The surge in religious and pilgrimage tourism over the past two decades — a strategic priority for both the Greek Church and the state — has created significant challenges, including questions about the authenticity of ecclesiastical products.
Voices of strong concern have emerged within the monastic community of Mount Athos, particularly following the massive influx of products, such as prayer beads from China, and earlier from Romania and Albania.
One major concern is the preservation of genuine religious items sold across hundreds of shops, monastery outlets, church-adjacent stores, and increasingly online through sites branded as monasteries, religious associations, or brotherhoods related to Mount Athos.
These products typically include icons, small devotional images, incense, censers, candle holders, crosses of all sizes, komposkoinia (prayer beads or ropes), fragrances, and more.
The Holy Community of Mount Athos has good reason for worry. Many items sold nationwide carry fine-print labels such as “Musk Incense or Prayer Beads, Athonite Type.” Unsuspecting pilgrims focus on the “Athonite” reference and miss the subtle clarification that the product is merely “of Athonite type” — not actually made on the Holy Mountain.
Prayer Rope or Souvenir?
Enlightened elders from the Athonite community are among the critics of this mass commercialization of devotional items. They highlight a loss of religious sensitivity among buyers: Wearing a komposkoinion as a fashion accessory on the wrist is far removed from its true purpose as a tool for prayer and repentance.
A genuine prayer rope is crafted during periods of fasting, embodying the “sacrifice” and “repentance” of the monk or nun who knotted it, intended for devout use rather than as a souvenir.
“This reality no longer exists,” emphasizes an elder from the Skete of Saint Anne to In.
The core issue is the “spiritual authenticity” of these products and the supposed special “religious weight” they are presumed to carry.
Athonite monks point out that handcrafting a real 33-knot prayer rope takes at least two hours, while a 100-knot version requires five to six hours or more.
“The faithful should not be deceived into buying these thinking they come from us. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t produce them at that scale due to our daily duties of prayer and service.”
The Mount Athos Charter itself stipulates that only items produced within the monastic cells on the Holy Mountain may be sold there.
An abbot from a monastery in Central Greece cites St. John of Damascus: “The honor paid to the image passes to the prototype.”
He laments that this principle is collapsing today, as icons have become mere material branding — the prototype is no longer venerated but reproduced as an aesthetic trend.
In Thessaloniki, a large Chinese market sells ecclesiastical products “Made in China” both wholesale and retail. This extends beyond small items to larger pieces like candle stands or standing lamps. It is worth noting that there is nothing illegal about this trade.
Reports also indicate that trucks frequently depart from workshops near the Sacred Way, carrying thousands of ecclesiastical goods to monasteries and dioceses across the country.
Monasteries are now “Dairy Farms”
Similar concerns are arising over the widespread sale — both online and in numerous urban outlets — of mass-produced “monastic” food products (milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, wine, honey, fragrances, etc.).
The sheer volume makes it impossible for these to originate solely from the named monasteries, as it would require enormous production facilities incompatible with a contemplative monastic life.
Products typically bear the label of a particular monastery, while their true origin disappears in the depths of unchecked commercialization.
Priestly Vestments
A distinctly different category is priestly vestments (ieratika amfia). Here, large-scale “invasion” by Chinese products is much more difficult. Vestments are usually custom-tailored to each priest’s measurements, limiting the market for ready-made items.
While some fabrics from China may be used occasionally, the few remaining workshops specializing in ecclesiastical garments are skilled at distinguishing quality and tend to avoid cheap imports.
In this context, the efforts of Metropolitan Damaskinos of Didymoteicho, Orestiada, and Soufli over the past 15 years stand out. He actively promotes local silk producers from Soufli to dioceses across Greece, advocating for authentic domestic products.
An alternative view
On the other hand, a balanced view of the mass marketing of ecclesiastical goods must acknowledge the need for monasteries to achieve financial self-sufficiency. This supports maintenance of historic monastic centers and cells, as well as services for visiting pilgrims.
The autonomy and viability of historic monasteries in the modern era depend in part on their economic strength, allowing monks to focus undisturbed on their hesychastic (contemplative) duties. No condition is unreasonable within these terms.
“We are not seeking stylite monks praying atop a pole,” notes the same Central Greece abbot.
“Monasticism and spiritual practice are concepts intertwined with their era. We do not live outside the world, nor can we be state-supported, dependent on secular criteria.”
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