St. Anne's Skete (The Major Skete of St. Anne's) is one of four sketes attached to the Great Lavra Monastery. It is located near the cape of Mt Athos, near Little St. Anne's Skete. St Anne's Skete has the distinction of being the largest and oldest skete of Mt Athos and was founded to preserve the left foot of St Anne, the Mother of the Theotokos.

The skete is located among olive, lemon and orange groves, it’s the most “ascetic” place on the Holy Mountain.

The katholikon of the skete is situated at the height of 300 meters and there is a kalive on the height of 450 meters.

Monastic life here began in the XII-XIII centuries. The 1^st charter was confirmed in 1689 by the Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysius III. Until the XII century the skete had a name “Voultevir” but subsequently took a name of St. Anne after St. Anne’s chapel where the foot of St. Anne was kept.

At the walking distance (approximately half an hour) the monks founded the new Small Skete with flat-roof cells.

The kalive Kartsoneev with the stately Cathedral of St. George also belongs to the skete. The Cathedral was designed by famous Pavel Milona who dedicated all his life to the constructing on the Holy Mountain. The brotherhood was founded by the celibate priest Gavril (1876-1956).

Sts. Nifon and Gerondy  lived in the kalive of St. Eleytherios  which also belongs to the monastery. The Holy Spring in the mountains appeared there after Gerondy’s prayers. The monks used the water for clothes-washing and garden-watering and soon the spring ran dry. Gerondy saw a dream, the Theotokos telling him that the spring was given to the monks with a different purpose. After Gerondy’s pray the spring appeared again but higher than it used to be. It was a sign that the monks have to be content with the little as the Theotokos told them. This spring is considered to be saint nowadays and contains precisely as much water as the brotherhood needs.

Currently 58 kalives and 88 monks belong to the skete.

Treasures held within the skete

The foot of St. Anne, the relics of Sts. Ignatius, Eythimios, Akakios.

The foot of St. Anne remains warm like some other relics (the hand of Maria Magdalene and the hand of the Martyr Marina). This relics is considered to be miracle-working, it cures infertility. The skete receives many testimonial letters from the parents who got the opportunity to have children thanks to the Saint Anne. The monks keep all the letters and the pictures of newly born constantly thanking the God for the miracles.