Mount Athos or Άγιον Όρος, is a self-administered theocratic, monastic republic located in the Chalcidice Peninsula, in northern Greece. In the Athos peninsula live approximately 1650 Orthodox Christian monks (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Romanian) and there are twenty monasteries: seventeen are Greek, and three are, respectively, Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian.
The first settlements of the first Orthodox Christian monks date back to the year 963, when the monastery of the Great Lavra was built, but there is evidence of monastic life even in the 5th Century.
At the end of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), Mount Athos, for the first time, entered the borders of the Greek State thanks to the Peace Treaty of Bucharest of 13 August 1913.
According to article 105 paragraph 2 of the Greek Constitution, in order to enter Mount Athos a permit called “diamonitirion” from Karyes – Mount Athos’ capital – is required. This permit is issued by the Holy Superintendency or “Ierà Epistasìa” (Ιερά Επιστασία) – which is a permanent body that exercises executive power – that determines its duration and gives the right to someone to move within the peninsula and seek hospitality from the monasteries. However, non-Greek citizens must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens or the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace in Thessaloniki.
What most people may not know about Mount Athos is the “àvaton” issue, the ban on women to enter the Athonite peninsula. The term àvaton (άβατον) is used in cases where there is a sacred place to which access is denied to certain people who could desecrate it. On Mount Athos, this prohibition is applied only and exclusively to women and to female animals, except for birds.
This foreclosure puts the Athonite peninsula in an open conflict with the European treaties relating to the free movement of persons. In particular, it conflicts with the Schengen Treaty and with article 26 on the internal market of the TFEU.
The real reason why access to Mount Athos is forbidden for women has a theological foundation, which dates back to unknown times and is connected to a centuries-old legend handed down orally. According to the Athonite tradition, the Virgin Mary sailed from the city of Joppa in Palestine to Cyprus, accompanied by St. John the Evangelist to visit Lazarus, who resurrected from the world of the dead. Subsequently, the ship, at the mercy of a storm, was shipwrecked on the Athos peninsula and was forced to anchor in a safe place near the current monastery of Iviron. The Virgin, got off the ship and, while walking on the peninsula, was overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, and asked her Son to give it to Her so that it could become Her garden. Then, a voice was heard saying “Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a refuge for all who seek salvation”. From that moment the mountain was consecrated as “the garden of the Virgin Mary or Mother of God” or “to Perivoli tis Panagias” (το Περιβόλι της Παναγίας) dedicated to Her glory and She alone represents Her sex on Mount Athos; for this reason, the peninsula became inaccessible to all other women except to the Virgin Mary.
The first written trace of the prohibition of access to women is in the Chrysobulla of Emperor Manuel II the Palaeologus of 1406, who prohibited the access to female animals and finally to women. Avaton for women is not included expressis verbis in canonical provisions of Mount Athos, precisely because it is an express and uninterrupted prohibition and constitutes one of the most important foundations of monastic life which has as its purpose the fact that monks devote themselves only to the monastic life.
Avaton for women is a prohibition that therefore has always existed on Mount Athos and is respected both by monks and laity, as an unwritten law. The access ban is also ratified under the article 186 of the Constitution of Mount Athos, according to which “the entry of women is prohibited”.
However, this provision, from a public law point of view, is defined lex imperfecta, since it does not regulate the sanctions in case of violation of it. In 1953, a prison sentence of two to twelve months was introduced for the first time, for those who violated this prohibition, but today, according to the general provisions of the Greek Penal Code, this can be converted into a fine.
At first glance, it seems like a provision that violates the principle of equality, freedom of movement and personal freedom, but according to the ecclesiasticist Konidaris, no subjective right is unlimited, which is also expressly stated by the Greek Constitution. According to article 5 paragraph 3 of the Greek Constitution, freedom of movement may be limited: “…when and as the law provides”. Certainly, the reasons for limiting personal freedom and in particular freedom of movement cannot be arbitrary; they must be justified by reasons of public or general interest, which will then be checked by a judge.
Avaton is also protected by other constitutional principles, not only because it has always been in the Greek Constitution through article 105, but also because it is justified by two real pillars of Greek law. The first pillar is religious freedom pursuant to article 13 of the Greek Constitution, safeguarded by a series of international treaties that Greece has ratified. This right to religious freedom, which is different from religious tolerance, signifies an important positive obligation on the part of the State to guarantee its enjoyment. Hence, this prohibition is justified in the religious freedom of the citizens of Mount Athos.
The second pillar is that of the protection of private property pursuant to article 17 of the Greek Constitution. According to article 105 paragraph 2 of the Greek Constitution, the ownership of the territories of Mount Athos belongs to its twenty monasteries: “Aghion Oros shall be governed, according to its regime, by its twenty Holy Monasteries among which the entire Athos peninsula is divided; the territory of the peninsula shall be exempt from expropriation.”. From this formulation it follows that the whole Athos peninsula is the private property of the twenty monasteries, which have been in possession of it for centuries. It is precisely the prohibition of expropriation, sanctioned in the same order, which strengthens this vision, since it also seeks to prevent both the State itself and of course, monasteries, from expropriating part of the territory, in order to sell their properties to third parties. The Athos peninsula is therefore privately owned, it is the exclusive property of the monasteries of Mount Athos, which however, cannot sell it but only exchange plots of land between them.
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FONTI WEB
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