Monasteries in Greece
Monastery of Great Meteoron
The Monastery of Great Meteoron is the largest of the monasteries located at Meteora, though in 2015 there were only 3 monks in residence. The Great Meteoro Monastery was founded in the mid-14th century by Saint Athanasios the Meteorite who was the first founder of the monastery and the systematic organizer. For this reason, the foundation of this monastery is considered to be a turning point, or even better, the begi ...
Founded: c. 1350 |
Location:
Kalabaka, Greece
Paleokastritsa Monastery
The monastery of the Holy Theotokos, also known as Paleokastritsa Monastery, is one of the oldest in Corfu, dating to 1225. The reasons for visiting this monastery are two-fold. Set on the top of the cape, the views from the monastery are stunningly dramatic and indescribably beautiful. Perhaps the most visited of the island’s religious sites, due to its amazing position, it is also steeped in history. It is built on t ...
Founded: 1225 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Varlaam Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second biggest monastery in Meteora. It is located opposite of the Great Meteoron Monastery and it was founded in the mid-14th century by the exercitant Hosios Varlaam. The elegant monastery Katholikon (main church) was built in the honour of Agioi Pantes in 1541-42, by two brothers from Ioannina, the priest-monks Hosioi Theophanes and Nectarios the Apsarades. The main church was d ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Kalabaka, Greece
Vlacherna Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Blachernae (Vlacherna) was built in the 17th century. In 1799, it belonged to the Halikiopoulos-Mantzaros family and for years functioned as a nunnery until 1980. The building is distinguished by its unusual shaped, tiled roof and intense white walls that sharply contrast with the lush landscape and the brilliant blue of the sea. After crossing the pedestrian bridge you will find yourself in the co ...
Founded: 17th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Roussanou Monastery
The Monastery of Roussanou was founded in the middle of the 16th century. Compared to other rocks where monasteries were built, the one of Roussanou has a lower elevation, which makes it more accessible. The monastery was initially founded by monks and it suffered severe damage during World War II. It became a convent in 1988. The beautiful wall-paintings of the Catholicon were executed in 1560, when the priest-monk Ars ...
Founded: c. 1550 |
Location:
Kalabaka, Greece
Arkadi Monastery
Arkadi Monatery is perhaps the best known monastery on Crete due to the Holocaust of 1866. However, its location and impressive architecture make it all the more special. The current catholicon (church) dates back to the 16th century and is marked by the influence of the Renaissance. This influence is visible in the architecture, which mixes both Roman and baroque elements. As early as the 16th century, the mon ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Arkadi, Greece
Holy Trinity Monastery
The Holy Trinity Monastery (also known as Agia Triada) is situated at the top of a rocky precipice over 400 metres high and forms part of 24 monasteries which were originally built at Meteora. The church was constructed between the 14th and 15th centuries and is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites titled Meteora. Holy Trinity was built in 1475–76, though some sources say the construction dates of ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Kalabaka, Greece
Vlatades Monastery
Vlatades Monastery was founded by the brothers Dorotheus and Markus Vlatadon, who were students of Gregory Palamas, in the latter half of the fourteenth century. It was first mention in a letter by Patriarch Matthew dated in 1400 to Metropolitan Gabriel of Thessalonica. In 1387, Thessalonica and the monastery were occupied for the first time by the Ottoman Turks. While the monastic community held together, the monaster ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Thessaloniki, Greece
St. Stephen Monastery
The Monastery of St. Stephen was founded by St. Antoninus Cantacuzene, who is thought to be a son of the Serb ruler Nicephorus II of Epirus, in c. 1400. This monastery rests on the plain rather than on a cliff. It was shelled by the Nazis during World War II who believed it was harboring insurgents and was abandoned. The monastery was given over to nuns in 1961 and they have reconstructed it into a flourishing nun ...
Founded: c. 1400 |
Location:
Kalabaka, Greece
Pantanassa Monastery
The Pantanassa Monastery is a monastery in Mystras. It was founded by a chief minister of the late Byzantine Despotate of the Morea, John Frankopoulos, and was dedicated in September 1428. It is the only monastery on the site still permanently inhabited. Today it is inhabited by nuns providing hospitality. Its beautifully ornate stone-carved façade is of architectural note. Pantanassa Monastery is part of the UNESCO Wor ...
Founded: 1428 |
Location:
Mystras, Greece
Filerimos Monastery
When Christianity first grew its roots in Greece, many of the ancient cult sanctuaries were transformed into churches. At that time the Filerimos temple was converted into an early Christian three-aisled basilica dedicated to Virgin Mary. The castle of Filerimos was constructed by the Byzantines in the 11th century. The church is well known since for housing the icon of the Virgin of Filerimos. Attributed to St. Luke the ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Ialysos, Greece
Agia Triada Monastery
Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Orthodox Monastery was built in the 17th century by two brothers of the Venetian Zangaroli family on the site of a pre-existing church. The church is built in the Byzantine architectural cruciform style with three domes. The main church is flanked by two smaller domed chapels, one of which is dedicated to the Life-Giving Spring (Zoodochos Pigi) and the other to Saint John the Theologian. The ...
Founded: 17th century |
Location:
Chaniá, Greece
Brontochion Monastery
Brontochion Monastery is located on the northern slope of Mystras, an archaeological site dedicated as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbot Pachomius incorporated into the small church of the Hodegetria, or 'Aphentikon', as the monastery"s catholicon. The church was reconstructed and completed around 1310.
Founded: 1308-1322 |
Location:
Mystras, Greece
St. Nikolaos Anapafsas Monastery
St. Nikolaos Anapafsas Monastery is one of six monasteries built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area of Meteora. Hermits seem to have first occupied this rock in the early 14th century, as evidenced by remains of frescoes in the Chapel of St. Anthony. The present monastery was founded in 1510 by St. Dionysius, Metropolitan of Larisa, and Nikanoras, priest-monk and exar ...
Founded: 1510 |
Location:
Kalabaka, Greece
Simonopetra Monastery
Simonopetra Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos. Simonopetra ranks thirteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries. The monastery is located in the southern coast of the Athos peninsula. While the southern coast of Athos is quite rugged in general, the particular site upon which the monastery is built is exceptionally harsh. It is built on top of a single huge rock, ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Preveli Monastery
Preveli Monastery comprises two main building complexes, the ruined Lower Monastery of St. John the Baptist, and the currently operational Upper (Rear) Monastery of St. John the Theologian. The monastery was probably founded in the Middle Ages, during the occupation of Crete by the Republic of Venice, its founder being a feudal lord named Prevelis. It developed over several centuries as a religious and cultural centre ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Ágios Vasíleios, Greece
Hilandar Monastery
Hilandar Monastery is the northern most monastery located on the northeast side of the Athos Peninsula. The monastery was founded in 1198 by saints Sava and Simeon. The Monastery has been supported and populated by Serbian monkssince then. It is ranked fourth in the hierarchical order of the twenty monasteries located on the Mount Athos peninsula. After forming the Serbian state Stephen Nemanja, the Grand Župan o ...
Founded: 1198 |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Monastery of Agios Gerasimos
Saint Gerasimos monastery, named after the wonder-maker and protector of Kefalonia, is the most well-known monastery on the island. Gerasimos of Kefalonia was born in 1506 and comes from an aristocratic Byzantine family. He is known for very specific ascetic life, but also by the fact that he foretold his own death. He became a monk on Mount Athos and was appointed priest in Jerusalem, where he served for 12 years in the ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Kefalonia, Greece
Toplou Monastery
Toplou monastery is one of the most significant monasteries in Crete, dedicated to Virgin Mary and St. John the Theologian. It was founded around the mid-15th century, probably on the ruins of an earlier convent. The monastery was plundered by the knights of Malta in 1530 and shattered in 1612 by a strong earthquake. Due to its strategic position, the senate of the Republic of Venice, then ruler of Crete, decided to ...
Founded: c. 1450 |
Location:
Sitia, Greece
Peribleptos Monastery
The Peribleptos Monastery is a late Byzantine-era monastery in Mystras, Greece. It was probably built in the mid-14th century by the first Despot of the Morea, Manuel Kantakouzenos, and named after one of the most celebrated monasteries of Byzantine Constantinople. The Monastery is built into the side of a cliff with a cave supporting the structure. This architectural style is known as the Mystras style and is prevalent i ...
Founded: c. 1348 |
Location:
Mystras, Greece