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December 25, 2011 2:01 PM

Behind-the-scenes travelogue to holy Mt. Athos

By
Overtime Staff
Topics
Overtime Original

"60 Minutes" producer Michael Karzis is the perfect tour guide to take you behind the scenes on the show's Mt. Athos story. Karzis is the son of Greek immigrants and he speaks Greek. Those things surely helped as he and fellow producer Harry Radliffe tried to get permission to film a "60 Minutes" story on the otherworldly Mt. Athos, a self-governed peninsula in Greece that's home to 20 monasteries and some 2,000 monks.

But getting permission was no easy task. "The parliament that exists there, the holy community, is the only parliament on the face of the Earth that has been continually in session since the 10th century," says Karzis. When the veteran producers of "60 Minutes" came calling, the Holy Community wasn't impressed.

"They said, 'Thank you very much but, get in line,' says Karzis. "I mean, the BBC's been knocking on the door for 40 years. The French, the Germans, they've all wanted to come."

When they appealed to the powerful abbots who run individual monasteries on Mt. Athos, Karzis and Radliffe finally had a breakthrough.

Watch part one and part two of Bob Simon's report on Mt. Athos.

"We just built trust," says Karzis. "And they understood that we would do our best to distill the essence of monastic life, the beauty of the place, and what makes Mt. Athos unique in this world."

Once Karzis and Radliffe got their invitation, many more challenges were to come, as you'll learn in this "60 Minutes Overtime" travelogue. Mt. Athos is a peninsula located in Europe, but heavy seas make it remarkably difficult to access. (It's believed that the Virgin Mary herself was shipwrecked there.)

If you're interested in visiting Mt. Athos as a pilgrim, these "60 Minutes" videos are arguably the best visual record ever created and the best place to start your research. If you're a woman, these videos may be the only way you'll ever see Mt. Athos. No women allowed.


Add a Comment See all 99 Comments
by KatiaRusso January 2, 2012 7:43 AM EST
Welcome queenofclubs and Janet-Evpraxia! I was born and raised Greek Orthodox, so for many years I took my religion for granted. Not so now, that I have come into my own within it. There are many monastaries of this kind all over Greece. My sister lives monastically on the island of Patmos (where St.John wrote the Revelations) at the women's monastery of Zothoxou Pighi. She lives within its 17th Century walls, now almost fully restored and amongst her other duties is the cook. The monastary of Zothoxou Pighi has within its walls, a splendid garden where vegetables and fruits are grown organically, as well as a magnificent chapel, communal dining room etc and is open for visitors of all faiths, pilgrims and worshipers of other Christian denominations. Patmos is remote and barren, a twelve hour ferry ride from the Port of Piraeus but definitely worth the trip when you get there.
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by jc4me23 December 28, 2011 1:59 PM EST
As a fellow Christian, I am glad that these monks are a very small insignificant minority of the Christian faith as I think Jesus would want all Christians to share their faith and fellowship rather than isolate themselves from the world. I would think that to be closer to God and Jesus, we would follow Paul's example in the bible. Imagine if all Christians followed the example of these monks - Christianity would be extinct.
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by pkubica December 28, 2011 2:29 PM EST
Wow - you missed the entire intent of this fabulous 60 minutes flic! I suggest you watch it again with the intent of a prayer ful eye vs entertainment.
Pay particular attention to the priest they interview as he gathers olives. Please sent me an update regarding his arena comments.
And to the producer Michael - excellent work - you got it right.
by jc4me23 December 28, 2011 5:01 PM EST
@pkubica - thanks for the comment. I just viewed the video again (monk picking olives) and I guess I consider to be judged by God on my actions and not just prayer alone. If I am battling Satan by prayer alone in an isolated region of the world, I'm not sure how well my intentions are. I guess I am looking for someone like a Mother Theresa to be a shining light(a role model) for Christians and not a bunch of guys praying 24/7 in isolation. I don't think prayer alone is the answer.

If I was a neighbor of these monks and I was trapped in a burning building, I would hope that they would do more than prayer that I get out of the building.
by precentrix December 26, 2011 7:14 PM EST
Is it possible to purchase a DVD of the Mt Athos segments? And I second the request that a similar story be done about Orthodox women monastics.
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by amanu123 December 25, 2011 9:53 PM EST
Hi Thanks for this wonderful story it is truly and unique. Yes all owe our daily life to the Monks their prayer is our gudance and gurantey to life on this eart.

Unfortunately as a producer and reporter you did not do your home work. You are completly WRONG when you said it is the unique and only place like it. THERE ARE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX MONKS AND MONASTRIES almost the same like Mt Athos. May be as usuall you are ignoring and disregard thir third world its culture, civilaization and stories.Ethiopia was also the first christian nation.....
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by shabrour June 16, 2011 10:43 AM EDT
For everyone who wants to understand more about the deepest essence of Christian Orthodox Spirituality I recomend the book "The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality" written by Kyriacos C. Markides.
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by Nestaf May 16, 2011 1:14 AM EDT
To all those who think that the law of Mt Athos is cruel for not allowing women (because it does allow boys to enter)this is the story why. According to the athonite tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown off course to then pagan Athos it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying "Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved". From that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and was out of bounds to all other women.
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by Radomir1948 May 2, 2011 5:22 PM EDT
Maybe 60 minutes would be interested in some of us whom are becoming Orthodox here in the USA and why we leaving the "American" churches.
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by libbie19 December 25, 2011 8:07 PM EST
i would be very interested in that story...hopefully, 60 minutes will explore that.
by sedarous May 1, 2011 9:22 PM EDT
thank you for showing us a glimpse of the holy tradition of these monastic communities of Mount Athos. It is hard to understand their spiritual-set with our materialistic mind-set.
As for not allowing women and children into their communities, I think it is because of their Greek culture. Another more ancient monastic communities in the Middle East such as in Syria and Egypt which go few hundred years earlier DO allow women and children into their communities including none Orthodox and also Muslims. In summary it is due to specific Cultural reasons not religious. However, and in Europe if you allow women and children, this place will become a tourism attraction. most of the People of the world are looking for entertainment not repentant. so keeping them out is not a bad idea.
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by 7567145 May 3, 2011 10:08 PM EDT
Actually, Athos is the ONLY Greek Orthodox monastery that does not allow women or children. It is unique with that regard. I do not believe it is cultural, otherwise it would be pandemic to Greece, which it is not. Also, there are dozens upon dozens of gorgeous women's monasteries in Greece, for the record.
by KatiaRusso January 2, 2012 8:07 AM EST
Thank you Sedarous for sharing your take on our religious traditions. What a Guru you seem to be!!!! Please research the Greek Orthodox faith thoroughly before you misrepresent our faith to others less knowledgeable than you and refrain from commenting about what you "think" rather than what you actually know. Our Greek culture both secular and non-secular, permits women and children into all montastaries around Greece and throughout the Hellenic diaspora. If all is according to your take on our religion, then women and children would have the benefit of knowledge of what goes on behind the walls of these monastaries through heresay only. Being able to visit a monastary is an integral part of the Orthodox experience for all ages and all sexes and thus all monastaries except Mt. AThos remain open to all. It is NOT because of our Greek culture but due to the specific requirements of Mount Athos. All other monastaries do in fact accept both sexes of adults and children of all Christian denominations, as well as tourists and pilgrims of various faiths who have never to the best of our knowledge wasted their time in a monastary, if it were not experience something spiritual. After all, the average hedonistic tourist seeks a different kind of entertainment than the one afforded to him/her by the spartan and cloistered life of Orthodox monastaries. Further, we do not wish to "keep them out". That in fact is a bad idea, as outreach and education and key to understanding (something you appear to have very little of). A short google on some of the monastaries of Greece, will produce a comprehensive list of both male and female monastaries, their locations, visiting days and times for tourists, bus and ferry schedules to facilite transport, as well as appropriate dress code.
by dpappas45 April 29, 2011 6:36 PM EDT
Thank you to Mt Athos and to 60 Minutes for the beautiful program. After reading the comments, I wanted to add that worship is a huge part of what these monks are doing in a 24 hour prayer/service cycle. If one read the services that the monks do in a 24 hour, 365 day cycle, he would find that the monks not only pray for the world, for themselves and all of us in it, so much of what the monks are praying is worship to God for the things God has done and for His praise-worthy attributes that He has, in His grace, revealed to us. As Greek Orthodox, we believe that to take time to purposefully and attentively worship God is a sacred privilege and response to our God. I've been taught that each person has a calling from God whether it is to BE this or that or to DO this and that in the world leaving that person with limited time and focus to worship and pray; however, God has called some (men-monks/women-nuns) to withdraw from the "cares" and time demands of a normal daily life in the world with its pleasures and responsibilities in order to serve God without as much mental or physical distraction... to serve Him in prayer for others as well as for him/herself, to serve Him in other ways of which I am not even aware, and to serve Him in worship. Truly He is worthy.
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by Siloam17 April 29, 2011 11:39 AM EDT
Praise God and Peace be unto you all. I commend 60 Minutes for the expose on Mount Athos, but I must correct one statement made: "Mary the Mother of God". This is a misconception which has created a lot of confusion in the Christian faith. I will be direct and to the point. Mary is the Mother of Jesus but Jesus is not God. In the John 12:44 Jesus said..."He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me". In Isaiah 44:6"Thus saith the LORD"...I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me, there is no God." I grew up in the church with this same belief; but after I rededicated my life to God through acceptance of Jesus Christ his son, I begin to study the Bible to understand the truth. Thank you for the opportunity to express what I believe God has called me to make known to his people. "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 13:9
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by unimackpass April 30, 2011 10:54 AM EDT
Mary the mother of God is not about Mary but about the nature of Christ, a Christological controversy, being both God and man. It does not mean that Mary is part of the trinity but a created being that became the mother of Jesus. When she looked into Jesus eyes she saw both his diety and humanity, the hypostatic union'( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostatic_union). To emphasise that Christ was not born with a dualistic nature the Counsil of Ephasis used this truth to erase all doubts. No catholic or orthodox christian that knows their faith belives that Mary is part of the trinity. I used to be a Evangelical and then I begain reading about such things and be came Orhodox-Catholic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Ephesus

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610b.htm
by 7567145 May 3, 2011 10:18 PM EDT
Jesus is the son of God. Jesus is also the second person of the all Holy Trinity, which includes God the Father and the Holy Spirit, all three of which existed from the beginning of time and before and constitute our Tirune Godhead. The All Holy Virgin Mary, referred to most frequently in Orthodoxy as the "Theotokos", the one who bore God, was Christ's birthgiver & mother here on earth (the incarnate God) then, rightfully she is referred to as the mother of God in that sense.
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