Monasteries in Greece
Vatopedi Monastery
The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos was built during the second half of the 10th century by three monks, Athanasius, Nicholas, and Antonius, from Adrianople, who were disciples of Athanasius the Athonite. From then onwards, several buildings have been constructed, most of them were built during the Byzantine period and during the 18th and 19th centuries when the monastery reached its highest pea ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, 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
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
Docheiariou Monastery
The Dochiariou Monastery is located on the southwestern coast of the Athos Peninsula in northern Greece. It is ranked tenth in the hierarchical order of the twenty monasteries located on the peninsula. The origins of Dochiariou Monastery can be traced to the 10th century. The circumstances of its founding are varied. One variant is that the monastery was originally founded near the port of Daphne at the end of the ten ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Xenophontos Monastery
The Xenophontos Monastery is one of the twenty monasteries located on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northeastern Greece. The monastery is on southwestern side of the peninsula near St. Panteleimon"s Monastery. Xenophontos ranks sixteenth in the hierarchical order on Mount Athos. First mention of the founding of a monastery was in 998, while the monk Xenophon is credited with building the monastery that bea ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
St. Panteleimon Monastery
St. Panteleimon Monastery is built on the southwest side of the peninsula of Mount Athos. It is often referred to as 'Russian' and does have historical and liturgical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church; nevertheless, like all the other monastic settlements on Mount Athos, the monastery is under the direct ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and all its monks are cit ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Gouverneto Monastery
Gouverneto Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery in the Akrotiri peninsula of the Chania regional unit. Dated to 1537 (although other sources say 1548), the monastery is a Venetian style fortress with towers at each end with some Baroque influences added later. It measures roughly 40 metres by 50 metres and contains some 50 monks’ cells on two floors. Gouverneto is reputed to be one of the oldest monasteries i ...
Founded: 1537 |
Location:
Chaniá, 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
Stavronikita Monastery
The Monastery of Stavronikita is one of twenty monasteries on the Mount Athos peninsula and is located on the northeastern side of the peninsula at an elevation of about 50 meters above the sea. It is fifteenth in hierarchical rank among the monasteries. Stavronikita is the most recently built monastery on Mount Athos. It is also the smallest monastery among the twenty monasteries and is dedicated to St. Nicholas. ...
Founded: 1527-1536 |
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
Kremasta Convent
The name of the Kremasta ('Hanging') Convent is connected to its citadel-type architecture and its location, making it seem like its hanging from the hillside. According to the inscription, it was founded in 1593 by Mitrophanes Agapitos. It was initially a monastery but was converted into a convent in 1993. The single-spaced arch-covered catholicon is dedicated to the Taxiarchs and features a gilded w ...
Founded: 1593 |
Location:
Apokoronas, Greece
Agarathos Monastery
Agarathos is one of the oldest monasteries in Crete but its exact date of establishment is not known. Most probably, it was established during the second Byzantine period and originally belonged to the Kallergis family. According to tradition, it received its name from a Jerusalem sage bush (agarathia in the Cretan dialect), under which an old icon of Virgin Mary was found. The earliest written reference to the m ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Hersonissos, 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 in the last quarte ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Vosakou Monastery
According to various historical sources, Vosakou monastery was in continuous use from the early 17th century until 1960, when the last of its monks died. In April 1676, Vossakos became a Patriarchical monastery (i.e. stauropegic), proclaimed by an act of Ecumenical Patriarch Parthenius IV. The monastery played an important role in the greater area of Mylopotamos and owned many pieces of land as well as establishments i ...
Founded: 1676 |
Location:
Mylopótamos, 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 es ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Phaistos, 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
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
Mount Athos
An Orthodox spiritual centre since 1054, Mount Athos has enjoyed an autonomous statute since Byzantine times. The 'Holy Mountain', which is forbidden to women and children, is also a recognized artistic site. The layout of the monasteries (about 20 of which are presently inhabited by some 1,400 monks) had an influence as far afield as Russia, and its school of painting influenced the history of Orthodox art. Mount Athos ...
Founded: 800 AD |
Location:
Mount Athos, Greece
Dionysiou Monastery
The Dionysiou Monastery is one of the twenty monasteries located on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northeastern Greece. The monastery is on the southwestern side of the peninsula. Dionysiou ranks fifth in the hierarchical order on Mount Athos and is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Dionysiou Monastery was founded in the 14th century by St. Dionysios of Koreseos. The golden bull authorizing the founding of the mon ...
Founded: 1374 |
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