Iviron Monastery

Iviron Monastery (Moni Iviron) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, founded around the late 10th century by Georgian monastic leaders. It is one of the twenty ruling monasteries on the Athos peninsula and remains an active monastic community.

Pilgrims and visitors come to see the monastery’s katholikon, its icon collection and liturgical life, and to consult or view parts of its historic library and manuscript holdings. The complex preserves examples of Byzantine and post-Byzantine religious art and architecture.

The monastery was established circa 980 by the Georgian monks John the Iberian and Euthymius the Iberian and became an important center of prayer and manuscript production; over time its community and patrons shifted between Georgian and Greek influences while it retained its name and heritage.

Iviron stands on the Mount Athos peninsula in northern Greece as one of the principal monasteries of the monastic republic; access is via the Athos ferry and subject to the peninsula’s entry regulations.

• Access rules: Mount Athos is male-only; visitors must obtain a special permit (diamonitirion) and observe local visitor quotas and monastery rules.
• Founding heritage: The monastery was founded by Georgian monks and retains important Georgian connections in its history and some relics and manuscripts.

What to See #

• Katholikon: The monastery's katholikon is the main church building where liturgical services are held and which contains important icons and frescoes.
• Library and archives: A monastic library and archive hold manuscripts and books of historical and religious significance collected over centuries.