The Skete of Saint Demetrius

It is located in a wooded area southwest of the Vatopedi Monastery and is half an hour's walk from it. The Skete occupies the site of the old monhydrium of Chalkeos, which is attested from 1030, and was destroyed by Agarean raiders. It is first mentioned in a document of 1628, as the "skete of Andronikos Palaiologos the presbyter", with the founder being Archimandrite Makarios. The same document mentions the miraculous handkerchief of Saint Demetrius that was kept in the Skete, a gift from the despot of Thessaloniki, Andronikos Palaiologos. The Skete gradually began to flourish in the 18th century.

In 1729 its typikon was drawn up, later it was renovated and in 1752 a statute was drawn up based on the regulations of the Skete of Saint Anne. After the middle of the century, Dionysios of Siatistis, one of the most famous ascetics of Athos at that time, settled in the Skete. A little later, several Kollyvades ascetics, among whom was Hierotheos, later founder of the Monastery of Prophet Elias on Hydra, began to practice asceticism. The Skete consists of the Sunday church, the refectory, the guesthouse and about 25 scattered cells, most of which are abandoned today. The library houses a remarkable collection of manuscripts and printed materials, which has now been transferred for protection reasons to the dominant Vatopedi Monastery.