JULY 5: COMMEMORATION OF VENERABLE FATHER ATHANASIUS OF MT. ATHOS

  On July 5th we commemorate our Venerable Father Athanasius of Mount Athos. He was a monk who founded the monastic community on Mount Athos, which has since evolved into the greatest center of Orthodox Christian monasticism. Having completed his education, he withdrew into the desert of Maleinos near Athos, the Holy Mountain, where he lived the life of an ascetic. Desiring a more difficult life of mortification, Athanasius settled on Holy Mt. Athos to live in silence. But many who were desirous of a life of asceticism began to gather around him and, therefore, he was compelled to build his famous monastery.