Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery

Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery
Μονή Παναγίας Ολυμπιώτισσας
The katholikon of the monastery
Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery is located in Greece
Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery
Location within Greece
Monastery information
Established1295/1304
DioceseMetropolis of Elassona
People
Founder(s)Constantine Doukas and Theodore Angelos
Architecture
StyleByzantine architecture
Site
Coordinates39°53′52.1″N 22°10′59.8″E / 39.897806°N 22.183278°E / 39.897806; 22.183278

The Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery (Greek: Μονή Παναγίας Ολυμπιώτισσας, lit. 'Panagia of Mount Olympus') is a Greek Orthodox monastery in Elassona, Thessaly, Greece.

History

The monastery is located on the medieval citadel of the town of Elassona, and was founded between 1295 and 1304,[1][2] probably by the co-rulers of Thessaly, the sebastokratores Constantine and Theodore.[3]

Only the main church (katholikon) survives from the original monastery complex. It comprises a domed main space with an ambulatory on three sides.[1][2] Its masonry is brick-enclosed, and features use of ancient spolia.[3] Various annexes were added at times to the katholikon, but none of them survives today, apart from a small chapel in the southern side, built in 1819 and dedicated to Saint Nektarios.[3]

The 14th-century frescoes that decorate its interior make it "one of the finest examples of Palaiologan-era architecture and painting".[1] Among the frescoes is a portrait of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328).[1] The wooden templon dates to 1840, was constructed by the master carver Demetrios of Metsovo.[3] In the church we can see oldest wooden Byzantine door in the world (11-13 century)[4].

In a 1342 sigillion of Patriarch John XIV Kalekas, the stauropegic status of the monastery is confirmed.[2] A forged chrysobull attributed to Andronikos III Palaiologos concerning the possessions of the monastery contains extensive estates and subsidiary establishments (metochia) as far as Larissa.[2] The monastery amassed great wealth, and was the major spiritual centre of the region, particularly during the 16th and 18th centuries.[3]

Today

Dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, until the 18th century it is recorded also as dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour.[3] The surname Olympiotissa derives from a famed icon of the Panagia, which is believed to have come from a no longer extant monastery at Karya, on the foot of Mount Olympus. Once a year, on 5 October, the icon is borne in a litany from the monastery to the Church of Saint Demetrios.[3]

Originally male, today it is a female monastery, and celebrates on 6 and 15 August.[3] The monastery also features a guest house, library, and a natural history museum.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Η Μονή της Παναγίας Ολυμπιώτισσας στην Ελασσόνα" (in Greek). Larissa Ephorate of Antiquities. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Koder, Johannes; Hild, Friedrich (1976). Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 1: Hellas und Thessalia (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. p. 153. ISBN 978-3-7001-0182-6.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ιερά Μονή Παναγίας Ολυμπιωτίσσης" (in Greek). Archbishopric of Athens. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  4. ^ Negrău, Elisabeta (2024). ""The Gates of Eternal Life": Metamorphosis and Performativity in Middle to Late Byzantine Sculpted Church Doors (With a Case Study of a Wallachian Wooden Door)". Religions. 15 (6): 732. doi:10.3390/rel15060732.

Further reading