The Holy Monastery of Timios Prodromos in Akritochori of Serres is not accidentally popular to the pilgrims: it has the character of a hermitage, without closing the door to the joy of life. It adheres to the rite of worship of Mount Athos without losing contact with its visitors. And it follows tradition without depriving the forty –young in their majority – nuns of liveliness.
With twenty of them having studied Byzantine Music, even a simple visit turns into experience. It is enough to hear them chanting under the light of candles on Good Friday, or singing the “Christ is Risen”, with Byzantine, unprecedented for the uninitiated, tone quality, to be charmed and sometime come back.
On the slopes of Mount Belles and overlooking Lake Kerkini, in Akritochori of Serres, the Hermitage of Timios Prodromos dominates imposingly, completing thirty years of existence since its foundation.
The inveteracy of the monastery, the permanent stay of forty nuns and the great attendance of the faithful led to the need of the reconstruction of a new catholic of the holy monastery, which was built in the architectural style of Byzantine monasteries.
Built on the architectural building patterns of the Monasteries of Mount Athos, the monastery of Timios Prodromos adorns the border village of the prefecture of Serres and embraces all the faithful who come to worship.
The new Temple, made entirely of traditional building materials such as stone, marble, and ceramic bricks, comes to reunite the present of Macedonian land with its brilliant Byzantine past and its preserved ancient Byzantine temples. At the same time, it strengthens the spiritual bonds of Akritochori and the wider region with the Perivoli (garden, orchard) of Virgin Mary, Mount Athos, through the Brotherhood of the Monastery, which is spiritually connected with the Holy Monastery of Xenophon and its Abbot, Archimandrite Alexios.
Natural stone from the mountain of Belles, marble and solid brick, are the main materials used for the erection of the cathedral that exceeds 500 square meters in size.
In the Hermitage are kept the holy relics of the saints: James (or Jacob) the brother of Jesus (or Adelphotheos), Timios Prodromos and Anna the mother of Virgin Mary.
The monastic brotherhood deals with hieroraptiki (sewing church clothing), hagiography, miniature art, as well as agricultural work and livestock. It celebrates on August 29, the feast of the Beheading of the Forerunner (Timios Prodromos, John the Baptist).
The new impressive Katholikon (Catholic) was inaugurated in October 2012 by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The temple, with an overall dimension of 500 square meters, is a true copy of the old katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Xenophon (10th century), Mount Athos’ architectural style, cruciform with domes. It was built entirely of traditional building materials such as stone, marble and ceramic bricks.
The Hermitage of Timios Prodromos in Akritochori is 50 kilometers far from the city of Serres and 24 kilometers far from Sidirokastro. It is built on the international ambulatory footpath E4/6 and has a panoramic view of Lake Kerkini.
The visitor is truly gripped by the beautiful view he faces. Lake Kerkini is unfolding in all its’ splendor. The green of Mount Belles overwhelms every corner. It is worth visiting, especially by women, who cannot visit Mount Athos, to get an idea of Mount Athos' Byzantine architecture and way of life.
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