Ι. The fact that Mount Athos was occupied by the Greek troops on November 2, 1912, did not automatically mean the incorporation of Mount Athos under the control of the Greek state. It took over ten more years of delicate and hard diplomatic work for Mount Athos to finally become part of the Hellenic Republic.
Of course, Athos had already been included in international agreements, most often regarding the protection of the rights of monks of various nationalities.
1. In the Treaty of San Stefano, signed on March 3, 1878, which ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877, Athonite monks are mentioned in connection with the broader issue of protecting the rights of all Russian citizens of the Ottoman Empire.
Specifically, in Article 22, paragraph 2 of the treaty, it is stated that "monks of Russian origin in Mount Athos" retain all their privileges, as well as the rights guaranteed to all other monks and monasteries of Athos.
2. Following the Treaty of San Stefano, the Treaty of Berlin was signed on July 13, 1878, becoming the final peace treaty of the Russo-Turkish War. In Article 62 it is discussed the protection of freedom of religion in general, while there are specifically guaranteed the rights of the monks of Mount Athos.
In particular, in Article 62, paragraph 8 of the Treaty of Berlin it is stated that monks of Mount Athos retain their property and will enjoy full equality of rights and privileges, regardless of their country of origin and without any exceptions.
The difference between the Treaty of San Stefano and the Treaty of Berlin is that the former recognizes and protects the privileged status of Mount Athos only in connection with monks of Russian origin, while the latter recognizes and protects the privileged status for all Athonite monks, while it also guarantees equality of rights.
3. On May 17, 1913, a peace treaty was signed in London between the countries of the Balkan League (namely Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia) on one side and the Ottoman Empire on the other.
The Article 5 of the Treaty of London states that the parties entrust the Great Powers, namely Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia, to decide the fate of all Ottoman islands in the Aegean Sea, except for Crete, as well as the Athonite Peninsula.
In accordance with Article 5 of this treaty, a conference of ambassadors from the Great Powers took place in London, resulting, as proposed by the Russian state, in the declaration of Athos as an independent, autonomous, and neutral state, which was to be governed in a special manner.
4. This treaty was never implemented or officially approved. Accordingly, the London Protocol submitted to the Greek government in November 1913 was never put into effect, as the Greco-Bulgarian War was about to begin.
The Article 5 of the Treaty of Bucharest, signed on August 10 (July 28) 1913 between Bulgaria and other Balkan states, defined the borders between Bulgaria and Greece. It is indirectly but clearly evident from its text that Mount Athos is among the territories that came under the authority of the Greek state.
5. The Treaty of Athens, signed by both Greece and Turkey on November 14 (1) 1913, recognized Greece's authority over Turkish territories that were conquered during the war. It did not affect and, therefore, confirmed the conditions of the Treaty of Bucharest.
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, signed by the Entente Cordiale and Bulgaria, defined the borders between Greece and Bulgaria, specifically in Article 27 and related Articles 42 and 48, while Athos was included in the Greek territory.
6. The Treaty of Sèvres that was formed next, on August 10, 1920, addressed many issues, including the protection of minorities in Greece. In Article 13 of this treaty it is stated that Greece commits to recognize and uphold the rights and freedoms of the non-Greek monastic communities of Mount Athos, that were attributed to them with Article 62 of the Treaty of Berlin.
The Treaty of Lausanne, signed on July 24, 1923, between the Allied Powers and Turkey, did not alter the provisions concerning Mount Athos as they had been formed in the Treaty of Sèvres. Among other things, Article 2 of the Treaty of Lausanne established the borders between Greece and Turkey, taking into account the situation that had arisen after the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
The fact that the Treaty of Lausanne did not alter the previous provisions is due to the Protocol XVI of July 24, 1923, which was signed by Greece and the Great Powers in Lausanne. This protocol stipulated that, in order for the treaty and its relevant provisions to be implemented, the Treaty of Sèvres— which referred to the protection of the rights of minorities— would first have to come into effect. Therefore, the two treaties would have to be confirmed and implemented simultaneously.
7. Thus, non-Greek monastic communities are protected under Article 13 of the Treaty of Sèvres, which, in turn, refers to the provisions of Article 62 of the Treaty of Berlin, and are consequently governed by the Greek legislative system.
Moreover, it should be emphasized that the main advocates for Mount Athos to come under Greek control were the Athonite monks themselves. At that time, the Greek state, literally overwhelmed by multiple crises, was unable to defend the rights of Greeks in Mount Athos, despite the fact that Athos had been formally placed under Greek administration by November 1912.
Considering all of the above, the claim that the Greek state imposed itself on the priviledges of Mount Athos cannot be deemed accurate. On the contrary, there were obligations imposed on Greece by the international peace treaties that ended the wars of 1912-1922 and concerned the status of Mount Athos (at least the monastic communities of non-Greek origin), particularly the Berlin, Sevres, and Lausanne treaties. In a state whose governance is based on law, such obbligations could not fail to apply equally to all Athoite monks without exception.
