Athens, Greece - Monks from the 1,000-year-old autonomous monastic community of Mount Athos on Tuesday defied the cash-strapped Greek government by refusing to pay property taxes.
The finance ministry, which has been forced to accept an international bailout, recently announced plans to tax the monks on any real estate in their possession outside of the boundaries of the autonomous state.
Mount Athos, or the Holy Mount, is divided into 20 self-governed territories on the Athos peninsula, in north-eastern Greece. It serves as the spiritual centre of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Despite protests by the European Parliament, women, including female journalists, are banned from the rugged 300-square kilometre peninsula, which has been dedicated to the Virgin Mary since 1060.
Mount Athos is also exempt from paying taxes or tariffs to the Greek government under the constitution.
The 2,600 monks who live on Mount Athos called an emergency session to complain that the Greek government was ignoring their rights as an autonomous state. They said they had written a protest letter to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
The monks, who reportedly own millions of euros worth of real estate around Greece, have threatened to break off all contact with the government in Athens unless their demands are met.
"This tax issue by the Greek finance ministry is of major concern to the entire community of Mount Athos," said Brother Lavriotis at the start of the session.
The monastery of Vatopedi, one of the largest in northern Greece's all-male monastic community, is alleged to have made million of euros after receiving prime, state-owned real estate in exchange for cheap rural land.
The Vatopedi scandal shocked Greece, and the incident helped bring down the previous conservative government.
Life on the Holy Mountain has changed little since Medieval times, with different clocks showing the hour on Athos and the outside world.
But despite efforts to stay true to their tradition, the monasteries now have electricity and use the internet, while black-robed monks can be seen riding their four-by-four vehicles across the rocky terrain of the peninsula, or using power boats to go fishing.
Over the centuries, the monasteries have accumulated a vast array of priceless objects, including more than 20,000 icons, 15,000 manuscripts, as well as jewelled crucifixes and chalices.
Athos, which is the second most holy site for the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians after Jerusalem, still uses the Medieval Julian calender, which runs 13 days behind the modern Gregorian one.
Only a few thousand pilgrims are allowed entrance onto Mount Athos each year, with border controls being strict.
Britain's Prince Charles and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are among the celebrities to have visited the site.
Access is by boat for those with a special visa, known as a "diamoneterion."
Studies show life expectancy for the all-male community on Mount Athos to be among the highest in the world.
Doctors credit the monks' peaceful lifestyle and healthy diet, which features no red meat, regular consumption of olive oil, plenty of fresh fruit, homegrown vegetables and daily portions of fish.
A recent study found that there had been only 11 cases of prostate cancer among the monks over the last 13 years.
Other factors in the same study shown to keep prostate cancer at bay were the stress-free existence of the monks away from women, proper sleeping patterns and the lack of air pollution.