Cultural Treasures
The monastery's treasury houses many important relics. The treasury, along with the monastery's library are temporarily housed over the catholicon's narthex. Among important cultural treasures, such as crosses, books, garments, etc., Esphigmenou has in its possession a large (3.05×2.80 m2) part of Napoleon Bonaparte's tent, which was donated to the monastery by Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople. The monks use this once a year, at the celebration of the Ascension of Christ, as a tent over the entrance of the catholicon.
The so-called Cross of Pulcheria lies at the catholicon's altar, which also houses cases of holy relics and a very important Byzantine mosaic icon. The icon is barely 0.15×0.07 m2 and depicts Christ in a standing position in great detail. The icon is surrounded by a silver frame that depicts the apostles, while holy relics are embedded on its lower side.
The monastery also has a large collection of manuscripts. Its library houses 372 manuscripts, of which 75 are parchment, some bearing iconographic decoration. Famous among these is the renowned Minologion, coded #14, that bears 80 miniatures. The library also holds a collection of roughly 2,000 printed books, while 6,000 more are housed in another part of the monastery, on the second floor of the northern wing.
The Mount Athos authorities, the Greek police and the Greek Antiquities' Service de facto exert no control over the afformentioned antiquities, relics and treasures, because of the Esphigmenou occupants' denial to "allow" any official check inside the Esphigmenou monastery. It has been at least since early 1980's that the Esphigmenou antiquities, relics and treasures had last been photographed by state officers. No resolution (e.g. restoration) has yet been reached, due to the ongoing occupation of the Esphigmenou buildings.
The Holy Mountain is governed by the "Holy Community" (Ιερά Κοινότης) which consists of the representatives of the 20 Holy Monasteries, having as executive committee the four-membered "Holy Administration" (Ιερά Επιστασία), with the Protos (Πρώτος) being its head. Civil authorities are represented by the Civil Governor, appointed by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose main duty is to supervise the function of the institutions and the public order. The Holy Community has made numerous official pleas towards the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greek Prime Minister for access to the Esphigmenou antiquities etc and the resolution of the monastery's occupation.
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