The Skete of Agia Anna
The Skete of Agia Anna
The Skete of Agia Anna is located at the lower end of the southwest side of Mount Athos. Built in a steep valley it extends from the beach and reaches up to 450 meters altitude. Kyriako is located approximately in the middle of the settlement and at 315 meters. The hermitage of Agia Anna also includes Mikra Agia Anna (16th century) with the corresponding huts. Administratively, it belongs to the monastery of Megistis Lavra. In the area there was the old monastery of Vouletirioni, which had already appeared since the 10th century.
History
It is the first hermitage of Mount Athos. Initially, many hermitages were gathered in the area, which were formed in the 14th century, mainly after the looting of the Vouletirioni monastery by pirates. It started from a hut with 2–3 ascetics, which was dedicated to Saint Anna. Her temple, built by the monk Gerasimos, was very small and so most of the ascetics were forced to worship in other huts with larger temples. In 1680, the former patriarch Dionysios III Vardalis, who lived in Megisti Lavra, built a larger one in place of the small church. He even enriched it with the left leg of Saint Anne (1686), brought from Asia by monks, who also settled in this area. After the above, the hermitage was now named Saint Anne's. Its regulations were drawn up by monks and ratified first by the patriarch Dionysios V Charitonides with a seal in 1689 and then by Cyril V, who also contributed to its progress.
In 1698 the Kastorian merchant in Venice Georgios Kyritsis deposited in the Venetian Bank an amount of 5,000 ducats, whose hermitage would receive the interest every year with the obligation of making memorials. The yield of interest on the hermitage lasted for 100 years, until the dissolution of the Venetian republic.
John Komnenos at the beginning of the 18th century. describes the hermitage in his pilgrimage as follows: "The cells of the pious and virtuous ascetics, where they are located near the Kyriakon, where is the church of Agia Anna, are on a steep and difficult place, the number of over sixty, being there also chapels more of the ascetics; and those who dwell there Hermits and Ascetics live with their working hands; and some are calligraphers; some bind books; from these rosaries; and from these they feed themselves, being mostly engaged in prayer and leading their lives in fasting and pains, and much hardship; and they assemble every Sunday and work together in the Kyriakon; and conversing with each other, inquiring about spiritual benefits questions and deeds of virtue, and with reverence and humility answering philanthropically; and thus they leave each one to his cell".
In 1727, Zois Kaplanis financed the construction of parts of the church and the bank, and in 1729 the former Artis Neophytos Mavrommatis (1656–1740) built its cemetery and its temple, dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi, in the hermitage. The annual tax of Skitis, which amounted to 700 grosias, was granted from the middle of the 18th century without interruption by the wealthy Petrakis and then by his son.
At the same time, the hermitage has more than 60 huts. Due to the increase in its population, it was necessary to build a new Sunday school. The hieromonk Philotheos Anapliotis, with personal work and "adrais of philochristian expenses", erected the new church from the foundations, which was completed in 1754–55. Later, the story of the church (1757), the bell tower (1784), and the narthex were added.
Patriarch Cyril V (1748–57), when he retired from the throne, erected in 1757 in this hermitage a hut with a magnificent naidium, in which he retired and died.
During 1843, attempts were made to detach it from the ownership of the Great Lavra, without result. The monks who took the lead called it "saint Synastan" and claimed "that there had never been an independent Sinaiticus".
At the beginning of the 20th century the hermitage of Agia Anna numbered 52 huts with 300 monks, while the 2001 census recorded 94 monks. Today it counts 51 huts (with 7 more in Mikri Agia Anna), with a total of 88 monks. Among its huts are the brotherhoods of the Thomads, the Kartsonians and the Voliotes.
Library-Manuscript Codices
The Library of the Sunday School of Skete Agia Anna is located in a newer building, which stands in the yard of the Sunday School. The entire Kyriakou complex, which includes, in addition to the library and the temple, a bank and a hostel, was renovated in 2000.
The first cataloging of its codices collection took place at the end of the 19th century. by Spyridon Lambros and covers 46 manuscripts. Afterwards, the hymn writer monk Gerasimos Mikrayannanitis completed the list handed down to us by Lambros, giving more detailed information about the content of the 46 manuscripts and describing an additional 68 codices. Thus, today 114 of the 407 manuscripts kept in the library of Kyriakos are known.
The oldest codes of the Scete date back to the 11th century. These are codex 1, which contains texts about Ephraim the Syrian, and codex 2, which is labeled Paradise, and contains stories of monks.
Many Scythian codices contain neomartyrological texts. The most important of them is No. 263 of the 18th century. and originally belonged to the hut of the holy hieromartyr Seraphim. It has the title: John the great orator of the Great Church note of neophanes witnesses during the reign of Sultan Mehmet. This is the work of Ioannis Karyofyllis (†1693), which was also used by Nicodemus the Saint in the writing of his New Martyrology.
A rich collection of ancient memorabilia and texts related to the history of Mount Athos is contained in codex 156, of 1848, which is labeled Bible of old and new memorabilia, Athonias kaloumeni, khei e pono Iakovos ektro monachou.
Library-Print Books
A list of the books of the hermitage has not yet been published. According to Thomas Papadopoulos, the oldest edition of the Sunday of Saint Anne is from 1516 and it is an edition of the Orationes of Gregory of Nazianzus, printed in Venice in aedibus Aldi et Andreae soceri.
Printed books are also kept in the huts of the Assumption, Ascension, Holy Archangels, Genesis of the Virgin, Holy Apostles, John Chrysostom and in the sanctuary of the Nativity of Christ.
Source https://www.aboutlibraries.gr/libraries/handle/20.500.12777/lib_4516
Add new comment