Monastery of Zographou

On the Athos peninsula in Halkidiki stands the Monastery of Zographou, a Byzantine foundation whose roots reach back to the earliest centuries of monastic life on the Holy Mountain. Its Greek name means Monastery of the Painter, a reference to its dedication to Saint George the Zographos. As one of the twenty ruling monasteries of Mount Athos, it holds a place within a self-governing monastic republic that has endured for centuries. Today the site forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserving a living tradition of Orthodox monasticism.