The entrance of the Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos is adorned by a photograph accompanied by the inscription "The miracle of the apparition of the Virgin Mary on the 21st of August 1903". The caption is placed at the bottom of the picture and it is written in Greek and in English. The photograph is taken at the same spot on the last day that the monks were giving charity to their needy brothers.
Nearby there is a chapel dedicated to the same event. The courtyard is adorned by an elaborate fountain, while on the north side there is a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding a bread for the poor in her hands.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Russian monks of Athos were involved in many charitable activities. Every autumn they would travel to the poorest regions of Greece and distribute free wheat to the needy. In the Russian monastery of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon on Mount Athos, poor and long-suffering monks gathered every Thursday. They received clothes, money and food. Unfortunately, many Greeks interpreted these acts as Russian propaganda serving political interests. Thus, the Archbishop forbade the distribution of goods, saying that some people were using the money recklessly and were ultimately harming themselves by spending it on drunkenness and other similar activities.
In August 1903 a letter came to the abbot from the Protato. The letter criticized the monastery for the alms given in Turkish coins, claiming that it was unnecessary and harmful to the young people. Among other things, it suggested that it should be replaced by some other kind of aid that would better meet the needs of the local population. In the event of non-compliance, the Holy Synod warned that it would submit a request to stop the whole process.
On August 21st, the letter was read in front of the monastery gates, both in Greek and in Russian. Afterwards, all the people who had arrived at the monastery asking for help stood in a queue. That was the moment when Hieromonk Gabriel took the photo.
Some time earlier, a desert monk had several times seen a woman assisting the monks in the distribution of aid to the needy. He even mentioned it to the guard of the gate and wanted to show it to him. However, during the last distribution the woman was not there. When the monks printed out the photograph, in front of the queue that was formed, they saw the figure of the female, being dressed as a nun, crying and bowing her face sadly to the earth.
The Greek monks recognized that it was the Mother of God herself, who appeared to be weeping for the poor people who would be deprived of help. (Also see: Panagiotis Nikolaos, Mount Athos and the Slavs, Bern, 1963, p. 22)
It is worth noting that the photograph was taken at the moment when the first monk was approaching and, therefore, no one else was standing in front of him.
The History of The Charity of the Russian Monks of Mount Athos
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Charity in the Russian monastery began with the pioneer of the Russian monasticism on Athos, the elderly Hieronymus. In fact, he himself ordered that the future generations would follow his example in order to gain the grace and blessing of God.
In 1840, the elder Hieronymus moved to the Holy Monastery of Panteleimon where he distributed all his provisions to the poor hermit monks. Thus, he created the foundations of charity, which later poured out abundantly from his generous hands. Every spring, as his health permitted, he traveled throughout Mount Athos. He visited the hermitages, drawing from the eremites spiritual strength and wisdom which he then generously offered. Everyone was familiar to him. In fact, they were coming by hundreds to the monastery. At the gate they always found provisions, left there for the ascetics who, wanting to avoid people, used to come during the night.
For the charity done by the monastery a visitor wrote the following:
"On Sundays and holidays there is a crowd of people in the monastery. I am struck by the poor appearance of the visitors, dressed in rags, half-naked, exhausted and often sick. At first I thought the monks who came were Russian. However, it turned out that they were ascetics from all over Mount Athos, among them Greeks, Bulgarians and Moldovans. All of them are fed at the second meal, after which they go to the cell of father Hieronymus, where they are given the alms prepared for them."
In the infirmary of the monastery, in addition to the brother monks of the community, the elder Hieronymus ordered that everyone should be equally accepted: "people from poor cells, passing travelers, monks or laymen, after they have received a blessing."
At the end of the 19th century, when the number of Russians on Athos increased significantly, there was big concern among the Greek monks. Patriarch Joachim officially forbade Russian cells to be granted. However, by the decision of the elderly Hieronymus in 1882, a large plot of land near the coast was granted for the settlement of Russian monks. At the monastery's expense, there was built the Katholikon, for their common prayer, the infirmary and the hermitage. With regard to the latter, the old man drew up a strict charter concerning the life of the hermits who were to reside there.
After the death of the elder Hieronymus, the flow of people coming from Russia with the desire to live and die on Mount Athos continued to increase. At the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery of Saint Panteleimon was so overcrowded that about 120 people had no cells at all. The total number of the brotherhood, including those in Russia, was close to 2.000.
The sketes of St. Andrew and Prophet Elijah were in the same condition. The Russian cells grew and were transformed into monastic dormitories with up to 100 monks. Donations from Russia allowed these monasteries to expand. The number of Russian monks increased as well.
Alms in the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon were established in the form of a monetary contribution in Turkish currency. Once a week each person was given the amount needed for his or her living expenses until the next distribution.
On the initiative of the elder Hieronymus, in 1870, 60 people received help. After 10 years they increased to 160 and in 1903 there were already 700 people, while another 300 were in Karyes, as they could not move due to illness or old age.
The Miraculous Apparition of the Theotokos in a dream
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In 1886, after the death of the elderly Hieronymus, Hieromonk Nifont had a vision in his sleep. A majestic luminous woman, the Blessed Virgin Mary, entered his cell and said to him: "Tell Father Makarios (abbot of the Saint Panteleimon Monastery 1875-1889) to keep the gates open for the poor." With these words, she left the cell. The monk awoke and continued to feel her glow. Having doubts about his dream, he walked around the cell, prayed and fell asleep again. The same vision appeared. He wondered if it was some act of evil taunting him. However, he had the same experience and he heard the same words for the third time. When he woke up, he continued to feel accompanied by the light of the Mother of God.
In 1889 Father Makarios, the abbot of the monastery, fell asleep. In his will, he repeated what Virgin Mary had said to Father Nifont: "May the gates of the monastery never be closed to the poor and the needy...".
In 1896, Father Nifont was elected as the monastery's vicar. Thus, he became the second most important person in the monastery. After the death of Father Andrew in 1903, he became the head of the monastery.
19th-20th Century
The poor monks continued to come to the monastery, but they were given only bread and little food. They were not given lunch or money. The abbot, Father Andrew, wanting to follow the demand of the Holy Synod, replied simply: "I have an order". Thus, the order that the monks had inherited from the Mother of God herself was violated.
The abbot of the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon in Karyes, Father Gregory, touched by the tears and complaints of the needy who came to him daily, was particularly concerned. In a letter he pointed out that those who suffer from poverty cry out to the heavens begging God for help. He asked, therefore, that measures be taken to comply with the order of Elders Hieronymus and Makarios, so that the monastery would not suffer the just wrath of God for its contempt for the weak.
Three years before the abolition of the charity, one of the monks had a vision about the future of the monastery. While at that time the monastery was overflowing with monks, in his dream it appeared completely deserted, overgrown with thorns and tangled with ropes. The Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, together with the Saints Nicholas and Mitrofanis, appeared each one above his temple, conversed with each other and finally said: "Let us endure".
In 1914, the 1st World War broke out and all the cadets were drafted by the Russian army. Communication with Russia was cut off. The October Revolution permanently removed the Russian monks from their homeland and deprived them of any hope of help. The money savings they had kept in Russia were lost. Furthermore, 137 people who were there could no longer return to Athos.
The brotherhood, accustomed to living in prosperous conditions, immediately felt the deprivation of goods. Previous supplies were quickly running out. Lack of money forced them to borrow from the Greek monasteries.
The main source of income came from the forests and the metochia of the peninsula of Kassandra and Kalamaria. The brothers themselves worked hard in vegetable gardens, vineyards, olive groves and cut wood. However, despite all the difficulties, the monastery during the war, and later on, fed 250 hermits with bread.
During the war they felt the great protection of the Virgin Mary when, in the midst of the bombardments, Athos remained a quiet refuge. They were aware of the misfortunes that their fellows in Greece and Russia had suffered during that period. They knew the horrors of the persecution of Christians that prevailed in Russia.
They thanked God and the Virgin Mary for their comparatively insignificant afflictions, they smiled, they endured and repented, considering themselves the recipients of God's just punishment.
Throughout this difficult period, which lasted 35 years, the abbot of the monastery was the old man Mishail, a disciple of the elders Hieronymus and Makarios. The monastery at that time had 500 monks, while in the 1960s it was reduced to 20, half of whom were sick. The youngest was 60 years old.
Two years later the monastery had to face one more difficult situation. A fire broke out and destroyed a significant part of the monastery’s buildings. More than 100 years had passed since the end of all charities and the new Russian government reached out again to help and assist the monks. The burnt buildings were rebuilt and the monastery regained its old appearance. In commemoration of the events of 1903, the icon "Light Painted image" was painted in the monastery. A pleading canon was created for it as well as a divine service was composed. It is celebrated every year on the 21st of August, when an vigil is held.
