Koutloumousiou Monastery

Koutloumousiou Monastery

The Monastery o

Koutloumousiou Monastery on Mount Athos: History, Library, Hesychasm, and the Romanian Connection

The Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou (Μονή Κουτλουμουσίου) occupies the sixth place in the hierarchy of the twenty ruling monasteries of Mount Athos. Built in a small valley surrounded by wooded slopes and ravines near Karyes, at the center of the Athonite peninsula, the monastery is closer to the administrative heart of Athos than almost any other monastery. The katholikon is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour, and for this reason the monastery is also known as the Holy Monastery of the Metamorphosis of Christ. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Among Athonite monasteries, Koutloumousiou occupies a distinctive position. Its history combines Byzantine origins, martyrdom during the Union of Lyons, strong ties with Wallachia and Moldavia, hesychastic spirituality, and one of the richest manuscript libraries on Mount Athos.

Origins and the Problem of the Name

The precise origin of Koutloumousiou remains uncertain. The monastery appears to have existed already by 988, although many scholars consider an eleventh-century foundation more likely. Tradition attributes the first patronage to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who is remembered as the monastery’s earliest benefactor. The earliest surviving documentary reference dates from 1169, when a document of the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon refers to “Isaiah the hieromonk and abbot of the monastery of Koutloumousiou.” :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

The prevailing explanation is that the monastery was founded by the monk Kallistos, its first abbot, who came from the court of Kutalmish I, founder of the Seljuk dynasty of Asia Minor. According to this interpretation, the monastery’s name derives from “Koutloumous,” transformed into “Koutloumousiou.” Another theory links the name with an old Arabic expression, Koudsoulmassih, meaning “Temple of the Saviour Christ,” perhaps because the monastery is dedicated to the Transfiguration. Neither explanation has been conclusively proven, but both reflect the monastery’s unusual links with Asia Minor and the eastern Christian world. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

The Early Monastery and Byzantine Hardship

During its first centuries Koutloumousiou was a small and poor monastery. Its obscurity is reflected even in the awkward spelling of the first surviving abbatial signature. For nearly two centuries the monastery appears near the bottom of Athonite lists, indicating that it remained relatively unimportant. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

The monastery suffered especially during the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. Under Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, who signed the Union of Lyons in 1274, several monks of Koutloumousiou, including the abbot, were executed when they resisted attempts to impose union with the Roman Church. According to the Athonite tradition, they were hanged and buried behind the katholikon. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Shortly afterward the monastery was devastated again by Frankish pirates and by the Catalan mercenaries who ravaged Mount Athos between 1307 and 1309. In order to survive, Koutloumousiou received a number of abandoned cells and smaller monasteries. The Cell of the Prophet Elijah, the Cell of Stavronikita, the Monastery of Anapausas, and the Monastery of Philadelphou were all temporarily attached to Koutloumousiou during the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. These annexations allowed the monastery to expand and brought its population to approximately forty monks. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

Koutloumousiou and Hesychasm

Koutloumousiou played an important role in the hesychast movement of the fourteenth century. In 1340 the abbot Theostiriktos signed the Athonite Tome of Saint Gregory Palamas, publicly defending the theology of hesychasm and the experience of the uncreated light. The monastery therefore belongs among the Athonite houses most directly associated with the Palamite revival. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

This hesychast orientation remained central to the monastery in later centuries. In modern times Koutloumousiou became associated with Saint Paisios of Mount Athos, who spent time in its dependencies and contributed to the monastery’s contemporary spiritual reputation. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

The Romanian and Wallachian Connection

The most decisive factor in the history of Koutloumousiou was its close relationship with Wallachia and the Romanian lands. Beginning in the middle of the fourteenth century, the monastery received extensive support from Wallachian rulers such as Alexandru Basarab and his son Vladislav Vlaicu. Their patronage transformed Koutloumousiou from a poor monastery into one of the principal monasteries of Mount Athos. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

The central figure in this transformation was Abbot Chariton of Imbros, who governed the monastery from approximately 1362. In order to protect the monastery from raids, Chariton traveled at least seven times to the Danubian principalities in search of support. His stated goal was to “build a fortress in the monastery.” For this reason the monastery during his time was often called “the monastery of Chariton” or “the monastery of the Voivode.” :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

At the same time large numbers of Wallachian monks entered the monastery. Because they struggled to adapt to the cenobitic way of life, Koutloumousiou adopted a mixed system: communal life for the Greek monks and idiorrhythmic life for the Wallachians. Chariton himself later became Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia in 1372 while continuing to direct the monastery. Through these ties, Koutloumousiou became one of the chief channels by which Greek spiritual culture influenced the Romanian lands. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

Wallachian patronage continued throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Mircea the Elder, Vlad Dracul, Radu the Great, Neagoe Basarab, and other rulers granted estates, villages, revenues, and protection to the monastery. Radu the Great and Neagoe Basarab financed major reconstruction after the fire of 1497, building walls, towers, gates, refectory, guesthouse, infirmary, harbor, and cells. Neagoe Basarab referred to Koutloumousiou as “the Great Lavra of Wallachia.” :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

Patriarchal and Imperial Privileges

By the end of the fourteenth century Koutloumousiou had become one of the most important monasteries of Athos. In 1393 Patriarch Antony IV declared it a patriarchal stavropegion, placing it directly under the Ecumenical Patriarchate and freeing it from local ecclesiastical control. Its independence was further guaranteed by imperial chrysobulls. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}

During the fifteenth century the monastery absorbed the neighboring Monastery of Saint Alypios, whose monks were transferred into Koutloumousiou. The Monastery of Alypios survives today as the Cell of the Holy Apostles. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}

Ottoman Decline and Revival

After the Ottoman conquest the monastery entered a period of severe decline. High taxation and the confiscation of estates reduced the number of monks and impoverished the monastery. By about 1480 Koutloumousiou appears to have been almost deserted. In 1501 Patriarch Joachim I authorized the admission of foreign monks, who restored the abandoned monastery “with much labor and toil.” Between 1528 and 1540 the monastery was inhabited exclusively by Bulgarian monks before a Greek brotherhood returned in the middle of the sixteenth century. :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}

Despite these hardships, Wallachian and Moldavian rulers continued to support the monastery. Vlad the Monk secured exemption from certain Ottoman taxes, while Radu the Great financed reconstruction after the fire of 1497. Thanks to these benefactions, Koutloumousiou rose permanently to the sixth place in the Athonite hierarchy in 1574, which it still retains today. :contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}

Architecture and the Monastery Complex

Koutloumousiou has the form of an irregular fortified quadrilateral. The eastern and southern sides are occupied by three-story arched wings, while the western wall contains an L-shaped stone building. A defensive tower built in 1508 dominates the complex and now houses the icon treasury. :contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}

The katholikon stands in the center of the courtyard. Although earlier structures existed, the present church was largely built after 1369 and expanded during the sixteenth century. The church and its narthex are decorated with frescoes in the style of the Cretan School. The wood-carved iconostasis dates from the early nineteenth century. :contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}

The monastery contains ten chapels. The most famous is the Chapel of the Panagia “Fovera Prostasia” (“Awesome Protection”), built in 1733 and containing the wonder-working icon of the same name. This icon, probably dating from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, is among the most venerated on Mount Athos. :contentReference[oaicite:18]{index=18}

The Library of Koutloumousiou

The library of Koutloumousiou is one of the greatest manuscript collections on Mount Athos. It contains approximately 950 codices of parchment and paper, some dating as early as the ninth century, together with about 5,000–5,200 printed books. Many of the printed books were produced in Venice, Vienna, Leipzig, Paris, Constantinople, and Romanian presses. The collection includes works not only of theology and liturgy but also philosophy, medicine, law, and music. :contentReference[oaicite:19]{index=19}

The manuscripts include:

• Gospels and biblical codices
• Lives of saints
• Liturgical books
• Byzantine musical manuscripts
• Illustrated manuscripts
• Texts on medicine, philosophy, and law

Among the most remarkable codices are a sixteenth-century illustrated Life of Joseph, Codex 1677 containing the three liturgies, and Codex 64, which preserves poems of Sultan Walad, the son of Jalal al-Din Rumi. This unusual manuscript demonstrates the monastery’s unexpected connection with the wider intellectual world of the eastern Mediterranean. :contentReference[oaicite:20]{index=20}

The documentary archive is equally important. It preserves Byzantine chrysobulls of Alexios I Komnenos and Andronikos II Palaiologos, Ottoman firmans, and letters and decrees from Wallachian rulers. Through these documents the history of Athonite monasticism, Byzantine administration, Ottoman taxation, and Romanian patronage can all be reconstructed. :contentReference[oaicite:21]{index=21}

Relics and Treasures

Koutloumousiou possesses one of the richest treasuries on Mount Athos. Its relics include the left foot of Saint Anne, the left hand of Saint Gregory the Theologian, the skull of Saint Alypios, the jawbone of Saint Charalambos, and a fragment of the True Cross. :contentReference[oaicite:22]{index=22}

The treasury also contains liturgical vestments, chalices, crosses, reliquaries, and icons of exceptional artistic value.

Contemporary Monastic Life

Koutloumousiou returned to cenobitic life in 1856 after five centuries of idiorrhythmic practice. In the twentieth century the monastery was renewed under Archimandrite Christodoulos and later under Elder Nikolaos. Today the monastery has approximately thirty monks, while another sixty-five live in its sketes, cells, and hermitages. :contentReference[oaicite:23]{index=23}

Koutloumousiou remains one of the most spiritually and historically important monasteries of Mount Athos. Its combination of Byzantine martyrdom, hesychast theology, Wallachian patronage, rich archives, and extraordinary library gives it a singular place in the history of Orthodox monasticism.

f Koutloumousiou (Greek: Μονή Κουτλουμουσίου or Koutloumousi Κουτλουμούσι) is built in a small valley surrounded by mountain slopes and ravines in the center of the Athonian peninsula, next to Karyes. It is also known as the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, to which its catholicon is dedicated. It occupies the sixth position in the hierarchy of the twenty monasteries of Mount Athos.

History

Regarding the establishment and the name of the Koutloumousiou monastery, various opinions have been expressed, but none of them are generally accepted. The monastery seems to have existed since 988, while some scholars consider it more likely that it was founded in the 11th century. Tradition cites the emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1117) as its founder, who is indeed its first benefactor. The oldest reference to the monastery is preserved in a document of 1169 of the monastery of Agios Panteleimonos, where it is signed, among others, "Isaias the hieromonach ke kathigomenos of the Koutloumoussi monastery". The prevailing version is that its founder was the monk and first abbot of the monastery Kallistos, who came from the court of Kutloumus I, the progenitor of the Seljuk dynasty of the same name in Asia Minor, who made Nicaea his seat and died in 1063. Another version seeks the founder in the monastic environment of Palestine in the 11th century, on the grounds that in some old Arabic dialect the word Koudsoulmassih denotes the temple of Christ the Saviour. During its first period the monastery was a monastery and for many years it faced difficulties. Her bankruptcy is also reflected by the misspelling of her first abbot's signature that we have. Also, for two centuries the signature of the monastery corresponds to the second and last ten of the monasteries, which shows that it was rather insignificant. During the 13th century, under the Latin emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, several monks together with the abbot were hanged and buried behind the catholicon, when a military detachment tried to enforce the union with the Catholic Church, which Michael had signed at Lyons (1274). At the beginning of the 14th century, with the raids of Frankish pirates and Catalans (1307–1309), the situation of the monastery worsened. In order to get on her feet, she was granted from time to time various deserted monodria. After the middle of the 13th century the First Kosmas granted it the deserted Cell of the Prophet Ilias, but in 1287 Koutloumousi requested instead the Cell of Stavronikitas. In 1329, the monastery of Anapausas and the monastery of Philadelphus were granted to her by the abbot of Philadelphus Isaac (1316–1345). These additions contributed somewhat to its development. The number of its monks then reached 40. The first property it acquired outside Mount Athos was a donation in 1338 from the mother of John Kantakouzenos. In 1340, the abbot of Theostiriktos monastery co-signed the Agioreitiko Tomo of Saint Gregory Palamas, thus defending the truth and the experience of the Orthodox spiritual life. The beginnings of the monastery's relations with Wallachia are placed in the middle of the 14th century. The financial support from Astras, Hierakis, Ioannis Ouglesis and, finally, the Voivode of Hungarian Wallachia Ioannis Vladislavos and his father Alexandros Vasaravas contributed substantially to its upgrading. We derive details about these relationships mainly from the three wills of Abbot Charitos. Chariton the Imbrios, abbot from around 1362, in order to protect the monastery from raids, traveled at least seven times to the Danubian dominions to "build a castle in the Monastery". Reasonably, then, at this time the monastery was called "Charitonos" or "Voevodas". In the same period, due to the Vlach monks who began to flock to the monastery and were unable to adapt to the kounovian koutloumousiou6 way of life, a mixed life arrangement was decided, konovian for the Greeks, peculiar for the Vlachs, "so that they live freely and absolutely and irregularly, of noble beings and morals of all solitary restraint and care". Chariton retained the abbotship of the monastery even after his election as metropolitan of Hungarian Wallachia (1372). Furthermore, he became First for at least four years, while in 1380 he was a member of the Council of Constantinople. During this time his deputy in the abbotship and eventually his successor was Vlachos Melchizedek. The result of these relations with the Balkan countries was the deep impact of the Greek element on the spiritual life of the Parist region. In the 14th century, the financial support of Andronikos II Palaiologos and a little later of Theodora Kantakouzenis is also mentioned, with the condition of her daily commemoration at the Divine Liturgy and later the holding of memorial services for the repose of her soul. The monastery was flourishing when, in 1393, Patriarch Antonios declared it a patriarchal crucifix, validating its independence from any political or local ecclesiastical authority, including patriarchal exarchs. Autocracy was also ensured by the imperial chrysovulas, thanks to which the monasteries are called basilicas. With the Turkish conquest, Konstantinos Dragassis took over its protection. Before long the number of monks was so great that its buildings were not sufficient. Thus, at the beginning of the 15th century, the adjacent historical monastery of Alypio (today's Cell of the Holy Apostles) was annexed to it, by order of the emperor John VIII and the seal of the Alypio patriarch Joseph II, known for his participation in the Ferrara-Florence synod . Part of the monks of Koutloumousiou were channeled to the Alypio monastery (1428). After the middle of the 15th century, however, the number of monks began to decrease continuously and the monastery faced an extensive financial crisis due to both heavy taxation and the sequestration of its estates by the Ottoman administration. Around 1480 it seems completely deserted. By an act of the patriarch Joachim I of the year 1501, the entry of foreign monks is accepted: "And later both of the monasteries that completely disappeared (= Koutloumousios and Alypius) and those who did not live there, and at the time of the incident, the present monks from foreign lands and looking for a place to rest, they found the one of Koutloumusis suitable for their rest and with much effort and labor they cultivated it and renovated it". During the period 1528–1540 the monastery was inhabited exclusively by Bulgarians. The situation seems to have changed in 1541, when the patriarch Jeremias I writes that "after the monks from the other generation succeeded her and pretended, she was resurrected and as they say she was restored and revived the best". The rulers of the Danube regions continued to strengthen it in the 15th and 16th centuries. Particular interest in this period was firstly shown by the rulers of Wallachia Vasaravas III Laiota (1474–1477), then Vlad III Kalogiros (1482–1495), who succeeded in exempting the monastery from the tithe, Radoulos the Great (1496– 1508), who volunteered to repair its buildings which were damaged by the fire of 1497. Until the death of Radoulos, the NW part of the monastery was renovated and then the construction of its defensive tower began (1508). Moreover, Neagos Vasaravas (1512–1521), husband of Militsa Bragovic, who was the daughter of Eleni Palaiologina, and secretary of the patriarch Nifonos, "excluded her from inside and outside ... and surrounded her with walls" and named her "the greatest Lavran of Roman Country". In the 17th and 18th centuries, monks from the monastery were sent to the Greek communities of central Europe in search of financial help. New life will begin for the Koutloumousiou monastery with the dedication to it of Matthew III the Psalmist, patriarch of Alexandria (1746–1766). Already as a hieromonk he had been called by the ruler of Moldavia and Wallachia Constantinos Mavrokordatos (1711–1819) as a spiritual man of the palace and at the same time abbot of the Zlatari monastery in Wallachia. From there he will move to assume the throne of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. He spent the last nine years of his life in the monastery, where he was buried (1775). At the end of May 1821, Emmanuel Papas proclaimed the Macedonian revolution with a ceremony in Protato, where he was proclaimed commander-in-chief of all Macedonia, and the aga of Mount Athos was confined to the Koutloumousiou monastery. In 1856, with the unanimous request of the fathers to the Ecumenical Patriarch, the monastery returned to the old synovial order after a peculiar life of five centuries. In 1860, the Russians succeeded in removing the abbot of the monastery Ioasaph, the deacon Meletios and other monks, and replacing the abbot with the Russophile Amfilochios. The Koutloumousiou monastery had fallen victim to a devastating fire three years earlier, resulting in the incineration of its entire western wing. The Russian government offered to cover the needs that were created by spending many rubles, as confirmed by General Sevastianov during his on-site visit. Because Ioasaph and Meletios were Heptanisians, i.e. citizens of the Ionian State which was then under the guardianship of England, after the intervention of the English ambassador in Constantinople, the two provosts were reinstated in the administration and thus the monastery avoided its Russification. In 1863, the ruler of Wallachia, Alexander Ioannis I or Kouza, confiscated the shares of all the Athonian monasteries, including those of the Koutloumousiou monastery. After World War II, Koutloumousiou faced a staffing problem. In the 1970s it was manned by a new escort headed by Archimandrite Christodoulos and a new period of prosperity began. The dependent brothers of the monastery also included the old man Paisios (Eznepidis), who spent the last fifteen years of his life as an ascetic in Kelli Panagouda. In addition to the fire of 1497, other fires are mentioned in 1767, 1857, 1870, and later in 1979. For this reason, and in combination with the subsidence of the soil, successive renovations of the monastery took place. In 1770 the new Trapeza was built, which, due to the fires of the 19th century and serious soil problems, was completely restored in the early 1990s. The eastern wing of the monastery, which had been destroyed by the fire of 1767, was rebuilt by the patriarch Matthew III of Alexandria. It was again destroyed by fire in 1980 and restored in 1991–1992. The entrance to the monastery is on the north side and was inaugurated in 1891. The catholicon was built around the fourth decade of the 16th century. It is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior and was written in 1539/1540, during the abbotship of Maximos, by an unknown painter who belonged to the Cretan School. Most of these performances have been painted over. The baroque wooden iconostasis with the wavy bands and the hologlyphic pulsating surface is a construction of 1820. The Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou has been operating under the synovial system since 1856, with the seal of Patriarch Kyrillos VII. Today the abbot is old Nikolaos.

Museum-Sacristy

The Vault of the monastery is located on the second floor of the north wing. Sacred vessels, 90 liturgical and priestly golden embroidered vestments, sanctification, blessing and litany crosses are kept there. Holy relics and reliquaries of many saints are also kept, as well as the crucifix, which adorned the oldest iconostasis of the Catholic church.

Icons

See icons here The iconostasis occupies all floors of the tower. Most of the hundreds of icons of the monastery, from various periods, are kept there. Among them the icon of Saint Nicholas, from the 14th century, and the Evangelists Matthew and Luke, both also from the 14th century. Worth remembering is the Ephesian icon of the monastery, the Awesome Protection, created in the 13th or 14th century, which is located in the homonymous chapel of the catholicon, to the left of the apse, which was built in 1733. It represents the Virgin Mary. Christ, fearful, holds his mother's right hand with both hands. He is terrified by the sight of the instruments of his passion, displayed by an angel. Choirs of prophets surround the central performance. Also, in the catholicon is the icon of Panagia Stylarini or Yatrissa, from the 14th century, which comes from a metochi of the monastery in Stylari of Marmaras.

Scholars

Hieromonk Bartholomeus the Koutolumousian (1772–1851) was born in Imbro. In 1793 he became a monk in his hometown, Agioi Archangelos, which was a sharer of the Koutloumousiou monastery. He was a student of Saint Nicodemus of Agioreitis. He studied at the Athonia School and at the Kydonia school. He lived alternately in and out of Oros for three decades. From the beginning of the revolution of 1821 until 1828 he remained outside Mount Athos. He taught at the priestly school of Fanarios, at the Commercial School of Chalkis, where he also became the head of the school, and at the school of Thessaloniki. He also taught in Corfu, where he met Andreas Mustoxidis, and in Venice, where he was hired as a teacher and became director of the Flaginei School. A few years before his death he returned to Athos, taught for a year in Athonias (1848–1849) and died in Koutloumoussi. Bartholomeus wrote a historical memoir about the Chalkin Monastery of the Theotokos (1846) and a historical memoir about the Island of Imbros (1845). He also wrote an Introduction to the Grammar of the Greek Language (1828), which was republished "at request" (1834). His "Botany", written at the prompting of Adamantios Korais, remain anecdotal, as do the Arithmetic and Physics textbooks. He edited, critically and editorially, liturgical texts, which he also restored. He began these publications with the Small Prayer for the use of young students (1828). It was followed by Mega Ὡrologion (1832), Pentecostarion (1836), Triῴdión (1839) and 12 Minaῖa (1834), the publication of which was a feat. For these editions, and above all the Minaean ones, he used the critical method by comparing old manuscripts, and provided the text that formed the basis for the later editions. In his introductions he gives information about the names of the hymns and the acrostices of the canons. He has also edited one of the two Gospels of the Holy Forerunner monastery of Arcadia, published in 1860 in Venice by the printing house of Agios Georgios. Dorotheos Scholarios was born in Thessaly in 1812. He was orphaned at an early age. In 1829 he moved to Koutloumoussi, near his uncles Nikandros and Dionysios. Between 1831 and 1834 he was in Wallachia, in the monastery's share. In 1834 he became a monk and was ordained a deacon by Pagratios of Christoupolis, who had retired to Koutloumoussi. Together with his uncles he goes to the metohi of Samos, where he begins his teaching work from 1838 to 1841. Then he goes to Syros, Athens and Constantinople for higher studies. From 1849 to 1852 he became the headmaster of the Great School of his Genus. Koutloumousi wanted him to take over the management of his large share in Wallachia, Klokotzovio, but in 1852 he was elected metropolitan of Sozoagathoupolis. In 1858 he became metropolitan of Dimitrias. In 1875 he settled in Athens and engaged in writing. He died in 1888 and made the National University general heir. He compiled the Key and Treasury of J.P. Patrology. Migne. In the 16th century there is a remarkable production of manuscripts in the monastery. From 1542 to 1583, approximately fifty manuscripts, the work of two calligraphers, survive. On the one hand, these are some manuscripts by the scribe Sophronius from the years 1542–1551 (another of his works is in Moscow), who signs with the iambic verse "God's gift and Sophronius's pain". The rest of the manuscripts belong to the other scribe, Euphronius, who started writing in 1552 and appears to be active until 1583. He uses the signature "God's gift and Euphronius's pain". Linos Politis assumes that this is the same person due to the similarity of the writing, who in 1552 only slightly changed his name. Such a change is unusual and unjustified. It is probably a student of Sophronios, who faithfully followed his teacher.

Library

The Library is housed at the western end of the much-worn northern wing of the monastery, on the second floor. It has three levels, with a total height of about 12.20 m. There is no information about the form and layout of the Library in Byzantine times. It is known that the wing was rebuilt in 1502, after the great fire of 1497, sponsored by the rulers of Wallachia, Radoulos and Neagos. Other interventions were made in the middle of the 18th century and in the second half of the 19th. After the fires of 1857 and 1870, it was rebuilt, according to the building inscriptions, in 1890–1891 during the abbotship of Meleti. In the late 19th or early 20th century, structural elements were added to make the space safe from fire and to house the monastery's historic library. In 1983 it was destroyed by a landslide and restored in the following years, with a drastic reconstruction of the original access way with new wooden balconies. Furthermore, in 2019 an architectural preliminary study was approved and in 2021 it was restored and extended in height. Today the library has been moved to the restored section. Vassily Barski, on his second trip in 1744, visited the Koutloumusiou monastery and mentions that its library consisted of 300 books. He found it completely untidy, with the books uncared for, half-rotted or completely disintegrated. He saw manuscripts, parchments and papyri, in Greek, Latin and Bulgarian, with mainly theological, but also historical, subjects. The English travel writer Robert Curzon (1831) found it difficult to visit the library, as the monk who held the key was wary of foreign visitors, since a Russian who borrowed a book never returned it. A significant number of manuscripts and forms come from the learned monk Bartholomeos Koutloumousianos (1772–1851), who donated his valuable library to the monastery. The archive of the monastery was created by the merger of the archives of the two monasteries, Koutloumousio and Alypio. Today nothing reminds of this original duality, which even the monks themselves have forgotten. Documents are classified into two basic categories, general and special. The general category includes the oldest documents, texts of various dates and origins. It includes almost all the documents of the Byzantine period. Their numbering was established at an unknown but later date, after the middle of the 19th century. The special category includes documents that mainly concern the shares of the monastery and are classified geographically. In total the collection includes 134 documents, including imperial chrysobulls, sultanic firmans from the 15th century, lead bulls of the rulers of Wallachia, as well as patriarchal seals. In the archive of the monastery there are also 17 Slavo-Romanian documents of rulers. From the documents of the Koutloumousiou monastery we mention Andronikos II (1322), Ioannis Ouglesis (1369), Vlad Ungrovalachias (1492), Voivode Gavriel Mogila (1618), Alexandros Radoulos (1625) and Matthew Vasaravas (1641) .

Manuscripts-Codices

. Spyridon Lambros saw and recorded 461 codices in the library of the Koutloumousiou monastery. But already in 1889, just nine years after Lambros's work, the monastery's librarian, monk Chariton, also compiled a catalog of manuscripts, carefully completing it until 1918, which is still in use today. This list includes the 461 manuscripts of Lambros and continues until the number 562. The later entries, the work of various libraries, are sketchy and disorderly. In 1956, Linos Politis visited the Library and with the help of the librarian Maximos, he began in 1957 to compile a supplementary catalog which was published in 1968. In it he describes 244 manuscripts. However, since the numbering of the manuscript codices is not consistent, new numbers have been given (next to the new number the old one is also noted). Numbers from 1 to 139 are the oldest manuscripts, which are described in detail, and from 140 to 244 the manuscripts from 1830 onwards, with a brief description. Today, the monastery's collection of manuscript codices includes 950 codices, with the oldest dating back to the 9th century. 95 of them are parchment and the rest paperback, while some are illustrated. They include Gospels, lives of saints, theological, liturgical and musical texts, as well as philosophical, medical and legal subjects. Nikodimos Agioreitis (one of the leading figures of the Kollyvada movement) visited the monastery's Library many times. There he found the manuscript of Eὐergetinus, a large collection of works by theologian monks and ascetic writers, which he published. Of the collection of manuscripts only three contain works of classical and late antiquity. But even these include few works, that is, the opinions of Cato, the poem of Focylides, two speeches of Demosthenes and a work of Galen. The Library also has a collection of 98 musical codices, written with clarity and elegance. Of the manuscript codices of the monastery, the parchment Evangelist number 60 (11th century) is worth remembering, which, in addition to the numerous titles, is decorated with representations of the pair of devotees, who surround Christ, and the four Evangelists. Codex 412 (16th century), which contains sequences of the year with a Byzantine parasign (Akoluthia τοῦ ἐνιατος met φονινον), is adorned with over a hundred folk-style performances, related to the text, usually small in shape and inside a circle. These are portraits or representations of the Twelve and the life of Christ. We also highlight Codex 193 (15th century), which is written by various hands, but includes remarkable examples of miniatures, and Codex 293, which is an Evangelist. Mattheos Pogonianitis, an old Agiorite, wrote and decorated it in Moscow in 1597 with impressive titles. Great in terms of illustration is Codex 100 (16th century), which contains a story about Joseph. It is decorated with 24 representations, almost scribbles, colored with watercolors. Codex 223 (18th century) contains part of the correspondence of Matthew III, monk of the Koutloumousiou monastery and patriarch of Alexandria.

Printed Books

About 5,200 printed books from 1500 onwards are stored in the Koutloumousiou Monastery Library. In addition to Greek, there are also books in Latin, Romanian, French and Slavonic. Thomas Papadopoulos in the Libraries of Mount Athos (p. 5) mentions that the first Greek edition he found in the Koutloumousiou monastery dates back to 1503. It is Georgios Gemistos and Plethonos, from Diodorus, Γεμιστοῦ καὶ Πλήθωνος, ἐκ τῶν Διοδώρου,printed in Venice by Aldos Manutios. The most chronologically next publication in the collection is Thomas the Master against the alphabet, Θωμᾶ τοῦ μαγίστρου κατὰ ἀλφάβητον, printed in 1517 in Rome by Zacharias Kallierg. Source https://www.aboutlibraries.gr/libraries/handle/20.500.12777/lib_108

Videos of Koutloumousiou Monastery

"The Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou" - the first film of the series "History and sanctuaries of Mount Athos". This film is a translation of the original film from Russian into English, which was produced in 2016. The original film - • Мир Приключений - Монастырь Кутлумуш.