THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Centuries-old monasteries have been broken by an ongoing collection of earthquakes in a secluded monastic neighborhood in northern Greece, authorities mentioned Friday.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the Mount Athos peninsula on June 7, adopted by a collection of each undersea and land-based tremors that continued by means of Friday.
The quakes brought about “extreme cracks” within the dome of the Monastery of Xenophon, which was constructed within the late tenth century, and broken non secular frescoes at that website and several other others, the Tradition Ministry mentioned.
Mount Athos is likely one of the most vital non secular websites for Orthodox Christians, and is sometimes called the Holy Mountain. It’s a semi-autonomous monastic republic and is dwelling to twenty Orthodox monasteries.
The self-governing neighborhood nonetheless observes strict traditions underneath Greek sovereignty, together with a ban on all girls getting into the territory.
“We’re absolutely conscious of the immense archaeological, historic, and non secular significance of Mount Athos, and we’re guaranteeing that every one injury is addressed in line with scientific and moral requirements,” Tradition Minister Lina Mendoni mentioned.
The restoration work — together with structural reinforcement and the restore of art work — shall be expanded and accelerated, Mendoni added.
A extra detailed evaluation of the injury is predicted subsequent week, the Tradition Ministry mentioned.
The June 7 earthquake was adopted by a collection of smaller quakes, which suggests an aftershock sequence, Emmanuel Scordilis, a professor of seismology on the College of Thessaloniki, mentioned.
The size of the fault line within the space is unlikely to supply an earthquake extra highly effective than 6.0 magnitude, he added.