Xenophontos Monastery

Xenophontos Monastery is located on the western shore of the Athos peninsula. The monastery has 11 chapels inside and 6 outside. The monastery is notable for having two katholikons, including an older one built in the late 10th century, and another newer katholikon built in 1817. The newer katholikon from the 19th century is located right next to the main tower of the monastery, while the older katholikon is located lower down, closer to the sea. He continues to lead the monastery as of 2019. Extensive renovations are being done with money provided by the Greek Government and the European Commission; many of the workers are from Albania and live nearby. The monastery ranks sixteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries. The community has about 55 working monks. Most are Greek, with two senior monks being American. ==History==

In the 6th century, there was a small Christian community dedicated to Saint Dimitrios on the current site of Xenophontos Monastery. There, the chapel of Saint Dimitrios, which still survives today, was built by Saint Xenophon the Senator (d. 6th century). The monastery was first mentioned in documents from the late 10th century. At the time, major benefactors of the monastery included the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who also gifted mosaic icons of Saint George and Saint Dimitrios that are still venerated at the monastery today. It was built in the tenth or eleventh century. The older katholikon (main church) was dedicated to Saint George by Xenophon, the abbot. An icon of Saint George dating from the 9th century is currently kept in the main katholikon. According to monastic tradition, it was originally in Constantinople during the iconoclast period. The iconoclasts had tried to unsuccessfully destroy it by fire and sword, and was then thrown into the sea and finally reached the monastery around the 10th century. The katholikon is dedicated to this icon of Saint George. ==Library==

The library contains over 500 manuscripts and approximately 10,000 printed books, and also hosts a museum. == Gallery ==

File:Gr97AthosXenophontos05.jpg|The new church File:IMG 1035-20070424-xenophontos-monastery.JPG|The old church File:IMG 1076-20070424-xenophontos-monastery-a.JPG|Courtyard ==References==