The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-13
AZ ETELESS PARADISE.
A Land From Which Every Female he
ing Is Excluded BIT. Athos' Monks.

lng Is Excluded lit. Athos Monks.
From the New York sun.
Fifty miles 90 the southeast OF salonica
the long, narrow promoutory OF Mount
Athos, the most easterly OF three similar
headlands projects far into Che Aegean
sea. With an average breadth Of four
miles. 30 is forty miles Ions. ending i'm a
steep peak Of white marble nearly 7.mn
feet high-the Hagion Oros Monte santo
or Holy Mount. The mountain ridge runs
right down to the shore. and is covered
with green forests ana vegetation of great
variety; the climate is healthy and
pleasant. while the scenery is very beau
tiful The only inhabitants of this para
disc now, as for ages back. are some thou
sands of Basililu monks OF the Greek or
thodoX church
The monasterles existed in the ninth
century, and are probably much older
There are twenty OF them scattered over
the peninsula each owns estates ON Athos
and in many countries OF the Greek faith.
each governs itself and has "a share in
the common government OF the district.
subordinate TO them are other religious
houses. without Independent corporate eX-
istence, called Asccteria. each governed
by an officer appointed by the monastery
7.
are countless cells aud hermitaecs.
either grouped around the larger estah-
llshments or standing alone In almost
every part of the mountain. The Holy
Mount is second only TO Jerusalem I'm the
voneratiou of pilgrims or the Greek faith.
It's isolated position. made almost inacces-
sible by the canal which NerNes cut across
the neck of the peninsula five centuries
before our era, has saved II In great part
Ntrff
is a perfect treasure house of Byzantine
art and antiquities. Some OF it's buildings
are the oldest specimens of domestic ar
chitecture to bee found in Europe outside
OF pompei. The shrines are adorned with
Eoldsmiths work of great antiquity. The
libraries are rich in Illuminated manu-
scripts they have charters and title deeds
OF early byzantine cmpcrors with the gol-
den seals still attached; but they seem TO
have no chronicles. and their stores of
literary material have never been care
fully investigated. The monks keep up
the traditions Of the byzantine school Of
painting; they manufacture the metal OBJ
iects used by the Greek church-crosses,
censers, lamps, chalices, reliquaries-
carve and inlay IN wood.
No woman is allowed 20 set foot on tho
mountain. The exclusion of the sex Is eX-
tended even 20 animals. so that milk and
eggs are not TO be had on the peninsula
unless they are imported As the sea sur
rounds the mountain, provision Is nude
for the contingency that q woman is ship
wrecked. Then the oldest monks must
take charge OF her, ana shelter her Ia a
lonely part OF the mountain, apart from
other habitations. and as soon as is hui
namely possible, send her by sea 10 the
nearest port Nevertheless, the mountain
itself is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin,
one of the mOnasteries has for It's patron
Saint Anne, another Saint Laura, and
other woman saints are worshipped IN
the thousand churches and chapels that
the monks maintain.
Asceticism of the strictest sort IS prac-
ticed by the monks who are nearly all
men that have lived in the world and have
grown weary of IT, The novitiate lasts for
three years; then the lesser habit is
taken. with VOWS Of chastity, temperance,
plety and obedience. Except in rare cases
the greater habit Us only given at the hour
of death, when the monk solemnly re-
nounces the world and the things that are
therein Besides the usual fasts, they OBJ
serve four "Lents" in the year. on certain
specifed days they eat absolutely moth
ing, on l59 days In the year they have only
one meal consisting OF vegetables and
bread STEPPED in water, as eggs, milk,
cheese. wine. fish, and oil are then forbid
den; on no day do they have more than
two meals and they never eat nesh. Ihe
usual codiment is oil; the common food Is
dried vegetables. salt fish, olives and black
bread. They can drink wine and two
lioueurs which they make, rak, kind OF
anisette. and mastlc. The monks never
sleep more than five or six hours; they go
TO bed at or and are up for prayers
at 2 in the morning. The offices occupy
eight or ten hours on common days ana
sometimes sixteen or seventeen hours. In
the mortuary chapels prayers never cease
the monks relieving one another at inter-
walls of two hours. BY far the greater
number is employed in manual labor; some
are busled with the administration, tho
HOSPITALS, the libraEjes; a few are schol-
airs or artists There is nothing monkish
IN their dress, which Is the Albanian cos
tume-a shirt and kilt Of closely pleated
white cloth, dark Jacket covered with
gold braid, CATERS with gilt buttons. and
a gay sash, In which are stuck many
small weapons.
The community governs Itself In consid-
Grafton Of Il yearly tribute 10 the Turkish
government Russians, Servians, Bulgar-
ians and Roumanians have foundations
among the monasteries and contribute to
their support as do orthodox Greeks all
over the world. The governing body, the
protaton, is republican in form. being a
committee Of one representative from
each OF the twenty monasteries elected
for four years