Xeropotamou Monastery: home to the largest surviving fragment of the True Cross anywhere in Christianity
Sul Monte Athos, in Grecia, il monastero di Xeropotamou fu fondato, secondo la ricostruzione storica più accreditata, alla fine del X secolo dal monaco Paolo Xeropotameno; la tradizione popolare che ne attribuisce la fondazione all’imperatrice Pulcheria, nel V secolo, resta una leggenda priva di conferma storica. Il monastero occupa l’ottavo posto nella gerarchia dei venti monasteri sovrani del Monte Athos. Il suo tesoro più celebre è considerato il più grande frammento superstite della Vera Croce conservato in qualsiasi luogo cristiano, custodito nel katholikon e recante quello che si dice essere un foro di chiodo: secondo la tradizione, la reliquia fu donata dall’imperatore bizantino Romano I Lecapeno (regnante dal 920 al 944), e il reliquiario attuale, con iscrizione che cita la sua bolla d’oro, contiene tredici frammenti derivati da un unico pezzo originario più grande. Dal XVIII secolo, attestata dal 1768, una processione della Domenica delle Palme porta la reliquia fino al villaggio di Petrokerasa, legata a una tradizione di guarigione da un’epidemia di peste. Nel corso della sua storia il monastero subì il saccheggio dei Franchi nel XIII secolo, una rinascita nel XIV secolo sostenuta da sovrani bizantini paleologi e principi serbi, e due incendi, nel 1507 e nel 1609. L’attuale katholikon, dedicato ai Quaranta Martiri di Sebaste, fu costruito tra il 1761 e il 1763 da Cesario Daponte. Dal 1988 il monastero fa parte del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO del Monte Athos.
About Xeropotamou Monastery
Xeropotamou Monastery, on Mount Athos in Greece, was founded, according to the most reliable historical reconstruction, toward the end of the 10th century by the monk Paulos Xeropotamenos; the popular tradition attributing its founding to the 5th-century Empress Pulcheria remains a legend without historical confirmation. The monastery ranks eighth in the hierarchy of Mount Athos’s twenty ruling monasteries. Its most celebrated treasure is considered the largest surviving fragment of the True Cross held anywhere in Christianity, kept in the katholikon and bearing what is said to be a nail-hole; tradition holds that the relic was a gift from the Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, who reigned from 920 to 944, and the present reliquary, inscribed with a reference to his golden bull, contains thirteen fragments believed to derive from a single larger original piece. Since at least 1768, a Palm Sunday procession has carried the relic to the nearby village of Petrokerasa, a tradition connected to a reported healing during a plague epidemic. Across its history, the monastery suffered plundering by the Franks in the 13th century, a 14th-century revival supported by Palaiologan Byzantine rulers and Serbian princes, and two fires, in 1507 and 1609. The present katholikon, dedicated to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, was built between 1761 and 1763 by Kaisarios Dapontes. Since 1988, the monastery has formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Mount Athos.”
Key facts
- Late 10th century: founding by the monk Paulos Xeropotamenos
- 8th in the hierarchy of Mount Athos’s twenty ruling monasteries
- Largest surviving fragment of the True Cross, traditionally a gift of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos
- 1507 and 1609: two major fires in the monastery’s history
- 1761-1763: present katholikon built by Kaisarios Dapontes, dedicated to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
- 1988: becomes part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Mount Athos”
History
Xeropotamou’s long history of destruction and revival, from 13th-century Frankish plundering through Palaiologan-era renewal and repeated early modern fires, reflects the turbulent centuries through which Mount Athos’s monastic communities preserved their institutions and treasures despite recurring external threats. Its custodianship of what is considered Christianity’s largest surviving True Cross fragment has made the monastery a significant pilgrimage destination in its own right, its annual Palm Sunday procession to Petrokerasa carrying that devotion beyond the Holy Mountain itself into the surrounding region.
What you see
The monastery’s nearly square katholikon, built between 1761 and 1763, rises within three-storey fortified wings typical of Athonite monastic architecture, its domes, chapels and bell tower visible above the surrounding walls. Inside, the relic of the True Cross is displayed alongside a substantial library of manuscript codices and early printed books, reflecting the monastery’s long scholarly and devotional tradition.
Practical information
- Access: Mount Athos requires a special entry permit (diamonitirion); open only to men, following traditional Athonite restrictions; the Julian calendar is observed
- Address: Mount Athos peninsula, Chalkidiki, Greece
Getting there
Xeropotamou Monastery lies on the peninsula’s southern coast, reachable by boat along the coastline from Daphni, the peninsula’s port. GPS: 40.2279° N, 24.2198° E.
Nearby
- Daphni — the port serving Mount Athos, nearby along the coast
- Simonopetra Monastery — another cliffside monastery further along the coastline
- Karyes — the administrative capital of Mount Athos, inland
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Xeropotamou Monastery” (en.wikipedia.org)
- OrthodoxWiki — “Xeropotamou Monastery (Athos)” (orthodoxwiki.org)
- Macedonian Heritage — “The Monastery of Xiropotamou” (macedonian-heritage.gr)
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