St. Panteleimon Monastery

Known also as a Russian one, was built at its current site in 1765, while the original building dates back to the beginning of the eleventh century.

The construction of the present monastery was carried out during the first two decades of the nineteenth century, with the financial help of the ruler of Moldo-Wallachia, Skarlatos Kallimaches. Russian monks numbered 1,000 in 1895 and 1,446 in 1903. Today (1990), 35 monks live in the monastery.

It occupies the nineteenth rank in the hierarchical order of the twenty Athonite monasteries. It is coenobitic (communal monastic life). To Saint Panteleimon belongs four dependencies, the skete of Xylourgou or Bogoroditsa, the Chromitsa metochion, the Nea Thebais or Gournoskete and Paleomonastiro.

The monastery features the architecture of a small town, with buildings of various heights and many domes. Until destroyed by a recent fire (1968) one wing of the monastery was used as the guest quarters, with capacity of 1,000 monks.