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Article 126
All exartimata [dependencies] on Mount Athos in general –sketes, kellia [cells], kalyves, hesychasteria, and kathismata– in conjunction with the land and buildings attached to them, are, according to the ancient established custom, the inalienable and imprescriptible property of the ruling monasteries.
Article 127
All monks in these dependencies are considered to be part of the broth erhood of the ruling monastery. Its elders are required to inform the ruling monastery when they take in novices, whose trial period [novitiate] is considered to begin on the day that they notify the monastery.
Article 128
The acquisition of two dwellings simultaneously, by a single person, is strictly prohibited.
Article 129
Advance written permission of the ruling monastery is required for any repairs to a dependency. Any building works or additions require per mission from the Hiera Koinotis, which must then approve the plan for the new building or addition. Any new edifice or addition to an older, not following the above provisions may be demolished by the Hiera Koinotis.
Article 130
The names of persons listed on an homologon may by no means be changed.
Article 131
In order for a novice of a dependency to be tonsured, the general provisions in Article 93 about his age and the length of the novitiate must be observed. This step must be preceded by permission from the ruling monastery. Only with the approval of the ruling monastery may a person’s name be entered into the homologon, and only those whose names are recorded there are considered to belong to Elder’s synod, with a right to inherit his property.
Article 132
In the event that a dependency is left without any legal owners, no monk may take it over without permission from the monastery that has ultimate control over the dependency. A dwelling abandoned by the owner for over a year without permission is returned automatically to the ruling monastery. The monk who abandoned it no longer has any rights over it of any kind.
If any of the persons, recorded in the homologon, absent themselves for a period longer than a semester, without the permission of the ruling monastery, they are automatically deleted from the homologon. Also the holder of a permission of absence, who stays absent for a period of six months beyond the period recognised in the permission of absence, he is also considered to have been absent without a permission and his name shall be removed from the homologon.
Article 133
Conversion of sketes into monasteries, or cells into sketes, or kalyves into kellia is strictly forbidden.
Article 134
According to the ancient established custom, all dependencies on Mount Athos and those leading a monastic life within them must accept in full and adhere unwaveringly to the present Constitutional Charter. They must also render full obedience and subordination to the ruling monastery, carrying out its instructions without any reservations.
Article 135
Timber may not be exported from the woodlands of the ruling monas tery without its written permission, apart from logs required for domestic use, which may be felled only on sites designated by the monastery. The monastery may not refuse the owners of kellia timber to produce wooden posts for their vineyards or conduits for water if there are proved needs therefor. These materials may be taken only from the immediate environs of the kellion (Patriarchal Sigillion of 1909, Article 4) and from trees and places approved by the monastery, with the exception of Stavronikita Monastery according a relevant resolution of the Hiera Koinotis from 1911, due to lack of forested areas around its location.
Article 136
Each dependency is required to keep a precise Register of its monks and of its novices, pursuant to Article 94. These Registers shall be checked each year by the ruling monastery.
Article 137
Each dependency is obliged to pay the ruling monastery a fee, which is fixed and distributed accordingly each time by the Hiera Koinotis, pursuant to Article 36. The trimeridion paid by the kellia, and special taxes for sketes, are collected in the currency set by the sigillia that de fine their relationship to the ruling monastery – apart from the annual contributions to the treasury of the Hiera Koinotis paid in a currency determined by the latter one.
Article 138
The persons, listed in the homologon, ought to be informed about the financial sate of their kellion or kalyve. Sales may only be made with their agreement. Before a kellion, kalyve or hesychasterion can be sold –always with the permission of the ruling monastery– the identity of the buyer and the agreed price must be clearly stated. The monastery may then resolve to approve or reject the sale to this person. The monastery must be paid 15% of the agreed price, as is its ancient established right, of which 10% is contributed by the seller and 5% by the buyer. Sales conducted in any other way are void and the violators are subjected to disciplinary measures.
Article 139
The way of life of the monks in dependencies should be decent and wor thy of their vow.
Those who stray from this way of life can be punished by the ruling monastery on the basis of the relevant chapter on Athonite courts of the current Constitutional Charter.
In addition to these sanctions and in the event that owners of cells and kalyves prove incorrigible the Court of Second Instance may impose the alienation of the kellion (or kalyve) for a determined period.
Should a buyer not emerge within this period, a new deadline is set; if a buyer again fails to emerge, the Court of Second Instance may resolve to appoint a commission of four persons, two of them representing the part of the monastery while the other representing the owner, in order to estimate the current value of the kalyve or kellion. Based on their appraisal, the commission prepares a report that is presented to the Court of Second Instance.
If the commission cannot agree on the valuation of the kellion or kalyve, it is finally decided by the Court of Second Instance.
Article 140
Among the potential purchasers of a kellion or kalyve, preference is always given to the monastery, as being the ruling monastery of it.
Article 141
The owner of a kellion or kalyve may under no circumstances take out a mortgage on his dwelling without the written permission of the monastery; the latter is not responsible for his debts if he fails to comply with this rule.
The homologon of a kellion or kalyve may not be used as collateral to secure a loan. Such an action is considered to be completely invalid.
