[1] The newer main church was built just prior to the Greek Revolution of 1821 and is in the neo-classical style.

A large cross is suspended above the inner sanctum and the choirs of the monks do some of the best traditional Byzantine chanting in the whole peninsula; Vatopedi and Gregoriou may be its only rivals.

[3] Extensive renovations are being done with money provided by the Greek Government and the European Commission; many of the workers are from Albania and live nearby.

In the 6th century, there was a small Christian community dedicated to Saint Dimitrios on the current site of Xenophontos Monastery.

The iconoclasts had tried to unsuccessfully destroy it by fire and sword, and was then thrown into the sea and finally reached the monastery around the 10th century.

According to monastic tradition, the icon had miraculously appeared at Xenophontos, even though the doors of the monastery were locked.

The icon of the Panagia Keharitomeni (literally "The Highly Favored"), which dates from the 13th century, is currently housed in the 19th-century katholikon.