ABBOTS FOREWORD 9 INTRODUCTION 11 A. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND HISTORY 1. Location and Origin of the Monastery's Name 15 2. Foundation-Trie Monastery in the Byzantine Period 19 a. The Founders 21 b. The Monastery in the Byzantine Period 25 3. The Monastery under Ottoman Rule 29 4. Recent History of the Monastery 41 5. The Reversion of the Monastery to a Coenobium 44 B. THE BUILDING COMPLEX 1. Overall View - Architecture 51 2. The Katholikon 65 a. The nave 66 b. The Sanctuary 74 c. The Esonarthex (Lite) 81 d. The Chapel of the Dormition of the Theotokos 87 e. The Tomb of the Founders 89 3. The Tower 93 4. The Refectory 98 5. Chapels Inside and Outside the Precinct 106 C. ART - TREASURES 1. The Murals of the Katholikon 111 2. The Portable Icons 117 3. The Library 127 4. The Archive 139 5. The Treasury 143 D. THE MONASTERY'S WIDER REACH - THE METOCHIA 1. Estates on Mount Athos 151 2. The Settlement of Kapsala 157 3. The Skete of Prophet Elijah 165 4. The Estates outside Mount Athos 168 E. SAINTS, SACRED RELICS AND FEAST DAYS 1. The Monastery's Saints 179 2. Sacred Relics 189 3. Feast Days 195 F. THE MONASTERY'S SCHOLARS 197 LIST OF ABBOTS, PROHEGOUMENI AND SACRISTANS OF THE MONASTERY 204 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 207 GLOSSARY 213