Karyes, Mount Athos

Karyes (Greek: Καρυές) is a settlement in Mount Athos of the Athonite monastic community. The 2021 Greek census reported a population of 135 inhabitants. It is the largest settlement in Mount Athos.

Karyes Καρυές
Settlement
The main street in Karyes
Karyes
Coordinates: 40°15′26″N 24°14′45″E / 40.25722°N 24.24583°E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Monastic community of Mount Athos
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	135
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

The major church at Karyes is the Protaton, which is the church of the Protos, or president of the monastic community. The famed Axion Estin icon is kept at the Protaton. Each of the twenty monasteries of Mount Athos also has a konaki, or representative's residence, at Karyes.^[2]

Koutloumousiou Monastery is located just a few hundred meters to the south of the town center of Karyes.^[3]

Serbian Bishop Saint Sava built a church and cell at Karyes, where he stayed for some years, becoming a Hieromonk, then an Archimandrite in 1201. He wrote the Karyes Typicon during his stay there, and a marble inscription of his work still exists.^[4] In 1219 Sava becomes the first Archbishop of Serbia.^[4]

In the year 1283, Latin Crusaders during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Michael Paleologos, attacked Mount Athos. They tortured and hanged the Protos, and sacked the Protaton, murdering many of the monks. These monks are commemorated as martyrs by the Eastern Orthodox Church on 5 December (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 5 December falls on 18 December of the Gregorian Calendar).

• Mt Athos administration building

• The main church (Protaton)

• Closer view of the main church

• The building of the monastic Community (Iera Koinotita)

• Α cobbled street

• Α stone tower