Russian monastery on Mount Athos presented with sewing equipment

The Russian Monastery of the Protomartyr Panteleimon on Holy Mount Athos in Greece has been presented today with equipment for sewing church articles and vestments. This equipment will replace old sewing machines which have been in use in the monastery for decades. The equipment was presented by Oleg Podolko, first deputy director of Roszagransobstvennost, the federal body responsible for the Russian property abroad under the presidential administration.

During his pilgrimage to Mount Athose and St. Panteleimon’s Monastery last September, Vladimir Putin underlined that Mount Athos is a source of spiritual kinship between the peoples of Russia and Greece. During their meeting with the Russian president, monks asked him to help their monastery, one of the most famous one in Orthodoxy, to reequip their sewing workshop. The president promised to grant their request.

The father superior of the monastery, Archimandrite, Jeremiah, expressed gratitude to the Russian President on behalf of the monastic community for his sincere help, attention and care. This gift, the monks believe, is another manifestation of long-standing relations between Russia and Holy Mount Athos – relations based on common Orthodox values and spiritual ideals.