Athonite tradition has it that the Virgin Mary’s ship was blown off course as she travelled with St John the Evangelist to visit Lazarus in Cyprus and that on making ground in Athos she immediately prayed to her son to dedicate the beautiful peninsula to her, which he did, meaning that other women were banned. Modern day monks say there are good practical reasons why women are prohibited: “God built a sexual attraction between men and women. To have them here would distract us from our main aim, which is prayer,” one monk told me. Many pilgrims have more flippant excuses. “Women would not like it here, there are no mirrors,” said one elderly Greek.

The ban on women has already raised the ire of the European Parliament, which has two voted to criticise the prohibition: European Union taxes are helping to fund a massive renovation of the monasteries, which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In January a group of women including a Greek MP briefly entered Athos in a protest. Apart from accepting some female refugees during the civil war in the late 1940s, the most the monks have done to open up is allow many of their most precious treasures to be briefly seen at exhibitions in Greece.

But the main treasure of Mount Athos is the place itself and many Orthodox women feel frustrated by the ban on visiting it. “I would love to see it, but I know I never will,” is a common comment, though some say they understand the ban. At the same time, many Greek women are angry that their taxes are being used to fund wealthy institutions that they are banned from setting foot in, arguing that UNESCO status means the monasteries are treasures of humanity, not just of male humanity.

(Photo: Pantheleimon Monastery at Mount Athos/Daniel Flynn)

Some argue that it reflects a wider snub to women in the Orthodox faith, where they are barred from the priesthood. Orthodox wedding vows still tell wives to fear their husbands, although some priests insist this is a mistranslation of old Greek. Although it seems to be living in a place outside time, the modern world has reached Mount Athos in many ways. Monks on Athos drive four-by-fours, have mobile phones and e-mail accounts. The mountain is open to heads of state, princes, and tourists from all over the world. One monastery there, Vatopedi, has even found itself at the heart of a controversial property transaction with the Greek government now being investigated by parliament.

Women are welcomed as visitors in other monasteries in Greece. Public money is being used to renovate and promote the monasteries on Mount Athos. So is it about time to allow women  access to the Holy Mountain?