Information

There are two miraculous icons in the monastery, Saint Stephen and the Virgin Mary of Antifonitria. According to the legend, the icon of the first came alone on the Mount from Jerusalem during the period of iconoclasm, half-burnt and with a slit in the left eye. For the Theotokos the Antifonitria, there is the legend that on the day of the feast of the monastery and while there was a shortage of oil, the urn that was under the icon was filled with oil, while Virgin Mary assured the skeptical container-man (storekeeper) that it was miracle.

The monastery took its name from the tradition, which it wants to be founded by Konstantas, son of Constantine the Great, or by an ascetic from Kastamoni of Asia Minor.

In the 14th century it was destroyed by the Catalans and was rebuilt according to a golden seal of I. V Paleologos in 1351. The economic crisis that the heavy Turkish taxes led it to almost desolated it, while Serbian benefactors undertook to cover the damage of another fire in the 16th century. The final designation of the monastery took place in 1819, when Mrs. Veliki (Ali Pasha) donated money to Abbot Chrysanthos for the construction of its eastern wing.

Equally striking with the exterior, is the Catholic of the monastery, which was erected without frescoes, according to the Mount Athos plain style. In 9 more chapels dominates the monastery, which maintains a remarkable library, with 110 manuscripts and a large number of printed books.

Map