东正教的圣地——阿索斯山的传奇

基督教的千年灵性草场

In January of this year (2025), I traveled with a friend from the same church. After completing the tedious visa process and booking accommodations at the monasteries, we flew from Boston, US to Thessaloniki, Greece. From there, we drove to the docks of the town named Ouranoupolis (“Gates of Heaven”), and then took a ferry to the long-awaited Mount Athos. Three long, narrow peninsulas extend into the Aegean Sea in northeastern Greece, and Mount Athos is one of them. It is the most famous holy site of the Orthodox Church and the geographical center of the Orthodox spiritual tradition, attracting a constant stream of male pilgrims year-round. This was my first pilgrimage, a seven-day journey from start to finish, and I benefited greatly from it.

今年1月（2025），我跟着教会的一位朋友，在办理完繁琐的签证和预订修院住宿的手续之后，从美国波士顿出发飞到希腊的帖撒罗尼迦市，然后开车前往“天堂之门”（Ouranapolis）小镇码头，再乘坐渡轮，抵达了向往已久的圣阿索斯山（Mount Athos或阿峰山）。希腊东北部有三条狭长的半岛伸入爱琴海，阿索斯山是其中之一。这是东正教最著名的圣地，也是东正教灵修传统的地理中心，每年吸引着络绎不绝的男性朝圣客。这是我的第一次朝圣之旅，前后七天，受益良多。

The Historical Monastic Tradition of Mount Athos – For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

圣山阿索斯的修院历史传统——上帝的国不在乎言语，乃在乎权能

The Christian monastic tradition began in the third and fourth centuries AD during the time of the Egyptian Desert Fathers, represented by St. Anthony. Mount Athos, as a sacred site for Orthodox spiritual practice, began in the nineth century and gradually gained prominence over the next 200 years. As Christianity was the state religion of the Roman-Byzantine Empire, Mount Athos received support from the imperial government. For example, the first formally established monastery was founded in 963 AD by Athanasius, a Georgian saint, primarily due to a permanent imperial grant ordered by the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. In the eleventh century, Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX formally issued a decree prohibiting women from entering Mount Athos to ensure the purity and tranquility of the male monks’ ascetic environment.¹ This traditional prohibition was formally incorporated into Greek law in 1924.²

基督教的修士传统，始于公元3-4世纪以圣安东尼为代表的埃及沙漠教父时代。阿索斯山作为东正教的灵修圣地，始于9世纪，在之后大约200年里逐渐闻名。由于基督教是东罗马—拜占庭的国教，阿索斯山也得到了皇室政府的支持。例如，第一座建制性的修院，由一位格鲁吉亚的圣修士亚撒拿修（Athanasius）于公元963年创建，主要得益于当时的拜占庭皇帝尼基弗鲁斯二世·福卡斯（Nikephoros II Phokas）下令由国家政府永久拨款资助。到了11世纪，拜占庭皇帝康斯坦丁九世还正式颁布禁令，禁止女性进入阿索斯山，以确保男修士们灵修环境的单纯清静 （注解1)。这一传统禁令于1924年正式纳入希腊的法律。（注解2）

Mount Athos, known as the “Garden of the Virgin Mary,” is home to twenty historic ruling monasteries, representing the Orthodox traditions of the Greek, Georgian, Bulgarian, Russian, and Serbian peoples, as well as a dozen sketes and numerous independent hermit cells (hermitages), including those of Armenian and other ethnic groups. As of 2020, it housed over 2,200 monks³; these monks come from diverse ethnic backgrounds worldwide. Since the Church schism of 1054, Mount Athos has served as a spiritual center for the Eastern Orthodox Church. As a treasure trove of holy tradition, Mount Athos is now the “Autonomous Monastic Republic of Athos” (under Greek jurisdiction) and is under the spiritual administration of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Mount Athos represented the second peak of the three major Hesychastic revivals or developments in the history of Christian spirituality⁴, producing several Hesychasts, masters of spiritual formation who had a profound and positive influence on Orthodox theology and spiritual practice. Examples include the fourteenth-century Greek theologian Palamas and the nineteenth to twentieth-century Russian hermit St. Silouan.⁵

阿索斯山号称“圣母玛丽亚的花园”，分布着20座历史悠久的修院，包括希腊、格鲁吉亚、保加利亚、俄罗斯、塞尔维亚——这些民族的东正教传统，以及包括亚美尼亚等民族传统的十几个半隐修院，和许多独立的隐修陋室，至2020年拥有2200多位修士（注解3）；不同族裔的修士们来自世界各地。自1054年东西罗马帝国的基督教大分裂之后，阿索斯山一直代表着东正教的灵修中心。作为圣传资源的宝库，阿索山如今成为“东正教修院共和自治政体”(由希腊管辖) ，同时隶属康士坦丁堡宗主教区。阿索斯山曾是基督教历史中灵修运动第二次发展性高潮的代表（注解4），前后出现过几位灵修大师，对东正教的神学和灵修实践，产生了深远积极的影响。例如，14世纪希腊圣徒神学家帕拉马斯（Palamas），以及19-20世纪的俄罗斯圣徒隐士斯路安（Silouan）。（注解5）

During the Ottoman conquests, especially after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Mount Athos suffered severe decline due to restrictions imposed by the Ottoman authorities, heavy taxes, and ultimately military occupation. In the nineteenth century, thanks to the patronage of the Russian Tsarist government and wealthy private individuals, the monastic population and property of Mount Athos experienced initial recovery and a resurgence. In 1912, the Greek navy liberated Mount Athos, ending nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule.⁶ Today, the religious and political status of Mount Athos—and its great spiritual mission—appears to be undergoing a full restoration.

奥特曼突厥帝国征服时期，尤其是康斯坦丁堡于1453年陷落之后，阿索斯山受到突厥伊斯兰教政府的限制、重税逼迫，最后遭到军事占领，从而严重衰败。19世纪，由于俄罗斯沙皇政府和私人富豪的赞助，阿索斯山的修士人口和财产得到了初步的恢复，再现生机。1912年，希腊海军解放了阿索斯山，结束了奥特曼帝国488年的统治（注解6）。如今，阿索斯圣山的宗教政治地位与其伟大的灵修事业，看起来正处于全面恢复的阶段。

The Serene Holy Mountain, Blooming with the Rose of Truth—The Structural Achievements of Spiritual Institutions

寂静的圣山，开放着真理的玫瑰——属灵建制的结构性成果

The ferry dropped us off at the pier at the foot of Mount Athos. Our first stop was the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon, adjacent to the sea. Its green theme, golden cross, and vibrant, majestic atmosphere made it a place Russian President Putin had visited twice on pilgrimage. Stepping into the monastery was like entering a newly filtered world, experiencing a tranquility I had never felt before. Looking up at the lush, verdant mountains above, enveloped in a pleasant stillness; this unique serenity awakened my senses, and the space itself seemed to have undergone a transformation. I began to understand more deeply the meaning of “ascetic who practices sacred quietude” and the “transcendental tranquility and dispassion” described by John the Ladder of Sinai.⁷

       渡轮将我们放在阿索斯山下的码头，第一站是毗邻海边的俄罗斯修院（St. Panteleimon），绿色的主题格调，金色的十字架，欣欣向荣，威严壮观；俄罗斯总统普京曾两次朝圣到访此院。步入修院，仿佛进入了被过滤一新的世界，感受到一种从未体会过的安静。望着修院上方的山岭，郁郁葱葱，笼罩在怡人的寂静中。这种特殊的谧静，给我的感官带来了全新的信息，空间也似乎发生了某种变化。我开始进一步明白“静修士”的含义，以及西奈山的天梯约翰所言的“超然静寂的财富”。（注解7）

On Mount Athos, time is clearly not linear, but cyclical— a single-day repeated. The monastery repeats the same activities and the same liturgies every day, practically interpreting the theological definition of the Apostle Peter’s “a thousand years as one day.” Our second stop was the Greek Vatopedi Monastery. The monks there explained that King Charles III of the United Kingdom had visited this monastery a few times in his early years; they hoped that Charles would visit as King in the near future. Our third stop was the Georgian Iviron Monastery, where we unexpectedly saw a Japanese monk. The monastery houses the oldest library on Mount Athos, containing precious historical artifacts and manuscripts from the tenth to thirteenth centuries. For example, it possesses a precious manuscript of a Georgian translation of the seventh-century Byzantine classic, The Spiritual Meadow.⁸ The thematic scene of this ancient Greek work continues to unfold here across 1,400 years. Strolling through this evergreen spiritual meadow on Mount Athos, at each monastery I visited, I felt as though I were seeing a spiritual rose blooming for a thousand years, clearly exuding the fragrance of truth.

       在阿索斯山，时间显然不是矢量直线的方式，而是单日循环，始终如一。修院每天重复着同样的活动，同样的礼拜，实践性地诠释着使徒彼得“千年如一日”的神学原理。我们的第二站是希腊传统的瓦托佩底（Vatopedi）修院。这里的修士介绍说，当今英国的国王查尔斯三世，早年曾数次朝圣造访过这家修院；他们盼着在不久的将来，查尔斯会以国王的身份驾到。第三站是格鲁吉亚传统的艾维隆（Iviron）修院，在这里意外见到了一位日本修士。该院保留着阿索斯山最古老的图书馆，存放着一些10—13世纪的珍贵历史文物和文本资料。例如，这里有7世纪的拜占庭名著《灵性的草场》的格鲁吉亚语译本的珍贵手稿（注解8）。这本古代希腊语著作的主题意境，跨越1400年的时空借此地继续上映彰显：漫步阿索斯山这片世代常青的灵性草场，每到一处修院，我就仿佛看到一朵绽放千年的灵性玫瑰，清晰地散发出真理的芬芳。

The “Academy of Hesychastic Science” of Orthodox Spirituality for a Thousand Years—the Project of Christianity using Gold, Silver and Costly stones

东正教千年灵修的“科学院”——基督教的金银珠宝工程

During my stay, I spent Orthodox Christmas at the Russian monastery and visited three other monasteries. The monks here attend services multiple times a day, totaling about 7-8 hours, as if performing a never-chaging full-time vocation.The vigil, in particular, lasts 3-4 hours, usually from 11:30 pm to around 3 am, accompanied by tireless prayers and elaborate rituals. There’s a saying here: if you wish for a clear mind, attend vigil services. The choirs in the monasteries sing with celestial voices, seemingly from time immemorial, resonating with the mind in the present moment; each monastery possesses various treasures of holy relics of the saints.

       逗留期间，我在俄罗斯修院度过了东正教的圣诞节，还访问了其它三处修院。这里的修士们每天参加礼拜多次，总共大约7-8个小时，仿佛从事一项固定的全职工作。其中，守夜的礼拜长达3-4个小时，通常从夜里11点半，到凌晨3点左右，伴随着不知疲倦的颂祷和繁琐的仪式。这里有一个说法：如果你希望头脑清醒，就请参加守夜礼拜。修院里的唱诗班，歌声仿佛天籁之音，从亘古传来，在当下的时刻与头脑共鸣；每家修院里都有各样古老的圣徒遗物。

Through a week of observation, experience, and learning—attending daily vigil services, consulting with my friend, exchanging ideas with monks, and exploring the monasteries and the surrounding mountains—I understood Professor Zhang Baichun’s analogy from a lecture a few years ago: the monastic community of Mount Athos is equivalent to an “academy of science” for Orthodox Hesychasm of Christian spirituality. For 1,000 years, monks personally called by God have come here, led by spiritual masters—equivalent to “chief scientists”—continuously engaging in profound spiritual research and sharing their findings with the Christian church, benefiting believers and promoting the kingdom of heaven. I was amazed to discover that the monasteries, mountains, and forests together form a spiritual power plant where the Holy Spirit continually works— radiating divine energy day and night, empowering the monks, and renewing their diligent practice and exploration in their pursuit of God.

       通过一周的观察体验和学习，每天参加守夜礼拜，请教朋友，与修士们交流，以及对修院内外和山岭野外的探索，我明白了张百春教授在几年前的一次讲座中的比喻：阿索斯山修院之国，相当于基督教灵修的“科学院”。一千四百年来，那些上帝亲自呼召的修士们来到这里，在相当于“首席科学家”的灵修大师的带领下，前仆后继，从事着高深的灵修科研，并将成果传递给基督教会，让信徒们受益，并促进天国的发展。我惊奇地发现，这里的修院建筑和山岭森林，仿佛构成了一座圣灵运行的核电厂，日夜输出超自然的神圣能量，赋能于修士们，支持和更新着他们的辛勤操练与探索。

Concluding Remarks—May we be renewed in knowledge and become like the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:10-11)

结束语——愿我们在知识上渐渐更新，有主耶稣基督的形像（歌罗西书3：10-11）

What are the intentions of the countless Orthodox pilgrims who come to Mount Athos? Some come to experience a secluded, holy lifestyle; some come to confess, receive baptism, or pray for miracles; and some come to become monks, or patrons. In my view, Mount Athos, though in this world, yet not of it—On this mountain, some complex mystic principles of the Christian spiritual realm are no longer hidden from the children of the kingdom of heaven. This pilgrimage⁹ has given my mind new knowledge, recharged my soul, upgraded my epistemology, and allowed me to experience the sweetness of abundant life. These truths and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, and their concrete methods of practical application, should originate from the core structure of the Christian faith—the doctrines of the Incarnation and Emmanuel (God with us)—and therefore transcend traditions and denominations. Undoubtedly, the sacred mountain still holds many wondrous mysteries of God’s kingdom, awaiting my next journey of exploration.

       作为络绎不绝的东正教朝圣客，他们前来阿索斯山的意图是什么？有人前来体验避世的圣洁生活方式，有人赶来忏悔、接受洗礼，或祈求神迹，也有人到这里成为修士（或赞助者）。在我看来，阿索斯圣山虽然位于这个世界，却不属于这个世界。在这座山上，一些基督教灵界的复杂奥妙原理，不再对天国的孩子们隐藏。这次朝圣（注解9），令我的头脑获得了新的知识，心灵获得了充电，认识论得到了升级，并体验到了盈生（丰盛生命）的甜美。这些真理与圣灵的知识及其实践应用的具体方法，理当源自基督教信仰的核心结构——理成肉身+以马内利，因此全然超越门派和宗派。毫无疑问，圣山还有许多上帝国度的神奇奥秘，等候着我下次再来探索。

注解1：苏格兰的历史艺术学家威廉·达尔林普尔（William Dalrymple）在其著作《来自圣山》（ From the Holy Mountain）中提到，1857年，他的姑祖母Virginia Somers与其丈夫以及一位艺术家朋友，三人一同登上了阿索斯山，并搭下帐篷在此禁地居住了两个月，期间还受到了修士们的友好待遇。

       如今英国的国王查尔斯三世，早年曾多次来阿索斯山朝圣。他还曾携已故王妃黛安娜前来朝圣，但因为这项法律禁令，当时黛安娜也只能在船上等候查尔斯王子，无法一同登岛。

       注解2： 本段参考 Herrin, Judith. Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009），第18章。

       注解3：数据等信息参考A Pilgrim’s Guide to Mount Athos (2020), by Friends of Mount Athos, http://www.athosfriends.org

       注解4：根据俄罗斯外籍院士，普希金奖章获得者，原北京师范大学，今海南大学的教授张百春博士的总结：在教会历史中，基督教灵修总共经历了三次历史高潮：1、埃及西奈山灵修（7-8世纪）；2、拜占庭阿索山灵修（13-14世纪）；3、俄罗斯灵修（19-20世纪初）。

       注解5：圣贵格利·帕拉马斯——公元14世纪的希腊东正教神学家和阿索斯山修士，捍卫静修主义的灵修实践方式，澄清了修士通过灵修在上帝的能量中联合，而不是在本质中联合。作为近代的俄罗斯圣徒斯楼安（1866-1938），他强调圣灵的恩典，表现为上帝的同在，是一种可以感知和经验到的更新提升当事者的能量。

       需要指出的是，十四世纪初，一位来自西奈山的修士贵格利（Gregory Sinaites 原籍希腊），将西奈山传统的静修主义引入了阿索斯山。 参看Britannica Editors. “Gregory of Sinai.” Encyclopedia Britannica, November 23, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gregory-of-Sinai.

       注解6：参看英国学者Graham Speake的著作Mount Athos RENEWAL IN PARADISE，耶鲁大学出版社（2002年），第133, 146-156页。

       Herrin, Byzantium, 第202页。“The fate of Athos during the period of Turkish rule is a sad tale of  selling manuscripts and increasing reliance on Russian benefactors.”（译：在土耳其统治期间，阿索斯山的命运表现为一个悲伤的故事：【为了维持生存运作】只能出售【古代】手稿和越来越依赖俄罗斯捐助者。）

       根据一些学术资料总结可知：1424年，奥特曼土耳其人开始控制阿索斯山；1430年，帖撒罗尼迦陷落，阿索山遭全面控制直到1912年。

       注解7：希腊原文是“静修”，汉语翻译成“灵修”，有一定的神学语义学优势。约翰·克利马科斯（John Climacus），《神圣攀登的天梯》（许列民【译】，汉语基督教文化研究所2012年出版），第一阶《论摒弃尘世》（1：24）“年轻时为基督辛劳，年老时就会欣喜地享受超然静寂的财富。”

       注解8：根据《来自圣山》，《灵性的草场》（The Spiritual Meadow）的作者是公元6-7世纪的拜占庭著名学者修士约翰·莫斯霍斯（John Moschos）。这位约翰与弟子——智者索弗罗尼乌斯（Sophronius）（后来成为耶路撒冷大主教）一起旅行，游历了东罗马拜占庭帝国的东部疆域，包括巴勒斯坦、西奈山—埃及、叙利亚等地区，详细考察了沿途的基督教修院，采访圣徒、修士和隐士，记录灵修的名人事迹和格言。这部著作是了解基督教早期灵修活动和成果的第一手珍贵历史资料。

       注解9：鸣谢美国芝加哥的高玮牧师和西奈山微信Zoom团契的弟兄姐妹，直接帮助促成了我这次一无挂虑的朝圣旅程。

1. William Dalrymple, From the Holy Mountain (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), [page number]. Dalrymple recounts that in 1857 his great-aunt Virginia Somers, her husband, and an artist friend ascended Mount Athos and camped there for two months, receiving warm hospitality from the monks. King Charles III of Great Britain made several pilgrimages to Mount Athos in his early years. He once brought Princess Diana with him, but due to the legal prohibition on women entering Athos, she remained on the boat while he visited the peninsula.
2. Judith Herrin, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009), chap. 18.
3. Friends of Mount Athos, A Pilgrim’s Guide to Mount Athos, 2020, http://www.athosfriends.org.
4. Zhang Baichun (former professor at Beijing Normal University, now Hainan University), lecture/material cited by author. Zhang explains that Christian spirituality has experienced three major hesychastic revivals: (1) Mount Sinai, Egypt (7th–8th centuries); (2) Mount Athos in Byzantium (13th–14th centuries); and (3) Russian Hesychasm (19th–early 20th centuries).
5. St. Gregory Palamas, a fourteenth-century Greek Orthodox theologian and monk of Mount Athos, defended the practice of hesychasm and articulated the distinction between union with God’s essence and participation in God’s energies. Regarding modern figures, St. Silouan the Athonite (1866–1938) emphasized that the grace of the Holy Spirit is experienced as a perceptible, renewing divine energy. It should be noted that in the early 14th century, a monk from Mount Sinai, Gregory Sinaites (originally from Greece), introduced the traditional hesychasm of Mount Sinai to Mount Athos. See “Gregory of Sinai,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, last modified November 23, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gregory-of-Sinai.
6. Graham Speake, Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002), 133, 146–56.
   Herrin, Byzantium, 202. Herrin writes, “The fate of Athos during the period of Turkish rule is a sad tale of selling manuscripts and increasing reliance on Russian benefactors.” Scholars generally note that the Ottoman Turks began exerting control over Athos in 1424; after the fall of Thessaloniki in 1430, Athos came fully under Ottoman rule until 1912.
7. The Greek word hēsychia (“[seeking divine] quietness; stillness”) is rendered in Chinese as “spiritual formation,” a term that offers certain semantic advantages in theological discourse. See John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent (ca. 600), Step 1, “On Renouncing the World,” 1.24: “Offer to Christ the labours of your youth, and in your old age you will rejoice in the wealth of dispassion.”
8. According to William Dalrymple, From the Holy Mountain, the author of The Spiritual Meadow is John Moschos, a prominent Byzantine monk and scholar of the sixth–seventh centuries. Moschos traveled with his disciple Sophronius the Wise (later Patriarch of Jerusalem) through Palestine, Mount Sinai, Egypt, and Syria, visiting monasteries, interviewing ascetics, and recording their sayings and practices. The Spiritual Meadow remains a valuable early source on Christian asceticism.
9. The author expresses gratitude to Rev. Stephen Wei Gao (Chicago, USA) and to members of the Mount Sinai “WeChat–Zoom” Fellowship in both the United States and China for their direct assistance in making this pilgrimage possible.