Trip to Mount Athos
In late October 2024, with the blessing of Bishop Irenei and under guidance from Father Spasimir, several men from St Alexander Nevsky parish in Norwich, UK, embarked on a week-long pilgrimage to the Holy Mount Athos.
After leaving immediately following Sunday’s Liturgy in Norwich on October 20, the group arrived late that evening in Ouranoupoli, a Greek village at the border of the monastic state of Mt. Athos. Early the next morning, they boarded a boat bound for the small port town of Dafni, where they were met by a minibus arranged by parishioner Dimitri. He had organised transportation to Karakallou Monastery, where he’d also secured places for the entire group of 16 pilgrims.
Following a bumpy ride across the densely forested, mountainous Athos peninsula, the group arrived and was warmly welcomed by Father Nektarios, who offered the traditional Athonite refreshments: coffee, raki, and loukoumi. Afterward, he showed them to the guest house and invited them to assist the monks with the olive harvest—a hard but satisfying task.
Karakallou observes a rigorous schedule, with Vespers at 3 pm, followed by lunch, and then Compline. Matins begins at 2 am, followed by Divine Liturgy, concluding around 6 am. After the work in the olive grove, the pilgrims prepared themselves for this cycle of services. During Compline, they had the profound blessing of venerating Holy Relics, including those of the Apostle Bartholomew, Great Martyr Mercurius, St Theodore Tyro, St John the Merciful, St John the Baptist, St. Charalampus, the Holy Martyr Orestes, and a fragment of the True Cross. Also present was the monastery’s revered icon of St Peter and St Paul embracing. After the monastic meal in the trapeza, the group retired to the guest house, reflecting on a wondrous and grace filled day.
Following a deeply prayerful Matins in the main church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, the Norwich group was ushered away to attend Divine Liturgy in a smaller chapel dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. After breakfast, the group set off for Mt. Athos’ capital, Karyes. After a short time taking in the sights and stocking up on provisions, they then traveled by bus and boat to reach the Bulgarian monastery, Zographou. Some pilgrims opted to walk the final two-mile stretch from the coast up the cypress-lined valley, while others took another bus.
Upon arrival, the pilgrims were warmly received with the customary monastic welcome, marking the beginning of their participation in the Feast of the 26 Martyrs of Zographou. The evening’s Vespers, held in the smaller church dedicated to St Demetrius, was followed by a solemn procession with the miraculous icon of the Theotokos, leading the group to the main church of St George, with a stop at the monument honouring the Holy Martyrs. Later, at 9 pm, the Vigil service began, commemorating the feast and continuing until 3 am, followed by Divine Liturgy at 8:30 am. With Bishop Irenei’s blessing, Father Spasimir served in both the Vigil and the Divine Liturgy. Those of the pilgrims that endured to the end of the vigil reported a profound joy at receiving Holy Communion and found themselves energised in spite of very little rest!
Later that day, the group divided into two: eight pilgrims departed for Panagitsa, a small skete, while the others continued their journey elsewhere. Those heading to Panagitsa took a speedboat to Simonos Petras Monastery, from where they began a scenic hike to the secluded valley that contains the modest skete. Panagitsa comprises a small handful of buildings, including a chapel, guest rooms, and a kitchen. Its central feature is the small cave where St Gregory Palamas once lived, to whom the skete’s chapel is dedicated.
At Panagitsa, Elder Gregory greeted the pilgrims warmly and prepared a simple, delicious soup. Once the meal was prepared, the Elder offered to answer any questions the pilgrims had. He spoke at length on the importance of having a clear heart; praying from the “upper heart”, the place in your chest that is intersected when performing the sign of the cross; that we must think of ourselves as “zero” in order to avoid pride; that if a command is given in the Gospel, we must have faith that it is possible to successfully obey it and some specific instruction on how to pray the Jesus Prayer. Everyone agreed that it was a tremendous blessing to have guidance from such a spiritual athlete.
The following morning at 5:30, Father Spasimir served the Liturgy in the skete’s chapel, after which the pilgrims expressed gratitude to Elder Gregory and the other monks, before continuing their journey. Another hike and boat ride brought them to New Skete, a sprawling complex of monastic cells, chapels, and a central church, starkly contrasting with the fortress-like appearance of other monasteries. They climbed numerous stone steps, encountering mules transporting building materials, and finally reached the grave of St Joseph the Hesychast, where they offered prayers and sang troparia.
From there, they hiked toward Agiou Pavlou Monastery, where, during a brief stay they were able to venerate relics, including those of St Panteleimon and the gifts the Magi offered to Christ. They also had the opportunity to honour the famous icon, the “Theotokos of the Mirror”. Shortly thereafter they boarded a boat that took them around the southern end of the peninsula before returning to Dafni. En route, they marvelled at the sight of hermitages clinging to sheer cliffs in one of Mount Athos’ most extreme ascetic areas. Once back at Dafni, they took a bus back to Karakallou.
During this time those of the pilgrims that were unable to go to Panagitsa, headed by bus towards Vatopedi monastery. They were dropped off some way from the monastery and enjoyed an hour’s walk along a picturesque trail to their destination. Unfortunately, Vatopedi was very full and only two of the group were able to stay, so the rest of them took a bus back to Karakallou where they arrived in time for the evening meal and Small Compline.
The following day they participated in the usual order of services and worked the olive groves again. Just before the evening meal, the two groups of pilgrims were reunited and shared stories of their adventures.
On Friday, as the pilgrimage neared its end, the group attended services at 2 am and later worked the olive groves one last time, participated in Vespers, and spent a final night immersed in the rhythm of Karakallou’s monastic life.
On Saturday, after Divine Liturgy and breakfast, the pilgrims bid farewell to Karakallou, taking a bus toward Dafni. They disembarked partway to hike to the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon, arriving during the peaceful period after their services and morning meal. After venerating Holy Relics—including those of St John the Forerunner, the Apostle Andrew, St Basil, St Gregory of Nyssa, St John Chrysostom, and St Luke the Evangelist—they toured the main church and were gifted several bottles of holy oil.
The pilgrims then boarded the ferry for the last time, heading back to Ouranoupoli and, ultimately, back home to Norwich.





















