The Charter to the Athonite Monastery of Saint Panteleimon - Rusikon

The Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos, also known as Rusik or Rusikon, was founded in the 11th century. In the Middle Ages there were strong ties between the Serbian lands and this monastery. Following a Russian monk from the Athonite brotherhood of Saint Panteleimon, Rastko Nemanjić received the monastic tonsure in this very monastery and became Sava. During the reign of the Nemanjić dynasty, Serbian ties with the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon grew stronger. And the Serbian rulers aided this monastery.

The Serbian Emperor Dušan aided this monastery generously, as several of his charters confirm, and in 1349 he renewed the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon and endowed it with large sums of money: his chrysobull stipulated that the monastery should henceforth enjoy high annual revenues. The rich gifts of the Serbian rulers contributed to the rise of this monastery. The Serbian Prince Lazar also aided the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon, endowing it richly. A charter has survived by which Prince Lazar grants this monastery the Church of the Ascension of the Lord - of the Holy Savior in Hvosno, as well as a charter by which he grants it the Church of Saint Nicholas on the Lab. There were further gifts of Holy Prince Lazar to this monastery, as the charters of his successors also confirm.

After the Battle of Kosovo, the successors of Holy Prince Lazar, despite the unenviable and complex circumstances in which they found themselves, did not withhold aid from the Athonite monasteries, among them the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon. A considerable number of charters have survived that bear witness to the support this monastery enjoyed from the Serbian rulers and their nobility. One of them is the charter of the nun Jevgenija with her sons Prince Stefan and Vuk; by this charter great properties were granted to the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos - villages, metochia and other gifts; the Serbian nobility joined the rulers, likewise granting their gifts to the monastery, and the charter also confirms the earlier gifts of Prince Lazar. The charter, which is dated June 8, 1395, was signed by the right-believing Prince Stefan Lazarević. Thereafter, all that is stated above is confirmed and certified with his signature by Danilo, Patriarch of the Serbian and Maritime Lands (1350–1400).

A fragment of another copy of the charter to this Athonite monastery has also survived, signed by the right-believing Prince Stefan Lazarević and the lady Jevgenija the nun;