Monasteries of Mount Athos

The Karakallou monastery is located roughly in the middle of the eastern coast of Mount Athos, 200m above sea level. The origin of its name remains unknown, with the unsubstantiated legend, established as early as the 17th century, associating it with the Roman emperor Caracalla.

The earliest written mention of the monastery dates back to 1018/9 in a boundary dispute resolution document, but it must have already been founded at the end of the 10th century or early 11th century. During the period of the Latin occupation (1204-1261) it was deserted and the community of monks was captured. Its gradual recovery reached a peak in 1294, when emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos issued a chrysobull endowing privileges and recognizing its dependencies (metochia). The monastery continued to prosper during the 14th century, but gradually, by the mid-16th century, the building complex must have suffered varying degree of damages. Reconstruction was carried out with donations primarily from the ruler of Wallachia Petru Rareș (1527-1538) and his daughter Roxandra, as well as others. In later years, the monastery participated in revolutionary movements, with abbot Damascenos helping Tsamis Karatasos in 1854. In 1874, a large part of the complex was set on fire and destroyed, with the respective buildings being restored anew. In 1988, a fire consumed all three upper floors of the north wing.

The current layout of the monastery is not sufficiently different from that of the Byzantine period. The five-pointed marble inlay flooring (11th century) appears to be from the Byzantine katholikon, a cross-in-square church of Athonite type, which pre-existed in the same location. The belfry was added in 1710 and the exonarthex in 1714. The main church was renovated in 1717 by priestmonks Ioannis and Damascenos, the lite in 1750 by priestmonks Kosmas and Seraphim from Ioannina, while the exonarthex in 1767, with remarkable scenes of the Revelation. The iconostasis of the church is of the 18th century, wood-carved and gilded. The despotic icon of St. Peter and St. Paul is the work of Dionysios of Fourna, crafted in 1722, as is the case of three other despotic icons. Also worthy of mention is the Cretan icon of the Embrace of the Apostles in a shrine inside the main church, dating back to the end of the 15th century. 

The tower at the west entrance, a 16th century building, consists of a ground floor and five floors, with a total height of 28 m., with serrated ramparts, machicolations and blind arches on the upper level. The south wing of the monastery emerged after reconstruction following the fire of 1875, while the northeast wing was renovated in 1991 after the fire of 1988. The refectory of the monastery, incorporated in the south wing, is a building of 1876 without frescoes in the interior, unlike the previous one, with frescoes of 1687. In addition to the katholikon, there are seven other chapels within the monastery, while outside the monastery, the cemetery church of All Saints with frescoes from 1768 and a wood-carved gilded iconostasis is quite remarkable. The library of the monastery holds 2.500 printed books and 279 manuscripts, 42 of which are parchments. 

Apart from the monastery, the coastal tower and the barbakas (fortified enclosure) next to the arsanas are also noteworthy. The barbakas was built in 1534 by the ruler of Wallachia Petru Rareș. The tower, possibly post-Byzantine, is equipped with machicolations, while at the top, there is a walkway with ramparts to protect the defenders.

Vangelis Maladakis

References

Pavlikianov, C., The Byzantine Documents of the Athonite Monastery of Karakallou and Selected Acts of the Ottoman Period (1294 1835), Sofia 2015

Tsigaridas, E. N. (ed.), Icons of the Holy Monastery of Karakallou, Mount Athos 2011.

Chrysochoidis, K., Gounaridis, P., “Holy Monastery of Karakallou. Catalogue of archives”, Athonite Acts 1 (1985) 1-104.