Mount Galesios or Galesion ( el, όρος Γαλήσιος/Γαλήσιον), today known as Alamandağ or Gallesion in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, is a mountain north of

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

in modern-day Turkey. The mountain is located on the northern bank of the Küçükmenderes River (ancient Kaystros), on the western coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. It is notable as the seat of a large

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

monastic community in late

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

times, from the 11th century to the area's conquest by the Turks in the 14th century.

History

The first monastic community on the mountain was established by the

stylite A stylite ( grc, στυλίτης () 'pillar dweller', derived from () 'pillar' and syc, ܐܣܛܘܢܐ ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortifi ...

monk Lazaros of Mount Galesios, who died there in 1053. Already during his lifetime, three monasteries were established near his pillar: the

Saviour Savior or Saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or li ...

, reserved for 12

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

s; the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

, for 12 monks, and the Resurrection (''Anastasis'') of 40 monks. Each had its own ''

hegoumenos Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

'' (abbot). A fourth monastery, the Theotokos of Bessai, was established by the imperial family and housed up to 300 monks, but it rapidly declined after the 11th century. There was also a female convent, that of Eupraxia, where the monks' female relatives could stay. The death of Lazaros deprived the community of much of its prestige, but it re-emerged into prominence in the 13th century, with the establishment of the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse ...

, when the neighbouring city of Nymphaion became the favourite winter residence of the Nicaean emperors. The patriarchs

Joseph I of Constantinople Joseph I Galesiotes ( el, Ἰωσὴφ Α´ Γαλησιώτης; ? – 23 March 1283) was a Byzantine monk who served twice as Patriarch of Constantinople, from 1266 to 1275 and from 1282 until shortly before his death in 1283. He is most notab ...

(1266–1275 and from 1282 to 1283),

Gregory II of Constantinople Gregory II of Cyprus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Κύπριος, translit=Grēgorios ho Kyprios, translit-std=ALA-LC, 1241–1290) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between 1283 and 1289. Gregory was born in Lapithos, Cyprus. His name ...

(1283–1289) and

Athanasius I of Constantinople Athanasius I (1230 – 28 October 1310) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two terms, from 1289 to 1293 and 1303 to 1309. He was born in Adrianople and died in Constantinople. Chosen by the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus , ...

(1289–1293 and 1303–1309) were all monks of the "monastery of Galesios"; Gregory II even wrote a new version of the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

of St. Lazaros. The monastery featured a considerable library and a scriptorium. The area's history as a monastic centre ended when it was captured by the Turks in the early 14th century.

References

Sources

* {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ref={{harvid, ODB History of İzmir Province Byzantine Anatolia Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Asia Geography of the Byzantine Empire Alamandag Landforms of İzmir Province Galesios Ephesus Selçuk District