Monasteries in Greece
Esphigmenou Monastery
The Esphigmenou Monastery is located on the northeastern coast of the Athos Peninsula close to the Monastery of Chilandari. It is ranked eighteenth in the hierarchical order of the twenty monasteries located on the peninsula. Esphigmenou monastery has existed since the 10th century, although Athonite tradition attributes its founding to Empress Pulcheria, the sister of Emperor Theodosius II, in the 5th century. The ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Philotheou Monastery
The Monastery of Philotheou is one of twenty monasteries on the Mount Athos peninsula and is located on the eastern side of the peninsula. It is twelfth in hierarchical rank among the monasteries. The name of "Philotheou" is named after its founder, St Philotheos, and is derived from two Greek words which mean "Beloved of God". Philotheou functions as a coenobitic monastery. Founded by St Philotheos ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, 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
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
Koutloumousiou Monastery
The Monastery of Koutloumousiou is one of twenty monasteries on the Mount Athos peninsula and is located on the northeastern side of the peninsula, near Karyes. It is sixth in hierarchical rank among the monasteries. While the existence of the monastery is confirmed by document from 1169, Koutloumousiou Monastery was founded in its present form in the 14th century. Its central church was built in 1540. It is consi ...
Founded: 1169 |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Pantokratoros Monastery
The Pantokrator Monastery is ranked seventh in the hierarchical order of the twenty monasteries located on the Athos peninsula. As is case of the other institutions on Mount Athos, life at Pantokrator is coenobitic. The Pantokrator Monastery is located near the Monastery of Stavronikita. The monastery was founded about 1357 by Alexios the Stratopedarch and John the Primikerios. They are buried at the monastery. Th ...
Founded: c. 1357 |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Xeropotamou Monastery
The Monastery of Xeropotamou is one of twenty monasteries on the Mount Athos peninsula and is located on the southwestern side of the peninsula. It is eighth in hierarchical rank among the monasteries. The katholikon of the monastery is dedicated to the memory of the Forty Holy Martyrs. While tradition accords its founding to the Empress Pulcheria in mid-5th century, Xeropotamou Monastery is believed to have bee ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, 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
Chrysoskalitissa Monastery
The Monastery of Chrysoskalitissa is built on a rock at the south-west end of Crete. The church of the monastery is dedicated to Mother Mary and the Holy Trinity and its feast is held on August 15 (Dekapendavgoustos). The Monastery was built during Venetian rule on the site of St. Nicholas monastery and, according to tradition, it took its name from a golden step, the final of the original ninety-eight that led to i ...
Founded: 17th century |
Location:
Kissamos, Greece
Halepa Monastery
Halepa Monastery was founded at the end of the era of Venetian rule and, according to documents dating back to 1555, it owned a significant amount of property. The founder, according to an inscription at the Monastery, was Ieremias Sgouros in 1637. The monastery was destroyed during the Ottoman era but was subsequently reconstructed. Its catholicon is situated in the middle of the courtyard, but unfortunately on ...
Founded: c. 1555 |
Location:
Mylopótamos, Greece
Agiou Pavlou Monastery
Agiou Pavlou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos, located on the easternmost peninsula of Chalkidiki, Greece. The founder of monastery was Paul of Xeropotamou, after whom it is named. The Monastery was founded in the late 10th to early 11th century by Saint Paul of Xeropotamou, also the founder of the Xeropotamou Monastery. Documents attest of its independence from Xero ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Karakallou Monastery
The Karakalou Monastery is situated on the southeast side of the Athos Peninsula in northern Greece, between the monasteries of Great Lavra and Iviron. Karakalou is dedicated to the Apostles Paul and Peter. It is ranked eleventh in the hierarchical order of the twenty monasteries located on the Mount Athos peninsula. Founded in the 11th century, the monastery received its name after either the Roman emperor Kar ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Konstamonitou Monastery
The Kastamonitou Monastery, officially called Konstamonitou, is an Orthodox Christian monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It stands on the southeastern side of the Athos peninsula. The monastery ranks twentieth and last in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries. The monastery was founded in the mid-11th century, either by an unknown member of the aristocratic Byzantine Kastamonites fam ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Chrysopigi Monastery
The Convent of Chrysopigi, just outside Chania, is dedicated to Mother Mary, the Life-Giving Font (Panagia Zoodochos Pigi). The convent is built in a fortress style and it was founded by Ioannis Chartophylakas at the end of the 16th century. During Venetian rule it was a significant spiritual centre with a well-stocked library. Its stopped flourishing with the Ottoman siege in the summer of 1645, when Philotheos ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Chaniá, Greece
Gonia Monastery
Gonia is an Orthodox monastery located on the coast of the south-east Rodopos peninsula in Crete, overlooking the Gulf of Chania. Today dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, the monastery was founded in the 9th century and was originally dedicated to St. George. It was originally situated at Menies on the ruins of the ancient temple of Artemis Britomartis (Diktynna). The monastery was built in the 13th c ...
Founded: 1618-1634 |
Location:
Plataniás, Greece
Kapsa Monastery
Kapsa Monastery is built on a steep, rocky mountainside near the exit of the Perivolakia gorge, which offers picturesque views of the Libyan Sea. Kapsa monastery was most probably established in the fifteenth century, although no exact date of its establishment is known. In 1471, it was destroyed by pirates and as a result was then abandoned for centuries. In 1841, it was rebuilt by a hermit, who spent his last years in ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Ierapetra, Greece
Vrontisi Monastery
Vrontisi Monastery is a 14th-century Eastern Orthodox monastery situated between the villages of Zaros and Vorizia, on the south slopes of Mt. Ida. It has a panoramic view of the Mesara Plain and the Asterousia Mountains. Venetian archives contain several documents referring to the Vrontisi monastery. The earliest written reference dates back to 1474. However, it is older than that but the exact year of its est ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Phaistos, 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
Paliani Convent
Paliani is one of the oldest convents on Crete, situated south of Venerato village and built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple, as confirmed by the capitals located in the courtyard of the convent. The convent is dedicated to the Dormition of Mother Mary and has been in operation since the first centuries of the Byzantine Empire, reaching its prime during the Venetian era. During the era of Ottoman rul ...
Founded: 7th century AD |
Location:
Heraklion, Greece