Pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain, accompanied by the visit to the Holy Shrines in the city of Thessaloniki and the Monasteries of Meteora, offers a profound journey into the heart of Orthodox Christian history and living monastic tradition. Beginning in Thessaloniki, pilgrims venerate the relics of great saints such as St. Demetrius, the city’s heavenly protector, and St. Gregory Palamas, the great teacher and defender of hesychastic theology, while also visiting ancient churches that bear witness to the faith of the early and medieval Church. The pilgrimage continues to Meteora, where monasteries founded by saints such as Athanasios the Meteorite rise atop towering rock formations, preserving centuries of ascetic life, prayer, and sacred tradition. The journey then culminates on Mount Athos, the Garden of the Theotokos, where pilgrims encounter the living rhythm of Orthodox monasticism through visits to historic monasteries and sketes founded between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, including Hilandar, Xenofontos, Pantokratoros, Iviron, and others. There, in places sanctified by saints such as Saint Sava, Saint Symeon, Saint Paisius Velichkovsky, and countless unnamed ascetics, pilgrims are invited to step away from the noise of the world and enter a space of prayer, repentance, and spiritual renewal, drawing closer to Christ through the timeless witness of the Holy Mountain.

Arrival at Thessaloniki Airport Makedonia (SKG). Upon arrival, we will transfer as a group to our hotel in Thessaloniki. After some rest, we will gather for a welcome dinner in a local restaurant, followed by a brief orientation introducing the pilgrimage, its rhythm, and the spiritual focus of our journey. Overnight in Thessaloniki.

After breakfast, we depart for the Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Souroti to venerate the grave of Saint Paisios the Athonite. Born Arsenios Eznepidis in 1924 in Asia Minor, St. Paisios entered monastic life on Mount Athos in 1950 and became renowned throughout Greece for his humility, spiritual discernment, and holiness. In 1993, due to illness, he was transferred to Souroti, where he reposed in the Lord on July 12, 1994. He was canonized in 2015 and remains one of the most beloved contemporary saints of the Orthodox Church.

We continue to the Holy Monastery of Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, founded in the 9th century and dedicated to the great martyr known for her healing powers. The monastery preserves her holy relics and has long been a place of prayer and healing for pilgrims. Returning to Thessaloniki, we visit the Church of the Holy Apostles, a magnificent example of early 14th century Palaiologan architecture, adorned with well preserved frescoes and mosaics. Overnight in Thessaloniki.

Following Divine Liturgy and brunch, we visit the Basilica of St. Great Martyr Demetrius, the heavenly patron of Thessaloniki, built on the site of his martyrdom in the early 4th century. We then continue to the Cathedral dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki and great defender of Orthodox hesychastic theology, where his holy relics are venerated. Our exploration also includes the Church of St. Sophia, one of the most important surviving churches from the Byzantine period.

In the afternoon, we depart Thessaloniki and travel south to Kalambaka, situated at the foot of the Meteora rock formations. Accommodation in the hotel. Overnight in Kalambaka.

This morning we visit Meteora, one of the most awe inspiring and holy places in Greece, where monasteries rise atop massive rock pillars like nests suspended between heaven and earth. The organized monastic life of Meteora began in the mid 14th century with Saint Athanasios the Meteorite, founder of the Monastery of Great Meteoron, dedicated to the Transfiguration of our Lord. The monastery preserves priceless manuscripts, relics, and historical treasures and serves today as the main museum of Meteora.

We also visit the Monastery of Varlaam, the second largest monastery, organized in the early 16th century by the brothers Theophanes and Nektarios Apsaras, and the Monastery of Saint Stephen, originally founded in the early 12th century and later rebuilt by Saints Anthony and Philotheos. In the afternoon, we drive east to the port city of Ierissos. Accommodation, dinner, and overnight.

After breakfast, we depart for Ouranoupolis and embark on a boat to the harbor of the Monastery of Hilandar. Founded in 1198 by Saint Symeon, formerly Stefan Nemanja, and his son Saint Sava, Hilandar became the spiritual and cultural heart of Serbian Orthodoxy. Saint Symeon, once Grand Prince of Serbia, relinquished his throne to embrace monastic life, joining his son on Mount Athos.

The monastery has remained a focal point of Serbian religious identity and is traditionally inhabited by Serbian monks. We will spend the entire day at Hilandar, participating in the life of the monastery, including the evening service. Dinner and overnight at the monastery. 

Following the Divine Liturgy and lunch, we depart by boat to the Monastery of Xenofontos. The monastery was first mentioned in documents from the late 10th century and preserves a wonder working icon of Saint George, which according to tradition survived the iconoclastic persecutions and miraculously reached the monastery by sea.

We continue by minivans to the Monastery of St. Panteleimon, known as Russikon, founded in the 11th century by monks from Kievan Rus. In the early 20th century, the monastery housed more than 2,000 monks, making it one of the largest monastic communities in Orthodox history. We then visit the Monastery of Koutloumousi, founded in the 11th century by Kallistos Koutloumous and supported by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Arrival in Karyes, the administrative center of Mount Athos. Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we visit the Monastery of Pantokratoros, founded around 1360 and dedicated to the Transfiguration of our Lord. Its katholikon is adorned with frescoes by painters of the Macedonian school. We then visit the Skete of the Prophet Elias, founded in 1759 by Saint Paisius Velichkovsky, whose work in collecting and copying patristic texts helped spark a renewal of hesychastic monasticism throughout the Orthodox world.

Our day continues with a visit to the Monastery of Stavronikita, one of the smallest Athonite monasteries, confirmed as existing already in the 11th century. Its katholikon, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is decorated with frescoes by Theophanes the Cretan and his son Symeon. We return to Karyes, stop at the Monastery of Karakalou, founded in the late 10th or early 11th century and dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and conclude with a visit to the Monastery of Iviron, founded between 980 and 983 and home to the wonder working icon of the Virgin Portaitissa. Dinner and overnight in Karyes.

After breakfast, we visit the Isihastirion of Saint Sava the Sanctified, a quiet monastic dwelling dedicated to one of the greatest fathers of Eastern monasticism and reflecting the Athonite ideal of inner stillness and unceasing prayer. We then visit the Protaton Church, the main church of Mount Athos, founded in the early 10th century and housing the revered Axion Estin icon as well as important manuscripts and typikons.

Our final Athonite visit is to the Skete of Saint Andrew, which developed from an earlier monastic house and flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its church, built in 1867, is the largest on Mount Athos and among the largest in the Balkans. We depart for Dafni, the central Athonite harbor, take the boat to Ouranoupolis, and drive to Thessaloniki. Dinner and overnight in Thessaloniki. 

Breakfast at the hotel and departure from the Thessaloniki Airport Makedonia (SKG)