foundation · 963 · Mount Athos
In 963 Athanasius the Athonite, with the victorious Nikephoros Phokas' patronage, founded the Great Lavra on Mount Athos. The hermits' mountain became a commonwealth of monasteries — the spiritual heartland whose prayers, icons and books have fed the Orthodox world ever since.
The Holy Mountain's monastic commonwealth begins — Orthodoxy's enduring spiritual heartland.