Mt. Athos, March 4, 2024
A serious fire broke out yesterday, Sunday, March 3, at the holy Cell of the Lifegiving Spring on Mt. Athos, located between the Koutloumousiou and Iveron Monasteries, near the Athonite capital of Karyes.
The cell belongs to the Skete of St. Panteleimon, under the authority of Koutloumousiou.
The fire broke out at 9:40 AM. The sole inhabitant, Hieromonk Theophylaktos, was immediately evacuated, and 10 firefighters rushed to the scene, reports voria.gr.
The fire quickly grew, and the firefighters, together with a number of monks who rushed to help, worked hard to prevent it from spreading to neighboring cells or the church. According to the outlet’s information, the cell building was almost completely destroyed.
The history of the skete dates back to 1780, when Hieromonk Charalambos requested Koutloutmousiou Monastery to grant him the pre-existing Cell of St. Panteleimon to turn it into a skete for his disciples.
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