Athos: A Definitive Travel Guide for Pilgrims
/Megisti Lavra — Treasury (Skevophylakion): Icons, Relics, Vestments
Athos - December 31, 2025 - 6:56pm
1. Identification (standalone control page)
The Holy Monastery of the Great Lavra (Ιερά Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας), first in the Athonite hierarchy, preserves one of the most extensive Athonite treasuries (σκευοφυλάκιο). This page is an AthosForum itemized index. Objects are listed as witnesses with type, dating, provenance, present location, and notes. Devotional narrative is excluded.
2. Document map
- Megisti Lavra hub
- Manuscripts (codices & scrolls)
- Archive (Actes axis)
- Printed books
- Dependencies & metochia
3. Scope and principles of indexing
The Lavra treasury is integrated architecturally with the library and archive (19th-century repository complex; modern renovations in the late 20th–early 21st c.). Objects are indexed here by object class rather than by cult or feast. Where traditional attributions exist, they are recorded as such and flagged if corrected by scholarship.
4. Treasury classes (overview)
- Icons (panel icons; processional icons)
- Reliquaries and relic-containers
- Liturgical vestments (imperial, patriarchal, monastic)
- Liturgical vessels and instruments
- Imperial and donor gifts (mixed media)
5. Icons — itemized witnesses
| AF-Icon-ID | Type | Subject | Date | Material / technique | Provenance | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAVRA-ICON-0001 | Panel icon | Crucifixion | Byzantine (date unverified) | Tempera on wood | Athonite workshop | Skevophylakion | Listed among principal Lavra icons in AboutLibraries. |
| LAVRA-ICON-0002 | Panel icon | Dormition of the Theotokos | Byzantine (date unverified) | Tempera on wood | Athonite / Constantinopolitan tradition | Skevophylakion | Canonical Athonite subject; no individualized attribution preserved. |
| LAVRA-ICON-0003 | Panel icon | Synaxis of the Archangels | Byzantine (date unverified) | Tempera on wood | Athonite tradition | Skevophylakion | Indexed as representative of Lavra’s large icon corpus (≈2,000 icons). |
Control note: AboutLibraries records approximately 2,000 icons belonging to the Lavra. Only named or diagnostically significant icons should be expanded here; the remainder are indexed by count and class.
6. Reliquaries and relic-containers
| AF-Relic-ID | Object type | Contents | Date | Material | Provenance | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAVRA-RELIC-0001 | Reliquary | Multiple saintly relics | Byzantine–post-Byzantine | Metal (mixed) | Imperial / donor gifts | Skevophylakion | Grouped container; individual relic inventory not published. |
| LAVRA-RELIC-0002 | Processional cross | Relic fragments | Byzantine (date unverified) | Metal with inset relics | Athonite | Skevophylakion | Indexed as combined liturgical/reliquary object. |
7. Liturgical vestments (imperial and patriarchal layer)
| AF-Vest-ID | Garment | Date | Material | Associated person | Provenance | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAVRA-VEST-0001 | Sakkos | 10th c. (traditional attribution) | Textile with embroidery | Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas | Imperial donation (traditional) | Skevophylakion | Attribution preserved in monastic tradition; treat as historical claim. |
| LAVRA-VEST-0002 | Crown (ceremonial) | 10th c. (traditional attribution) | Metal | Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas | Imperial | Skevophylakion | Indexed as donor-object; attribution not palaeographically testable. |
8. Liturgical vessels and instruments
| AF-Vessel-ID | Type | Date | Material | Provenance | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAVRA-VESSEL-0001 | Chalice | Byzantine–post-Byzantine | Silver-gilt | Imperial / donor gifts | Skevophylakion | Representative of Lavra’s vessel corpus. |
| LAVRA-VESSEL-0002 | Patriarchal staff | Post-Byzantine | Metal / wood | Ecclesiastical donation | Skevophylakion | Indexed as jurisdictional-symbol object. |
9. Imperial and donor gifts (mixed-media witnesses)
| AF-Gift-ID | Object | Date | Donor | Material | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAVRA-GIFT-0001 | Gospel codex with gilded cover | 10th c. (cover later?) | Nikephoros II Phokas (traditional) | Manuscript + metal cover | Skevophylakion | Documented in AboutLibraries as a flagship Lavra object. |
| LAVRA-GIFT-0002 | Arrow quivers (pair) | 10th c. (traditional) | Imperial context | Leather / metal | Skevophylakion | Recorded as historical war objects associated with early imperial period. |
10. Mechanical crosswalk (treasury indexing shell)
Use this table to extend the treasury index. Each row corresponds to a single object. Do not merge objects.
| AF-Object-ID | Class | Subtype | Date | Material | Provenance / donor | Current location | Bibliographic ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAVRA-ICON-0001 | Icon | Panel | [unverified] | Tempera on wood | [unverified] | Skevophylakion | AboutLibraries lib_92 | Populate with technical study when available. |
11. Bibliographic nucleus (treasury)
- AboutLibraries.gr — Great Lavra (lib_92) (treasury counts; named objects).
- Athonite inventories and internal Lavra descriptions cited in AboutLibraries.
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