Archangel Michael,
defend us in the day of battle,
be our guard against evil
and the snares of the devil.
With the bless and the power of God,
humbly beseech,
Archangel of the heavenly guards,
let the devil be cast into hell
and all evil spirits
roaming the world,
seeking the destruction of souls.
Amen.
Share this article
NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to our Newsletter and find out when the next article will be uploaded, as well as other useful updates from Monastiriaka.
O Lord and Master of my life,
Grant not unto me a spirit of idleness,
of discouragement,
of lust for power,
and of vain speaking.
On Mount Mela of Trebizond, at an altitude of 1.063 meters, inside a cave was founded the monastery of Virgin Mary of Sumela in 386 AD. The monastery was built by two Athenian monks, Barnabas and Sophronios, and this particular name was given to Virgin Mary, because of an expression, which Pontic Greeks were using when they were climbing the Mount Mela.
The miraculous image, which, according to tradition, was drawn by the Evangelist Luke on wood, along with the Holy water with the healing abilities, were the reference points of the monastery.
For ten centuries, the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra has been in the first place in the hierarchical ranking of the monasteries of Mount Athos. In addition, it is the largest Monastery in area, with a total of 72,000 acres, within which a helipad has also been built. The monastery is one of the most imposing on Mount Athos, it has fortification towers, as well as special constructions to deal with pirate raids. Essentially, it was about the "boilers" at the entrances of the Monastery, from where the monks poured hot oil, when the pirates invaded the monastery.
