MIHAILO TOLOTOS, THE MONK THAT NEVER SET EYES ON A WOMAN 

Did you know that Mihailo Tolotos lived for 82 years without ever setting eyes on a woman in his entire life?

Mihailo Tolotos, an Orthodox Greek Monk, is said to have been born some time in 1856 and did not see his mother as she died shortly after she gave birth to him. Not sure about his parental lineage, some men carried him and gave him to the Orthodox Monks at a monastery atop the Mount Athos. There he was raised and tutored, and he spent his life in the service of the monastery.

Mount Athos has a strict policy against allowing women to explore the area or the monasteries. A law called Άβατον (avaton) in Greek, instated in the year of 1046 by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomachos, prohibits the entry of women atop the mountain. This law was placed so that the men living in the many monasteries could spend their lives in absolute celibacy with peace. The monks are of the opinion that the presence of women alters their path towards celibacy, and ultimately, spiritual enlightenment.

Mihailo Tolotos lived to grow in the monastery and is said to have never ventured out of the walls of his asylum. Tourists were allowed, but only men, who came to experience the monastic life or to settle there as monks.

Tolotos passed away at the age of 82 according to a newspaper clipping which ran in an Athens newspaper. The news appeared in the newspaper dated the 29th of October, 1938.

Tolotos was given a special burial by all the monks living at Mount Athos. They did a special burial for him because they believed that he was the only man in the world who died without knowing what a woman looks like.

Fact sources: Storypick