Fighting PTSD on Greece's holy mountain
03 December 2024
As many as 24 Ukrainian veterans, suffering from severe post-traumatic stress syndrome, travelled to Greece's holy Mount Athos to find peace this November. Many of them suffer from insomnia, nightmares, and guilt. Some have turned to alcohol. Others exhibit symptoms like shock, panic attacks, and disengagement from day-to-day life. Seeking spiritual redemption, they found sanctuary in the Holy Virgin's orchard. The monastic community did not, however, fully accept them.
For Ukrainian pilgrims, and even more so for the Ukrainian military, the majestic Panteleimon Monastery is now a hostile place. It's been the scene of a decades-long fight between Russian and Ukrainian monks behind its restored walls, which were funded by the Kremlin and Russian oligarchs.
The administrative power of the monastery, which houses around 2,000 monks, appears to have shifted in favour of the Russian-born monks, who subordinate the Ukrainian monks who have remained there. The monastery presently enjoys de facto autonomy from the Greek state and has been fully "Russified."
 | Theofilos Perperidis Mount Athos, located in northern Greece, is the only surviving remnant of the Byzantine Empire, which officially fell in 1453. It is a self-governing, male-only enclave which has been home to the largest Orthodox monastic community in the world for more than a century. It belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Church, meaning it doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of a single national Orthodox Church. Instead, it's directly under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Western sanctions against Kremlin-affiliated individuals and organisations have prompted the Greek anti-money laundering authority to launch an investigation into Mount Athos following the start of Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The monastery is regarded as a money laundering hub for Russian oligarchs. |
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