The “Neo-Hesychasts” or “Neo-Athonites” are modern Elders, such as
Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra (1934–2019) and Archimandrite
Basileios of Iveron, who, while commendably repopulating the Holy Mountain
with their disciples in the 1970s, and thereby helping to ward off the danger of
Mount Athos, eventually dying out for lack of younger monks, has nonetheless
failed to emulate their illustrious predecessors in taking a resolute stand against
The ecumenist excesses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Ironically enough, the
“Neo-Athonite” movement sprang precisely from the Athonite Hieromonks who
left the Holy Mountain in the 1920s to serve the liturgical and spiritual
needs of the Old Calendarists. These luminaries, who embodied in their lives
the loftiest principles of the Philokalic renaissance inaugurated by Saint
Nicodemos the Hagiorite (1749–1809) and his fellow Kollyvades emphasized,
inter alia, the importance of Confession and of the Jesus Prayer, both of which
had largely fallen by the wayside in contemporary Greek Orthodoxy.
Timeline:
December, 1965: The Anathemas between Rome and Constantinople are lifted by Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI. Several monasteries on Mount Athos cease commemorating the heretical Patriarch during the liturgy. Some even start commemorating Archbishop Auxentios of Athens.
The New Calendarist Metropolitan Augustinos of Florina stops commemorating Patriarch Athenagoras and even speaks at a rally hosted by Archbishop Auxentios of Athens.
1970: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos stops commemorating Patriarch Athenagoras and convinces the Monastery of Stavronikita under Archimandrite Vasileos to stop commemorating him as well. Elder Paisios resumes commemorating the newly enthroned Patriarch Demetrios in 1973.
July 1972 - Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras dies and is buried; a closed-coffin funeral. He is succeeded by Demetrios. His enthronement speech is purely ecumenical, addressing the Pope of Rome as the leader of Christendom. He promises to continue the ecumenical policies of Athenagoras.
July 1972 - Sacred Community (non-Zealot monks) of the Holy Mountain issues an encyclical to resume commemorating the Ecumenical Patriarch. By September, seven sacred monasteries on Mt. Athos, composed of Zealot monks, still do not commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch: Esphigmenou, Karakallou, Simonopetra, St. Paul’s, Xenophontos, Grigoriou, and Kostamonitou.
1973 - Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra takes over the monastery from the non-commemorating abbot Haralambos. In the same year, Elder Ephraim assumed the abbacy of Philotheou monastery.
Mar 1974 - Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios imposes penalties on 13 monks for being in non-commemorating monasteries, among whom are: Archimandrite Athanasios (Abbot of Esphigmenou), Archimandrite Evdokimos (Abbot of Xenophontos), Archimandrite Dionysios of Grigoriou, and Archimandrite Andreas of St. Paul’s. Archimandrite Dionysios of Grigoriou is forced to resign and his replaced as abbot by Fr. George Kapsanis.
June 1974 - The Florinites issue an encyclical to all their clergy declaring the New Calendarist State Church to be graceless.
October 1974 - Archimandrite Andreas of Saint Paul's is deposed by the monks of his own monastery for refusing to compromise with the heretical Patriarch. He refuses to commemorate until the end of his life, and reposes peacefully in 1986.
December 1974 - Archimandrite Parthenios is installed as the new abbot of Saint Paul's monastery, and the monastery resumes commemorating the Patriarch upon his enthronement.
The 60 monks of Esphigmenou monastery remain loyal to a man, to their Abbot Athanasios, who breaks communion with the Sacred Community and all the other monasteries on Mount Athos.
1975 - Fr. Christodoulos assumes the abbacy of Koutloumousiou monastery.
1976 - Fr. Alexios assumes the abbacy of Xenophontos monastery after the deposition of its non-commemorating abbot Evdomikos two years prior.
1979 - Fr. Haralambos becomes the new abbot of Dionysiou monastery after the resignation of Archimandrite Gabriel. In the same year, Fr. George assumed the abbacy of Docheiariou monastery.
1980 - Two groups leave Philotheou: Fr. Ephraim Koutsibos assumes the abbacy of Xiropotamou monastery. Fr. Agathon assumes the abbacy of Konstamonitou monastery.
1981 - A third group leaves Philotheou: Fr. Philotheos assumes the abbacy of Karakallou monastery.
1987- Fr. Joseph the Cypriot's brotherhood moves to Vatopedi monastery.
1990 - Fr. Vasileos moves from Stavronikita to Iveron monastery and assumes the abbacy there.
1992 - The ROCOR monks of Saint Prophet Elias Skete are expelled by the newly installed Patriarch Bartholomew for refusing to commemorate him. The non-commemorating ROCOR monks had been present at this hermitage since 1973.
2000 - Fr. Aimilianos of Simonopetra retires from the abbacy.
2005 - The "New Brotherhood" of Esphigmenou monastery is established, led by Archimandrite Chrysostomos Katsoulieris.
2013 - Archimandrite Chrysostomos passes away and is replaced by Archimandrite Bartholomew, the new "abbot" of the "New Brotherhood" of Esphigmenou
2022 - Esphigmenou monastery under Abbot Methodios breaks communion with the GOC-Kallinikos over issues related to COVID
