New Athos Monastery

Novoafon Simono-Kananite Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Athos in Abkhazia. Its golden domes shine in the sun, complementing the picturesque mountain landscape. The New Athos Monastery is the most important spiritual center of the region and a tourist attraction. Travelers who come up here note the gracious peaceful atmosphere of the holy place.

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Video: New Athos Monastery

Contents

Highlights

‘ Under the dome of the Novoafon Monastery

Architecture

The Novoafon Monastery was built according to Neo-Byzantine canons, which distinguishes it from traditional Russian church architecture. The monastery complex includes 6 temples: the Panteleimon Cathedral, the gate church of the Ascension of the Lord, the church of St. Andrew the Apostle, the church in honor of the Venerable Fathers of Athos, the church in honor of the Martyr Hieron, and the church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Deliverer.”

The monastery’s monastery buildings are located on the territory of the monastery.

The monastery buildings form a quadrangle. In its center rises the Panteleimon Cathedral. This is the most significant construction of the complex. The construction of the temple went from 1888 to 1900. The cathedral is crowned with 5 domes, the main of which reaches a height of 40 meters. The length of the Panteleimon Cathedral is 53.3 meters, width – 33.7 meters. The walls were painted in 1911-1914 by masters from the village of Palekh, Vladimir Province, and a group of artists from Moscow under the direction of M. V. Molov and A. V. Serebryakov.

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Under the bell tower is the former refectory of the monastery. Its walls are decorated with frescoes, their authors are the famous Volga masters Olovyannikov brothers.

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‘ Panteleymonovskiy Cathedral
‘ In Panteleymonovskiy Cathedral

Visitors

The New Athos Monastery is open to the public from Wednesday through Sunday from 12:00 to 18:00. Women are allowed into the monastery only in closed clothes and with their heads covered.

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How to get there

Address of the monastery: Republic of Abkhazia, Novy Afon (Anakopia), Monastery of the Holy Apostle Simon the Cananite.

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You can get to the New Athos Monastery from Adler. The Russian resort is located 8 km from the border with Abkhazia. It is necessary to cross the border post “Psou”, take a shuttle bus to New Athos.

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You can visit the monastery and as part of an excursion group. Trips to New Athos are included in most tours of Abkhazia, which are organized from Greater Sochi.

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