Mt Athos Pilgrimage

My name is Theofilos Russos. I grew up not far from Mount Athos and have been privileged to visit there over 100 times, to walk there and to travel by boat.

Each year, I take a group on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, Meteora and many other places. I invite you to join me on an unforgettable journey. We’ll bring blessings home for our homes and ourselves. We’ll be able to absorb the wonder and beauty of the monasteries, some of which are over a thousand years old.

Departing from Los Angeles, we will stop for a short time in Germany to change planes to take us directly to Thessaloniki. Upon arrival in Thesaloniki, our bus will take us to our excellent hotel for an overnight stay. In the morning, after a delicious buffet breakfast, our bus will take us to Ouranoupolis. The next morning, we'll board the ship for Mount Athos.

 Besides the monasteries where we will overnight, we'll visit many other monasteries and sketes.  Then we will return by boat to Ouranoupolis.

Our bus will then take us back to Thessaloniki and our hotel. In the morning, we will tour the City of Thessaloniki. In the evening, our farewell dinner will be at an excellent taverna where excellent food, music and Greek wine will be the order of the evening. We leave for home the following morning.

The cost of the trip will include airfare, hotels and most meals the ship to and from Mount Athos, the guide and the bus or van, as well as the gratuities given to each of the monasteries.

My friends, you who come on this pilgrimage to Mount Athos will surely find it such an unforgettable experience you’ll want to return again and again.

I’ve come to know many of the holy fathers who have given me strength and the ability to return. Each year, they send me a certificate allowing me to visit the Holy Mountain as many times and as often as I care to, along with the group which is with me. If a person were to go on his own, he would not be permitted to stay longer than two or three days.