Konstamonitou Monastery stands on the southeastern side of the Athos peninsula and is dedicated to Saint Stephen. It ranks twentieth and last in the Athonite hierarchy. The article gives no architect, style, materials or dimensions. The infobox names Constantine the Great as founder, but the text dates the founding to the mid-11th century. It suggests the founder was an unknown member of the Byzantine Kastamonites family or an unrelated person from Paphlagonia.
The present buildings date to the 18th and 19th centuries. A fire destroyed the earlier monastery in the 1420s, and the Serbian magnate Radič restored it. It then drew many South Slavic monks and enjoyed a century of prosperity.
About 40 working monks live there. The library holds 110 manuscripts and about 5,000 printed books. Access is restricted to men.
Comments