The status of Mount Athos

Mount Athos, as a place and, symbolically, as representing a way of life through its centuries-long history, has been given such astonishing names as the dwelling-place of all virtues or the gates of heaven or heavenly city. Athos is the only Orthodox monastic centre that has existed without interruption over the course of more than one thousand years. The fact that Mount Athos has existed for so long, apart from the care and assistance of its heavenly Patroness, the Most Holy Mother of God, has been made possible thanks to solid foundations and good organization in other words, thanks to a particular privileged position and charter that were adopted by Byzantine emperors and have been respected without deviation over the course of many centuries, remaining valid to this day. Apart from this, Athos is a global centre of Orthodox monasticism and Christian culture, since it is a place where representatives of all Orthodox nations have committed themselves to ascetic endeavour. As a monastic commonwealth dedicated to upholding the principles of the life in common and the brotherly unity of the earliest Christians, it presents an example of how people of different backrounds can co-exist when their differences are erased by their shared faith.