Monasteries of Greece
Orthodox Christianity, the dominant form of religion in Greece, has a long and rich history of monasticism. Many of the lovely Byzantine monasteries that dot the Greek landscape are still fully-functioning spiritual retreats for Orthodox monks and nuns, and most of them welcome visitors.
Monasteries of Meteora
The monasteries of Meteora perch atop rocky pinnacles in northeast Greece. Most date to the 14th century, and many are still in use.
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Agios Nikolaos Monastery This 14th century monastery features lovely 16th century frescoes. |
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Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery Made famous by a James Bond movie. How many monasteries can say that? |
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Megalo Meteoro (Great Meteoron) Monastery The most-visited monastery on Meteora, the Great Meteoron features a beautiful church filled with frescoes. |
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Roussanou Monastery This 13th century monastery now functions as a convent. |
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Agios Stephanos (St. Stephen) Monastery Founded in the 14th century, this monastery is today a functioning convent. |
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Varlaam Monastery This 16th century monastery has a pleasant courtyard and chatty resident monk. |
Monasteries of Mount Athos
The 20 monasteries of Mount Athos (the "Holy Mountain") form one of the most famous monastic communities in the world. No females are allowed on Mount Athos and male visitors are admitted only with special permission. Fortunately, tourists of both sexes can see many of the monasteries of Athos from a boat cruise around the peninsula.
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Megistis Lavras (Great Lavra) Monastery Founded in 963 AD, this was the first monastery to be built on Athos and is still the largest. The size of a small town, the Great Lavra governs the other Athos monasteries. |
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Iviron Monastery Founded in the late 10th century, this monastery's courtyard has 16 chapels, one of which houses a miraculous icon of the Virgin. |
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Vatopediou Monastery One of the largest and most wealthy monasteries on Athos, founded in the 10th century. Its church contains 14th-century icons. |
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Xenophontos Monastery Built next to the sea in the 11th century, the Xenophonton Monastery has an extensive library and mosaic icons. |
Other Monasteries of Greece
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Agiou Ioannou Prodromou Monastery, Lousios Gorge Small 12th-century monastery spectacularly wedged onto the face of a cliff. |
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Dafni Monastery, near Athens 5th century monastery with gold-leaf Byzantine mosaics, built over an ancient sanctuary of Apollo. Cloisters were added in the 16th century. |
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Nea Moni Filosofou Monastery, Lousios Gorge 17th-century monastery that was recently renovated and contains biblical frescoes dating from 1693. |
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Osios Loukas (Holy Luke) Monastery An 11th century monastery that was highly influential on the development of Byzantine architecture. The interior features beautiful golden mosaics. |
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Monastery of St. John, Patmos A fortress-like 11th-century monastery near the site of St. John's visions that were recorded in the Book of Revelation. |
