraculous Icon of the Virgin Mary “Axion Esti” he went to the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra where he presided over the Third Stasis of Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos There he talked with the members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Monastery about matters concerning Mount Athos he visited the Holy Monasteries of Stavronikita and Koutloumousiou where he performed a Trisagion in memory of the late Abbot Christodoulos the Feast of the Annunciation began at the namesake Holy Cell in Karyes the Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy were celebrated presided over by Elder Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi with the participation of many priests and deacons The services ended without interruption at 7:00 a.m during which the Metropolitan delivered the festive Patriarchal sermon and conveyed the wishes and blessings of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the Vespers of the Annunciation and the “Founder’s Memorial Service” of the Holy Cell were held accompanied by his entourage visited the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos where they were warmly received by the Abbot of the Monastery There they participated in the Great Canon of Supplication they participated in the Divine Liturgy of the Hours and the Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy the Metropolitan and his entourage departed for Constantinople Greece (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a Russian Orthodox monastery Saturday as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Greece which is looking for more Russian investment and tourism as it copes with a prolonged financial crisis and a massive wave of migrants who has sought to capitalize on the strained relations between Greece and many other European Union members said Russia seeks to cooperate with Greece in the energy sector Several Russian ministers also expressed interest in the privatization of Greek railways and in the northern port of Thessaloniki Only lower lever "cooperation agreements" were reached during the visit Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had said the Russian president's visit was a chance to "upgrade" relations Putin visited a Russian Orthodox monastery Saturday on the northern Greek peninsula of Mount Athos The Russian leader praised the spiritual uplift and moral guidance provided by the austere monastic community in a sacred place Putin said the Orthodox tradition shared by Russia is particularly important at this moment in history a strengthening of relations" with Mount Athos Putin expressed gratitude for Greece's friendship - and used his visit to blast U.S missile defense system in Europe as a threat to Russia's national security and said his country would retaliate At the height of Greece's financial crisis last year Athens had sought aid from Russia as a counterbalance to its difficult negotiations with its EU and International Monetary Fund creditors The limited concrete results of Putin's long-anticipated visit left some disappointed a former energy minister who has left the ruling Syriza party said the Greek government had de-emphasized the Putin visit in order to curry favor with U.S Greek opposition figures were pleased with Putin's decision to meet opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis Greek tourist officials said Putin's visit would help encourage more Russians to visit Greece Strained ties with Turkey and lax airport security in Egypt have reduced the number of Russian tourists going to those sun-drenched countries where women are not allowed to visit any of the 20 monasteries there Putin repeatedly praised the spirit of the monastic community there is great and important work done on moral values," Putin said after a Mass in his honor where he was seated in the bishop's throne Putin flew from Athens to Thessaloniki on Saturday morning traveled by road to a port near Mount Athos and then took a boat - the only way to reach the isolated community the Russian president used a 33-meter (110-foot) yacht provided by the Greek navy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow traveled to the monastery with Putin to help celebrate 1,000 years of Russian presence at Mount Athos Putin was greeted by the 20 abbots of the monasteries and 20 representatives of the monks on the peninsula as well as a representative of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople under whose jurisdiction Mount Athos falls Security in Mount Athos was extremely tight there was a heavy Greek police and coast guard presence with divers guarding and inspecting the landing site and snipers deployed throughout Putin's route Trips by other male pilgrims to the Russian St Panteleimon monastery were canceled two weeks ago Putin headed to Thessaloniki on Saturday night for a flight back to Moscow Follow Kantouris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CostasKantouris Greece — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a Russian Orthodox monastery Saturday on the northern Greek peninsula of Mount Athos as part of a two-day visit touted by the Greek government as a chance to improve ties between the two countries He praised the spiritual uplift and moral guidance provided by the austere monastic community in a sacred place Putin said the Orthodox tradition is particularly important at this moment in history a strengthening of relations" with Mount Athos Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had said the Russian president's visit was a chance to "upgrade" relations which Greece hopes will mean more Russian investment and more Russian tourism as the EU member copes with a prolonged financial crisis and a tsunami of migrants who has sought to capitalize on the strained relations between Greece and many other European Union countries Only lower lever "cooperation agreements" were reached during the visit Putin expressed gratitude for the Greek friendship — and used his visit to blast U.S missile defense system in Europe as a threat to Russia's national security and said his country would retaliate At the height of Greece's financial crisis last year it had sought aid from Russia as a counterbalance to its difficult negotiations with its EU and IMF creditors The limited concrete results of Putin's long-anticipated visit left some disappointed Greek opposition figures were pleased with Putin's decision to meet opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Greek tourist officials said Putin's visit would help encourage more Russians to visit Greece there is great and important work done on moral values," Putin said after a Mass in his honor where he was seated in the bishop's throne traveled by road to a port near Mount Athos and then took a boat — the only way to reach the isolated community there was heavy Greek police and coast guard presence with divers guarding and inspecting the landing site and snipers deployed throughout Putin's route Follow Kantouris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CostasKantouris With the storm over the planned legislation for same-sex marriage having subsided – at least on the surface – the tranquil monastic community of Mount Athos welcomed its new civil administrator at the start of this week All the proper honors were observed with utmost formality as Anastasios Mitsialis officially took office on his inaugural visit to Karyes According to the charter governing the operation of the self-governed community the civil administrator is responsible for areas like law and order and healthcare while spiritual and ecclesiastical matters come under the purview of the Holy Community (a body of representatives from the monasteries) relations between the community and the civil administrator have always been harmonious and especially so under Mitsialis’ predecessor served in the higher echelons of the National Intelligence Service is very telling of current circumstances indeed as is the decision – dictated directly from the Citizen Protection Ministry – to upgrade the status of the Karyes police station into a police department The greatest danger to the Ecumenical Patriarchate lies in a rapidly growing – and externally stoked – fundamentalist movement among zealots in Athos’ monasteries The Greek state has good reason to want to strengthen the safety net around Mount Athos as the community has increasingly drawn international attention which it has always enjoyed in its long history Russia’s penetration in Africa and Moscow’s blatant challenges to the authority of the Patriarchate in Istanbul tensions right now are rife in the Orthodox Church – and Mount Athos is not immune from it there have been a growing number of reports in the international media hinting at suspicious “Russian activities,” money-laundering operations (investigations by the Greek authorities have not yielded any evidence of this) and shady “pilgrimages” by foreign dignitaries and by politicians investing in the community’s clout and seeking the community’s blessing (even when it doesn’t want to give it) so they can start their own political parties or fish for votes The greatest danger to the Ecumenical Patriarchate lies in a rapidly growing – and externally stoked – fundamentalist movement among zealots in Athos’ monasteries which is on the verge of openly challenging the status of the Phanar as the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians Mount Athos was and still is the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s “Holy Grail” and it cannot for the Greek state – with the Phanar’s consent of course – to appoint a civil administrator who will understand all the different factors at play in the complex existence of the holy community the three cases are located in a hermitage in the wider area of Karyes the Infectious Disease Specialist Sotiris Tsiodras and the General Secretary for Civil Protection Vassilis Papageorgiou returned from the Athos peninsula who had meetings with representatives of the Mount Athos Community and the political administration in order to take new measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 The NPHO (National Public Health Organization) team remained in Karyes in order to carry out sample checks the results of which are expected to become known today After the recent complaints by Esfimenou Monastery about a series of attacks and sabotage on their Monastery’s facilities inside and outside Mount Athos and the destruction of their partner’s shop outside Mount Athos another incident occurred in the evening hours of November 16 in Thessaloniki with a Molotov bomb being thrown against the house of the family of the legal advisor of their Monastery The extreme right and the squatters are using each other for their rise by fanaticizing their audience and turning them against the Esphigmenite brotherhood and anyone who comes in contact with them in an attempt to intimidate exclude and persecute their brotherhood from Mount Athos and elements of the underworld are used for the campaign of “clearing from…Satan” the brothers and friends of Mount Athos No one knows how or when their murderous rampage will stop as monks in the Church of Christ and have already received the “baptism of blood” from an earlier attack where the squatters “opened our heads” they began to target the community’s lay associates Right next to their small “konaki” in which they live in Karyes with the squatters watching day and night with modern high-resolution cameras photographing and documenting every lay person who enters it 50 meters from the Protaton and 50 from the Karyes police station The brotherhood reminds us that the squatters refuse to leave despite the polite appeals of the police “Let the people of darkness know well that we will never betray our mission and the Church of Christ Their world has well understood what they stand for and the time of their influence has long since passed they make desperate intimidation movements hidden in hoods Yesterday they targeted the legal advisor of the Holy Community A man who has been working for decades for the “stability of the Church” within Mount Athos who co-authored with two other jurists the history of the Esfigmenos case 1972-2002 who spoke at a conference in favor of the Monastery and who wrote a book about Russian claims to Mount Athos Everyone understands why they want to “get out of the way” a person with these qualifications Emeritus Professor of the Department of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki President in Honour of the Center for Ecumenical Missiological and Environmental Studies “Metropolitan Panteleimon Papageorgiou” (CEMES) and of the World Conference of Associated Theological Institutions (WOCATI) The members of the Holy Epistasia of the Holy Community of Mount Athos changed this morning in the Church of Protaton in Karyes Father Stefanos of the Hilandar Monastery took over the duties of Protepistate for the following year from the outgoing Fr The other three members of the Holy Epistasia are Fr Elder Nikodemos of the Monastery of Great Lavra took the Rod of the Protos the symbols and the seals of the Holy Epistasia and handed them over to the new Protepistate The government was represented by the Minister of National Defence Alkiviadis Stefanis while the ceremony was attended by civil governor of Mount Athos Athanasios Martinos the civil deputy governor Aristos Kasmiroglou Regional Governor of Central Macedonia Apostolos Tzitzikostas former Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos A meeting of the New Holy Epistasia took place and issues and the planning of the following year were discussed Christophoros from the Holy Monastery of Iviron Theophilos from the Monastery of Pantokrator Ieronymos from the Monastery of Simonos Petra and Fr Nikiforos from the Monastery of Filotheos complete the Supervisory Committee The government is represented by the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection while the Political Administrator of Mount the authorities of Mount Athos and the Mayor of Thessaloniki comes from the Holy Monastery of Stavronikita and together with Archimandrite Vassilios Gontikakis where he served for several years as secretary and is assuming the leading of the Supervisory Committee for a second time The representatives of the 20 monasteries and guests gathered early in the morning in the Conference Hall of the Holy Community in Karyes and after the briefing they went to the Church of the Protaton for the handover ceremony which took place under the central chandelier the outgoing Head of the Supervisory Committee Fr George Vatopedinos handed over the crook to the representative of the first in rank monastery elder Nicodemus Lavreotis and the pieces of the seal of the Holy Community the elder Nicodemus Lavreotis handed over the symbols to the new Supervisory Committee This was followed by a meeting of the Holy Community with the members of the new Supervisory Committee during which the ministries and issues of the coming year will be set out Source: voria.gr The historic Axion Esti icon from the all-male monastic community of Mount Athos was transported on Wednesday to Athens and will be exhibited for public veneration and viewing for the next two weeks at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral was welcomed with honours accorded to a head of state at the Athens Cathedral by Archbiship Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece who had requested the action on the occasion of the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution in 1821 The event had been postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic See the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGbcG9Ca7Yc The Byzantine-era icon depicts the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus and is covered in silver on all but the faces The Axion Esti is considered the rarest object at the monastic community The Athens Metropolitan Cathedral will hold special liturgies on the occasion including a morning service and an evening prayer a more extensive liturgy led by prelates will be held on Sunday (May 7) Axion Estin is also the name given to the icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God) before which It stands in the high place of the altar (sanctuary) of the katholikon (main church) of Karyes on Mount Athos an Elder and his disciple lived in a cell on Mount Athos One Saturday night the Elder left to attend the All-Night Vigil in Karyes He told his disciple to chant the service alone That evening an unknown monk who called himself Gabriel the disciple sang the original hymn “More honorable than the Cherubim…” and afterwards the visiting monk chanted it again but with “It is truly meet…” preceding the original Irmos the icon began to radiate with Uncreated Light When the disciple asked the visiting monk to write the words of the new hymn down he took a roof tile and wrote on it with his finger The disciple knew then that this was no ordinary monk but the icon of the Mother of God continued to radiate light for some time afterward The Eleousa (“merciful”) Icon of the Mother of God before which the hymn “It Is Truly Meet” was first chanted was transferred to the katholikon (main church) at Karyes Nicholas II Chrysoberges was Patriarch (984-996) Since that time the icon has been considered the protector of the Holy Mountain and its holiest object READ MORE: Tatoi: The Mausoleum of the former royal family of Greece is restored Mount Athos opened its gates on Monday for the first time after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic will be limited to 15 people per monastery Boat company Agioritikes Grammes told AMNA that the ticket offices for boats in Ouranoupoli and Dafni also opened on Monday including high-speed boats and a ferry transporting fuel and main supplies Athos on June 15 and will run on 50% capacity Mount Athos first shut its doors to visitors on March 19.  Four monks of Xenophontos Monastery on Mount Athos in April tested positive for coronavirus The new civil administrator expressed his support to the Monastery as well as his interest in the unity within Mount Athos he expressed his concern about the damages and dangers caused to the main building of the Esfigmenou Monastery due to the occupation and the fact that the authorities could not enter “The property of Mount Athos belongs to the Greek people.” thanked the new civil administrator of Mount Athos for his support and interest in the Esfigmenou Monastery The earthquake of a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the region of Chalkidiki at the moment of the vigil for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in the Church of Protaton the fathers seem to remain calm during the earthquake Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke with the monks about several issues As it concerns zealots he supported legality and he informed the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the new Civil Governor of Mount Athos on the issue Patriarch Bartholomew said that Fathers Daniel of Katounakia and Ephraim of Katounakia are going to be canonized Greece: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday visited the monastic community of Mount Athos one of Orthodox Christianity's holiest sites on the last leg of a two-day visit to Greece joined celebrations for the 1,000th anniversary of the Russian presence at the ancient State TV ERT showed Putin arriving at the little port of Daphne after 1100 GMT on a yacht escorted by a small flotilla of security vessels Underscoring the private nature of his visit -- his first to the region since 2005 -- he wore no tie and immediately removed his jacket before briefly posing for photographs at the port A broadly smiling Putin then attended a welcome ceremony at the Protaton the oldest church of the Mount Athos administrative capital of Karyes where he was greeted by ringing church bells The Russian leader lit a candle and kissed the Axion Esti "Important work on moral foundations and moral values is done on Mount Athos," he said He later told a gathering of abbots: "Whoever enters this land of prayer experiences special feelings." "The role of Mount Athos is particularly important to Russian Orthodoxy," he said adding that over 11,000 Russian faithful visit the area annually Putin was joined on his visit by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias a former Communist who clashed with EU peers last year over the Ukraine crisis arguing that the bloc should avoid "spasmodic" moves against Russia Putin then visited the Russian monastery of St Panteleimon on the west coast of the Halkidiki peninsula Media coverage of the Mount Athos trip was restricted and Putin's Russian monastery visit was entirely off bounds Russia and Greece are both largely Orthodox Christian countries and share close religious ties Mount Athos is an enclave of 20 monasteries -- including one apiece for Russia Serbia and Bulgaria -- that has enjoyed autonomy since Byzantine times Putin signed several economic deals with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens during a visit aimed at reinforcing a relationship with one of his few friends in the EU at a time of tension with the West Putin's first to the EU since December comes at a low ebb in relations between Russia and Europe over the conflict in Ukraine that broke out in 2014 with sanctions still in force against Moscow It also comes as Athens desperately seeks to emerge from recession with Greek officials saying increased trade with Russia could play a part in recovery efforts EU leaders will next month discuss whether to renew sanctions on Russia's banking defence and energy sectors that expire in July A strong magnitude 4.9 earthquake hit 71 km (44 mi) away from Kavala, East Macedonia and Thrace,  Greece 2025 at 7.11 pm local time (Europe/Athens GMT +3) The quake had a very shallow depth of 14.4 km (9 mi) and was felt widely in the area The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would A new earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale occurred on Friday morning at 10:34 am at Mount Athos according to the revised solution of the Geodynamic Institute a 4.6 magnitude earthquake occurred 11 kilometers west northwest of Karyes The 3.8 on the Richter scale earthquake occurred in the same area at 10:12 am it was a 3.8 Richter with an epicenter 12 kilometers west of Karyes and a focal depth of 14.4 kilometers preceded by a weak 3.1 Richter tremor at 10:07 Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr According to the revised solution from the Geodynamic Institute the epicenter was located 12 kilometers northwest of Karyes another earthquake of 3.5 magnitude occurred in the same area with the epicenter located 11 kilometers northwest of Karyes and a depth of 13 kilometers These tremors have caused concern in the region though no significant damage or injuries have been reported so far For the third time in the last 20 years, the Esphigmenos Monastery on Mount Athos and its 118 monks are in direct confrontation with the police who have announced an operation to evict them In 2006 and 2013 there were widespread incidents with police forces attempting to remove the monks who the judiciary says illegally occupy the monastery’s premises The latest round of confrontation began last Tuesday (16/7) when the police station in Karyes requested in writing from the Holy Diocese of Mount Athos permission to proceed with an operation to evict the monks hundreds of police officers in heavy vehicles are at a spot near the monastery The monastery has taken a hard line against the Patriarchate since at least 1972 it disagrees with meetings with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church the rift remains unbridgeable In 2002 the old brotherhood was declared illegal and the monks were declared “squatters” who must leave the monastery and were excluded from state and European funds the new brotherhood of Esfigmenou in Karyes members of the new community tried to evict the monks of the old one from the monastery’s convent in Karyes Characteristic at the time was the image of a monk of the old monastery holding in his hand a Molotov cocktail bomb There are pending convictions against members of the old monastery with sentences of up to nine years in prison as well as decisions to deport them from Mount Athos One of those convicted is the monk with the Molotov cocktail a protest rally was held in Ouranoupoli on Sunday by supporters of the old brotherhood who arrived in Ouranoupolis from all over the country expressed their opposition to any police intervention in the Esfigmenou Monastery one of those convicted for the 2013 incidents told ThessToday.gr that in case of a police operation “we are ready to defend the monastery to the death.” Here we were born spiritually and here we will die,” he explained while saying that “all the police officers do is to be employees We have old men who have lived here for 50 They forbid us from entering the monastery to go and get food We carry things on our backs and walk one and a half kilometers Should we let the old people die because two people want to “We are accused of things that are not true because they have taken everything from us Sometimes I don’t even have 5 euros to buy something for an old monk I owe to the other brothers who help us,” he said He believes that the monks “have received a persecution of early Christianity as well as from the Holy Community.” He finally explains that “our difference with the Patriarch is spiritual We do not consider him orthodox in what he does since his actions are contrary to the Orthodox Church and therefore we do not mention him.” that “European money is the Trojan horse that will destroy Mount Athos” as it will allow women to enter the Athos peninsula at the request of the EU