Hilandar

Hilandar
(Хиландар)

Monastery Information
Jurisdiction	Serbian Orthodox Church
Established	1198
Disestablished	still active
Location	Mt Athos, Greece
Dedicated to
Celebration
Founder	Saint Sava

Hilandar (Serbian Cyrillic: Хиландар; Greek: Χιλανδαρίου) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the Serbs Saint Sava and his father, Emperor Stefan Nemanja (Monk Simeon) of Raška. Due to the fact that its founders are Serbs and the first monks were of the Serbian Orthodox Church it is also called "The Serbian monastery" thus it is nowadays the monastery where the Serbian orthodox monks traditionally reside. Now, Hilandar presents the greatest shrine for Serbian people.

In the 1970s, the Greek government offered power grid installation to monasteries on Mount Athos. The Holy Council refused, and since then every monastery generates its own power, which is gained mostly from renewable energy sources. During the 1980s, electrification of monastery Hilandar took place. Electricity was needed mostly for lighting and heating. In 2004, an accident happened when one of the heaters was not turned off and the old, dry wood used to build that part of monastery ignited. The fire significantly damaged Hilandar. About 40-50% of the monastery burned to the ground. It is currently undergoing restoration.

Two medieval Bulgarian royal charters, the Virgino Charter and the Oryahov Charter, have been found in Hilandar's library.