Iveron

Iveron, also known as the Monastery of the Virgin of Iveron or Iviron Monastery, is a historic Eastern Orthodox monastery located on Mount Athos in northeastern Greece. It is one of the canonical Athonite monasteries and maintains strong historical ties with the Georgian Orthodox Church. The name Iveron derives from Iberia (Iveria), the ancient name for Georgia, reflecting its Georgian origins and cultural connections.

The monastery was established in the late first millennium CE by Georgian monks who sought to found a monastic presence on Mount Athos. From its early years, Iveron played a role in spiritual exchange between Byzantium and Georgia, and it became a center for monastic life, manuscript culture, and liturgical tradition within the Athonite framework. It has historically attracted monks from Georgia and other regions, contributing to the cross-cultural heritage of the peninsula.

A central relic of the monastery is the Iveron icon of the Theotokos, one of the most revered icons in Orthodoxy. The icon is closely associated with the Iveron monastery and has long been a focus of veneration and pilgrimage. The katholikon, or main church, along with ancillary buildings, forms the core of the monastic complex and houses notable iconography and liturgical objects.

Today, Iveron remains a functioning Athonite monastery, upholding traditional monastic practices and the spiritual heritage linked to Iberia/Georgia. It continues to be a site of worship, scholarship, and pilgrimage within the Orthodox Christian world.