The monastery of Heliou Bomon ( gr, Ἡλίου Βωμῶν, , altars of the Sun) was active during the middle

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 ...

period, in the 10th–12th centuries, located in modern

Kurşunlu Kurșunlu, formerly Karacaviran, is a town and district of Çankırı Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of tr ...

. Heliou Bomon is first attested in the 10th century, although

Raymond Janin Raymond Janin, A.A. (31 August 1882 – 12 July 1972) was a French Byzantinist. An Assumptionist priest, he was also the author of several significant works on Byzantine studies Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanitie ...

has suggested that it is identical with the Elaiobomoi ("olive altars") monastery, mentioned in the 9th century. In the 12th century, after a period of decline, it was renovated by the ''

mystikos The ''mystikos'' ( el, μυστικός, "the secret one") was an important Byzantine office of the imperial chancery from the 9th through to the 15th centuries. Its initial role is unclear; he was probably the Byzantine emperor's private secretary. ...

'' Nikephoros, who rebuilt it and restored to it its confiscated estates with the financial assistance of Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...

(). Originally a

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...

monastery, it now became independent, and in 1162 Nikephoros issued its new regulations (''

typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; gr, , "that of the prescribed form"; Slavonic: Тvпико́нъ ''Typikonə'' or Оуставъ, ''ustavə'') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite of ...

''), modelled on those of

Theotokos Euergetis The monastery of Theotokos Euergetis ( gr, Θεοτόκος Εὐεργέτις, , Theotokos the Benefactress) was a monastery in the European suburbs of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, established in 1049 and surviving until the 13th century ...

and

Saint Mamas Saint Mammes (Mamas, Mammas, Mammet) of Caesarea ( el, Μάμας; french: Mammès; it, Mamante; es, Mamés; pt, São Mamede) was a child-martyr of the 3rd century, who was martyred at Caesarea. His parents, Theodotus and Rufina, were also ...

. The new regulations limited the number of monks to twenty, both at the monastery itself as well as in its dependency ('' metochion'') in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Heliou Bomon was apparently also known, or at some point united with, a monastery known as "Elegmoi", which is also first mentioned in the 10th century. The monastery was located in

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

, at the modern village of

, and was part of the monastic community of the

Bithynian Olympus Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

. Emperor

Michael V Kalaphates Michael V Kalaphates ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ Καλαφάτης) was Byzantine emperor for four months in 1041–1042. He was the nephew and successor of Michael IV and the adoptive son of Michael IV's wife Empress Zoe. He was popularly called " ...

was confined there after his overthrow in 1042. In the late 12th century, the abbot (''

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 ...

'') of the monastery became head of the monks of Mt. Olympus. According to Cyril Mango the surviving, 12th-century church of St. Aberkios at Kurşunlu is to be identified with the monastery's church erected by Nikephoros the ''mystikos''.

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