"Here one is closer to God, and better understands creation," says Father Spyridon, who's spent more than 50 years at the monastery as a monk. "All of mother nature is God's creation.

Simonopetra, or the Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, stands on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, Sunday, April 13, 2025.

The monastery is one of 20 in the autonomous all-male monastic community of Mount Athos, known in Greek as Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain. (AP video by Srdjan Nedeljkovic.

The monastery welcomes anyone who would like to visit — provided they are male. In a more than 1,000-year-old tradition, women are banned from the entire peninsula, which is deemed the Virgin ...

The monastery is one of 20 in the autonomous all-male monastic community of Mount Athos, known in Greek as Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain. The peninsula is no stranger to foreigners.

“Here one is closer to God, and better understands creation,” says Father Spyridon, who’s spent more than 50 years at the monastery as a monk. “All of mother nature is God’s creation.

For more than a millennium, Orthodox Christian monks have woken up in the predawn darkness to start their day with prayer at the Panagia Hozoviotissa Monastery, built high into a cliffside on the ...

Photo Gallery: From Greek monastery on island cliffside, prayer lift up wonders of the night sky The Associated Press April 11, 2025, 6:53 PM ...

In this picture with a slow shutter speed is seen the cliffside Hozoviotissa Monastery under the starry night sky on the island of Amorgos, Greece, Thursday, March 27 , 2025. (AP Photo/Petros ...