Vatopedi Monastery

Vatopedi, on the north-eastern coast of the Athos peninsula, is one of the largest and oldest of the Athonite monasteries. Its founding is usually placed in the second half of the tenth century. It ranks second in the monasteries' hierarchy. Vatopedi received patronage from Byzantine emperors, Serbian rulers and the princes of Wallachia and Moldavia, and over the centuries it gathered an outstanding collection. It includes eleventh-century mosaics over the entrance to the katholikon, Palaiologan frescoes, rare portable mosaic icons, and venerated icons of the Virgin such as the Vimatarissa and the Paramythia. Its treasury also preserves relics, manuscripts and liturgical objects, including the Holy Belt (Girdle) of the Theotokos, one of the most revered relics of the Orthodox world. This section studies the monastery's history and art. Articles separate documented history from monastic tradition and describe the works pilgrims and scholars can see today.