History and present days
Passing by the church of Saint Christopher, we have a panoramic view of the Caucasus Mountains. The name of the place is associated with the famous hermit, Hosius Maximus Kausokalyvitis.
In front of it, there is the islet of Daskalio, which is associated with Father Gabriel, a pilgrim who spent his whole life there. His skull with the inscription "Father Gabriel the Daskaliotic" is in the Skete's ossuary. On the rock located on the left, at an altitude of 60 m above sea level, there is the cave where Saint Niphon (1315-1411), a fellow practitioner and first biographer of Saint Maximus, used to live. The staircase of Kausokalyvia is located next to a series of sea caves that impress the visitor with their perfect symmetry. Seals are often found there, coming from the Sporades Marine Park, since the area is a fishing ground. In 1872 the pier and the port-house for the ship, which had been bought by the monks of the Skete, were built and repaired. The expenses were covered by common funds. Each monk contributed 15 groats and personal labor.
An uphill, difficult path with many steps leads from the staircase to the Skete, whose huts are spread out on the left and right slopes of a ravine. Low down on the left slope, which hosts the newest part of the Skete, there is the hut of All Saints in a dilapidated state, with its half-preserved blue painted dome. At the opening of the ravine to the sea, there is the pier of the Kalyve of Ioasaphaioi, which used to have its own ship. The path from the pier of Ioasaphaioi leads to the eastern side of the Skete.
Saint Maximus the Kausokalyvitis († c. 1356)
He was born in Lampsacus of Hellespont. He lived as a monk first on Mount Ganos in Thrace and then in the Monastery of Great Lavra. At the urging of Theotokos he climbed to the top of Athos. He stayed there for three days and nights fighting demons. It was then that he saw the Virgin Mary in a vision. She gave him to eat heavenly bread and told him to continue his monastic life lower in Mount Athos. After that vision, the Saint followed the life of all saints who died for Jesus Christ, he made grass huts to live in and from time to time burned them to settle elsewhere. That’s where the name Kausokalyvia comes from, since “kausi” means “burning” in Greek. He met and discussed a lot with the great teacher of mental prayer, Saint Gregory of Sinai, who persuaded him to stay somewhere permanently so that the monks could benefit from his virtues. He deserved to have the providential gift, by which he helped all sinners. He revealed the hiding places of their souls and foretold the things to come. Thus, when the co-emperors John VI Kantakouzenos (1347-54) and John V Palaiologos (1341-91) went to visit him, he foretold them of the civil war (1347-52) which soon afterwards divided the Byzantine Empire. The Athonite Fathers considered him a great spiritual leader and honored him as a saint soon after his death. His is commemorated on 13/1.