On October 12, 1998, three monks arrived in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North
Carolina to populate the newly established Greek Orthodox Monastery dedicated to the 12 th
Century Holy Icon of Panagia Pammakaristos, literally meaning All Holy Virgin Most Blessed.

The Monastery was also named after one of the most famous Byzantine Churches in
Constantinople (present day Istanbul, Turkey). This Church in Constantinople sheltered the
Patriarchate after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. Once the Church was converted
to a mosque, the 12 th Century Icon of Panagia Pammakaristos was among the relics and
treasures transported from Church to Church (M. Gedeon) during the Patriarchate’s wanderings
in search of shelter. The Holy Icon survived hundreds of years and its restoration, tile by tile,
was completed in May of 2023, to its original mosaic splendour as one of the finest examples of
Byzantine Iconography (www.orthochristian.com).

Elder Ephraim of Blessed memory (+2019), former Abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount
Athos, Greece and of Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona, personally travelled throughout the
State of North Carolina to locate the property wherein the Monastery would be planted, the
Orthodox Faith cultivated and the malnourished faithful fed the Teachings of Our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.

Our Holy Trinitarian God performed many successive miracles which culminated in the
identification and acquisition of the Monastery property. The Holy Monastery is situated in the
beautiful Sauratown Mountains, North Carolina. Archimandrite Nektarios (Abbot) and the Brotherhood
maintain a monastic schedule of services. Pilgrims should contact the Monastery to schedule a
visit.