The Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos was damaged by a strong earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale that struck the Athos peninsula in northern Greece this afternoon. Its epicenter was 9 km northwest of Karya, the administrative center of the monastic republic. A monk from the monastery reported that the tremor caused a chimney to collapse in the monastery, and the chandelier in the monastery refectory fell. There was also some plaster falling.
Greek seismologists said that the fault along which the earthquake occurred was not large, but the seismic series that has been going on for several months is unpleasant.
The earthquake was felt in surrounding Greek regions, including Thessaloniki, as well as in parts of Bulgaria.
Inspection teams of engineers and specialists from Thessaloniki are working on Mount Athos to assess the damage in four monasteries, which must be urgently restored to avoid the risk of losing frescoes and mosaics of invaluable historical value.
The damage caused by the strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale is mainly to the temples of the monasteries, without endangering their overall structure, but with damage to their structural elements. This was established by the working group of the Technical Chamber of Greece and the Center for the Preservation of Athos Heritage, the Institute of Engineering Seismology and the Department of Civil Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. They visited and inspected four monasteries on Mount Athos: “Dohiar”, “Xenophon”, “St. Panteleimon” and “Simonopetra”.
The inspections will continue throughout the week, and at the end of it a report will be prepared and sent to the state. “From the current review of the four monasteries, from the reports received from other monasteries that we are about to visit, as well as from our own assessments, we estimate that the cost of fully repairing the damage to Mount Athos will be around six to seven million euros. However, this is an initial estimate – we have more monasteries to visit,” said Ilia Perdzinidis, Director General of the Center for the Preservation of the Athos Heritage, adding: “There is damage that requires immediate intervention – not because the buildings are about to collapse, but because in the event of a possible next strong earthquake, structural elements could collapse. However, when it comes to buildings of such historical value as the monasteries of Mount Athos, failure to carry out reinforcement – for example, of a dome that already has a crack – could, in the event of a new earthquake, lead to damage to the dome or to the collapse of plaster, frescoes and mosaics of invaluable historical value. This must be avoided at all costs, which is why immediate repair work is necessary.”
In the Xenophon Monastery, during the inspection of the old catholicon (the cathedral, i.e. the main church of a monastery), a monument from the end of the 10th century, completely painted with 14th century frescoes, the Archaeological Service team found that the earthquake caused serious cracks in the domes of both the main nave of the temple and the narthex, activating old cracks, mainly in arches that had previously been filled. The cracks in the interior frescoed surfaces led in some places to the peeling off of the painting layer and, to a limited extent, to the fall of plaster along with the frescoes.
Much of this damage was caused by the earthquake of February 15, 2025, but the latest earthquake has seen a deterioration in the condition. It is also noted that the fall of a small metal chandelier in the main temple caused minor damage to the 11th century mosaic marble floor.
In the southwest wing of the monastery, small-scale cracks were found in the frescoes in the chapel of St. Euphemia. In the new catholicon – a building from 1819 with contemporary frescoes by Hieronymus. Luke Xenophon, slight cracks were registered in individual places. In the outer narthex of the temple (which is not painted with frescoes) serious cracks appeared, since this part was not reinforced with tensioners.
In the monastery of Dohiar, the catholicon dates back to the second half of the 16th century and is a reconstruction of an older building from the 12th century. It is painted with frescoes from 1568, attributed to the famous icon painter of the Cretan school Zorzis (Georgis). In the past, cracks appeared in the domes and both vaults of the narthex. They have worsened with the series of earthquakes in the last year, but most seriously with the latest earthquake of June 7, 2025.
In the Pantokrator Monastery, the inspection established the condition of the frescoes in both the catholicon and the chapels of the monastery. An inspection was also carried out in Vatopedi, while in Simonopetra, damage was found in the central wing and in certain places with frescoes.
The team will also visit the Zograph and Konstamonite monasteries, which are located closer to the epicenter of the earthquake compared to others, more distant, as well as the monasteries of Hilendar, Dionysiat, Grigori and St. Paul.
Source: Voria.gr
