Monasteries of Greece
Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery – If you saw the James
Bond movie “ For Your Eyes Only” than this monastery is
familiar to you. Now, how many monasteries can boast about an
honor like this. Holy Trinity is the best positioned out of the
six Meteora Monasteries. Its located at the most highest point
and its only accessible by the 140 steep steps.
A monk does reside there and awaits all visitors with
anticipation to speak to them about this great monastery.
Daphni Monastery also spelled ( Dafni). It’s an 11th
century Byzantine Monastery that was founded on the site of a
Greek temple. Now it’s a museum and a world heritage site. It’s
considered one of the great master pieces of the Byzantine
Empire and it’s especially known its mosaic. Its located just
outside of Athens.
This site has been considered sacred since ancient times, here
used to be the temple of Apollo. The temple is long since gone
(except one column near the entrance)but the name “Daphni” Greek
for “Laurel” was Apollo’s favorite plant , still honor’s
Apollo’s memory.
Mount Athos or Agion Oros, it’s the only Monk Republic in the
world. Athos is inhabited only by monks who still keep their
religious traditional life since the Byzantine Period which
ended in the year 1453. It’s a cluster of monasteries in the
Peninsula of Athos. The Peninsula protrudes into the Aegean
Sea in northern Greece.
It’s also referred to as “The garden of the Mother of God” story
has it that the Virgin Mary landed on the peninsula after having
been blown off course while traveling and was struck by it’s
beauty that she asked her son to let it be her garden ”Done”
said a voice, and from that moment on the garden was hers.
There’s a little bit of logic that most people don’t recognize,
it’s the fact that the peninsula was out of bounds to any other
woman.
The sacred church of the Megalochari of Tinos, to many it’s
known as the Pan-Hellenic holy shrine of our lady. In 1822, a
devoted religious nun named Pellagra saw repeatedly in her
visions the holy Virgin, who instructed her to go to town and
inform the elders to start excavations to find her icon. The
icon was buried for many years in an uncultivated field which
the Holy Virgin described exactly and to build church at that
place.
At first Pellagra was hesitant but later she came to understand
the Divine Grace. She went and found the Bishop of the Island.
The Bishop listened and was deeply moved. He gave her his
blessings and the same day he rung the church bells and made the
announcement to the people of Tinos.
In turn the people of Tinos devoted as they were to the
Christian faith started the excavation started immediately in
September of 1822 and they were completed in January 1823 when
the icon was found and the church was built right at that place.
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