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size=''unknown''|
location=Northeast|
language=SlavonicChurchslavonic and Serbian|music=[[Byzantine chant|Byzantine]and Serbian chants]|
feasts=[[November 21|Presentation]] of the [[Theotokos]]|
}}
The '''Chilandari Hilandar Monastery''', also known as '''Hilandar Chilandari Monastery''', is the northern most [[monastery]] located on the northeast side of the Athos Peninsula in northern Greece. The monastery was founded in 1198 by Ss. Sava and Simeon. The monastery has been supported and populated by Serbian [[monk]]s since then. It is ranked fourth in the hierarchical order of the twenty monasteries located on the [[Mount Athos]] peninsula.
==History==
Chilandari became the spiritual and religious center for the Serbs. In 1430, the [[Holy Mountain]] of Athos was occupied by the Ottoman Turks. While the Turks did not interfere with the autonomy of the monastic communities the monks were affected by the lost of income from their estates that had been taken by the occupying Turks. Thus, their survival became difficult under the new overlords. The monastery remained a symbol of Serbian culture and religious continuity and was endowed by Serbian rulers through the centuries.
Whereas most of the monastic communities on Mount Athos are built on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Chilandari Hilandar is located a few kilometers in land. The complex includes within its protective walls a [[katholikon]] and a number of small [[chapel]]s, as well as cells for the monks, guest quarters, a library, treasury, and a hospital.
On [[March 4]], 2004, a major fire sweeps through the monastery that destroyed about half the structures in the monastery. The medieval heirlooms and relics that made up the treasures of the monastery were moved to safety, but major damage was done to the abbot's cell and guest rooms as well as four chapels with the seventeenth and eighteenth century frescos. Restoration of the damage is on going.
