The skete of John the Baptist is a coenobic Romanian skete. It belongs to the monastery of Great Lavra. The skete is located on the cape at the height of 250 meters.

In 1852 Moldavian monks Nifon and Nektarius bought the cell there with the funds raised by the Metropolitan Safronios. They built the katholikon dedicated to John the Baptist and the cells around it. In 1856 the Patriarch of Constantinople pronounced the skete a coenobic one.

The skete is constructed in the form of a classical athonite monastery with the katholikon in the middle.

The majority of the monks inhabiting the skete nowadays are Romanians.

Miracle-working icons held within the skete

The Theotokos of Jassy is located in the skete’s katholikon. The icon was presumably painted in Romania in the city of Jassy in 1902. According to the myth, the painter could not portray the face of Virgin Mary and was taken by surprise when he found that the face of the icon sheds light. The icon was conveyed to the Mount Athos.

Treasures kept within the monastery

The relics of John the Baptist, the relics of the martyrs Charalampios, Mina and Victor, blood of the martyr Demetrius, a part of Christ’s tombstone.