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Hilandar Monastery

1/19/2021

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Hilandar is a Serbian monastery on Mt. Athos, a judicially autonomous peninsula in Greece that is home to twenty Orthodox Christian monasteries. Also called the Holy Mountain, Mt. Athos is accessible only by boat and is protected from the intrusion of modern times by strict regulations: ascetic religious life without hot water and only minimal electricity.

Mt. Athos is a supremely male territory that hasn’t felt the presence of female energy for over a thousand years. Only men are allowed on this sacred soil, either as monks or visitors (and this rule extends to animals as well—males only).

When I was in my late teens I was so drawn to Hilandar that I frequently devised plans for disguising myself as a man so that I could visit this holy place. Many years later my wish was fulfilled vicariously when I sent Dwight as my emissary. He spent two weeks in the Serbian monastery surrounded by virgin (no pun intended) nature.
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Hilandar was founded in the 12th century by the great Serbian saint Sveti Sava, who had established the first educational system in old Serbia. Dwight found the monastic life there simple but hard. Monks stand for seven hours each day in liturgical chanting and praying (no chairs or pews in Orthodox churches). The rest of the day is spent in labor or reading in the library that contains thousands of old manuscripts and some exquisite frescoes from the 13th century.  It’s a life steeped in devotion, utterly simple and removed from present times.
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    Overview

    All
    Alignments Of Carnac
    Bent Pyramid
    Castel Sant’ Angelo
    Chalice Well
    Chartres Cathedral
    Fontevraud Abbey
    Glanum
    Glastonbury Abbey
    Glastonbury Tor
    Gothic Image
    Grand Menhir
    Hatshepsut Temple
    Hilandar Monastery
    Horus The Avenger
    Inside The King’s Chamber
    Isle Of Avalon
    Notre Dame De Livron
    Old Lyon
    Paestum
    Petra Tou Romiou
    Pyramids Of Giza
    Ramanasramam
    Step Pyramid Of Zoser
    The Bourges Cathedral
    The Hooded Man
    The Lion Gate
    The Oracle Of Cumaean Sybil
    The Oracle Of Delphi
    The Osireion
    The Paimpont Forest

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Meet Me in the Underworld
    • Press
  • Sacred Places Blog
  • Events
  • Gallery
    • Sacred Sites
    • Edge of Water
    • Form and Color
    • Mediterranean Moods
    • Windows of Rome
    • Nature Spirits
    • Exhibitions
    • Self Portrait
    • Flower Fantasia