Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece

Greece-17, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Hilandar is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the Serbian Saint Sava and his father, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (who later became a monk there, taking the monastic name of "Simeon") of Raška. Because its founders are Serbs and the first monks were of the Serbian Orthodox Church it is also called "The Serbian monastery" and is nowadays the monastery where Serbian Orthodox monks traditionally reside. Today, Hilandar represents one of the greatest shrines for the Serbian people. Hilandar does not have an abbot, but an under-abbot. The Mother of God through her Icon of Three Hands (Trojeručica), is considered as the abbess.