The monastery of Pantokratoros was founded in 1363 by the Byzantine brothers Alexios and Ioannis, who were, at the same time, Venetian citizens. It is located one hour and a half northeast of the capital of Athos peninsula, Karyes.
From the first time of its foundation until the middle of the 17th century it was functioning under a "collective/cooperative" status but then it became more independent, with a more loose program and more individual freedom of every monk. In 1992 the collective way of life and worship returned to the monastery, as soon as a new group of monks from the monastery of Agios Xenofontos joined the community of Pantokratoros.
Emperors Ioannis the Fifth and Emmanouil the Second, as well as Romanian leaders during the 16th century gave many donations to the monastery. This had, as a result, the growth and the development that led to the doubling of its size.
The architectural style of the whole building resembles a Medieval castle and together with the surroundings constructs a very impressive landscape. In the main church of the monastery, there is the miraculous icon of the Panagia Gerontissa. While the murals are made in 1538 based on the Cretan style of painting the faces of the saints.
Today in the monastery live permanently 70-80 monks and a certain number of guests can be accommodated for up to two days if there is availability, but all of them need to inform and get the confirmation of the monastery in advance.