Athanasius the Athonite
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Athanasios the Athonite (Greek: Αθανάσιος ο Αθωνίτης), also called Athanasius of Trebizond (c. 920–c. 1000), was a Byzantine monk who founded the monastic community on Mount Athos, which has evolved into the greatest centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
Born in Trebizond and patronized by Michael Maleinos, he studied at Constantinople and became famous there as Abraham, a fervent preacher who held great authority with Michael's nephew, Nicephorus Phocas. By the time when Phocas ascended the imperial throne, Abraham, ill at ease with lax morals of the monks living in the capital, changed his name to Athanasius and withdrew to Mount Athos. Not only did he help to defend monastic solitudes (sketes) against the Saracens, but also started to incorporate these existing communities into what would become known as the Great Lavra. The emperor offered him every support possible, despite vocal opposition from local religious leaders.
Upon Nicephorus' death the enemies of Athanasios prevailed and he had to leave Athos for Cyprus, where he lived until the new emperor, John Tzimisces, resumed the patronage of the Great Lavra and bestowed upon the monastery its first charter in 971. Athanasios, spurred by a divine vision, at once returned to Athos as an abbot and introduced a typicon for cenobites, based on those compiled by Theodore Studites and Basil of Caesarea. Upon his death, Athanasius was glorified as a saint. His feast day is May 2.
