Athos, the holy mountain

With a history stretching back over more than 1,000 years, Mount Athos is one of the oldest monastical sites in the world. If you are looking for an understanding of the raison-etre of Mount Athos, why it exists in the first place, what draws pilgrims and seekers of God to the Holy Mountain, what is the mystery and power of the spiritual practices that are preserved and taught there, and what is the source of its amazing fecundity in producing men of great holiness and spiritual attainment, then this book is perhaps one of the best books you could possibly read on the subject. Philip Sherrard, though not himself a monk, was an Orthodox Christian, a poet,a master of graceful prose, a true lover of the Holy Mountain and an indefatigable pilgrim. From his first visit to Mount Athos in 1951, at a time when there were no paved roads and pilgims traveled on foot or on donkey-back, he visited the Holy Mountain dozens of times over a period of thirty years. He knew the Holy Mountain in every season, both climatic and liturgical, he walked all the steep and tortuous paths between the monasteries, he counted abbots and elders and hermits as friends, spiritual brothers and guides. He was himself a spiritual guide to many. One could not ask for a better guide to the mysteries, magic and wonder of the Holy Mountain of Athos, the thousand year old Garden of the Mother of God, the Mountain of Silence.