Is It True That The Greek Women Are Not Allowed To Enter Mont Athos?
Oct.15, 2009 in
mont tremblant
if it is then why?
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October 15th, 2009 at 6:06 am
The legend goes that the Virgin Mary and St John were on their way to meet Lazarus when a storm forced them to put in at the site now occupied by Iviron Monastery. The Virgin liked the place very much and she asked Christ to make her a gift of the peninsula.
And so that is what happened allegedly. The area was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and so other women are not allowed there. The monks of Mt. Athos are in retreat from the world and all worldly desires, foremost among these being the desire for sex and women. Women represent a great distraction to the men trying to focus exclusively on God and their journey to God in the celebate Orthodox tradition.
HEY, I DON’T MAKE THE RULES, I ONLY REPORT THEM!
Here is some information from http://www.ouranoupoli.com/athos/athos.h…
“According to the legend, Panagia, the Virgin Mary and Mother of God, was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist on her way from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown out of course to then pagan Athos it was forced to drop anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard; “let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved”. Since that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and is out of bounds to any other women.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Oh, ONE MORE THING. Not only are women not allowed but NEITHER is the casual tourist. Men wanting to visit Mt. Athos can’t just show up. A permit is required for anyone entering the territory and overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven religious or scientific interests and are over 18 years old.
The procedure to obtain the appropriate permit is complicated and lengthy, especially for non Orthodox visitors. There is a daily quota of 120 Orthodox pilgrims and 10 non Orthodox. Orthodox Greeks can apply by producing their identity card at the Athos Bureau in Ouranoupolis. Non Orthodox pilgrims have to establish a valid reason for visiting Mount Athos, by producing a letter of recommendation from their embassy or an academic institution. They must also explain in another letter the reason for their proposed visit. SIGHTSEEING AND TOURISM ARE NOT valid reasons. Pilgrimage or study are.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:11 am
The Mount Athos monastic community was founded in 963
and is the Spiritual Centre of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Women, beardless boys, eunuchs and female domestic animals
are all barred with the exception of cats who control the rodents
and hens who provide the yolk for the paint used for icons.
The rule for beardless boys has also become more relaxed.
As Vasiliki said, women are barred so that the monks are not
lead into temptation!
They and children were given refuge during times of unrest.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:51 am
You have an excellent answer from Dvatwork.
I only have to add the simple fact that the boats that daily make a sightseeing tour of the West coast of the peninsula, - an absolute MUST if you happen to be in the vicinity- are not allowed to come closer to 500 meters from the shore.
A necessary measure to ensure the offloading of people and the tranquility of the monks. That applies to all floating means on both sides of the peninsula.
Entrance is only allowed after proper permission, “diamonitirion”, has been issued by the Athos Authorities in Thessaloniki and for a limited number of days.
Personally, I disagree with the whole monastic idea and practice but if someones choice is to lead a life like that he should be given the opportunity and space to pass his time the way he wants.
Since this turns as an issue of equality rights let me remind you that even today some Catholic monastic orders have strict rules against women in their premises.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Prohibition of entry for women
Monks feel that the presence of women alters the social dynamics of the community and therefore slows their path towards spiritual enlightenment, though they deny that the prohibition is in order to reduce sexual temptation. Female domestic animals are also forbidden, with the exception of cats, which keep down the rodent population, and chickens, which lay eggs that provide the fresh egg yolk needed for the paint used in iconography. The interdiction is punished by imprisonment from one to two years.not in citation given
Athos did shelter refugees including women and girls twice in its history: during the aftermath of the failed 1770 Orlov Revolt, and during the Greek War of Independence in 1821.
In the 14th century, Tsar Stefan Uroš IV Dušan brought his wife, Helena of Bulgaria, to Mount Athos to protect her from the plague
There was an incident in the 1930s regarding Aliki Diplarakou, the first Greek beauty pageant contestant to win the Miss Europe title, who shocked the world when she dressed up as a man and sneaked into Mount Athos. Her escapade was discussed in the July 13, 1953, Time magazine article entitled “The Climax of Sin
A 2003 resolution of the European Parliament requested lifting the ban for violating “the universally recognised principle of gender equality
On May 26, 2008, five Moldovans illegally entered Greece by way of Turkey, ending up on Athos; four of the migrants were women. The monks forgave them for trespassing and informed them that the area was forbidden to females~
October 15th, 2009 at 8:37 am
No woman is allowed to enter mount Athos, not only Greek woman.
The reason is supossed to be because Virgin Mary have only entered there.
I believe thats is because they dont want for the monks to be in temptation.
In war cases, many woman and kids have entered for protection
October 15th, 2009 at 9:37 am
yes its true women can not entre mount athos… it wasnt long ago before the 1980,s that ..THE METORA another isolated monastic society did not allow women to entre ..now they do allow them but they must wear long sleeves and cover thier ankles and head scafrs some times..as now its also a tourist spot..there are cetain parts of metoara women can not entre even witht he proper clothes code…
October 15th, 2009 at 9:38 am
women, men. What is the difference?
Are not we all humans?
Edit : Of course i will get thumbs down just because i fight for women and men equality. But what i am here for? Just to say the TRUTH.