Mega Spilaio (), formally the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Ιερά Μονή Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου),
is a
Greek Orthodox monastery near
Kalavryta, in the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
peninsula in southern
Greece.
History
The monastery is located in a large cave in a sheer cliff, where the western slopes of
Mount Chelmos drop down to the gorge of the
Vouraikos river, some northwest of the town of
Kalavryta.
The cave was known in antiquity, and the geographer
Pausanias reports that the daughters of
Proetus found refuge there during their madness.
In the first Christian centuries, Christian hermits occupied the cave.
According to tradition, the monastery is one of the oldest in Greece, reputedly founded in 362 by the
Thessalonian brothers Symeon and Theodore, who with the help of Euphrosyne (a local shepherdess, honoured as saint for her part in these events) discovered in the cave the icon of 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 " ...
painted by
Luke the Evangelist.
Its medieval history under
Byzantine and
Latin rule is obscure. The monastery gained prominence only from about 1354, when it served as the residence of the Orthodox
Metropolitan of Patras
The Metropolis of Patras ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Πατρών) is a metropolitan see of the Church of Greece in the city of Patras in Achaea, Greece. The see traces its origins to its patron saint, Saint Andrew, in the 1st cent ...
, since the city was
still occupied by the Latins and the seat of a
Latin archbishopric. The complex suffered large-scale destructions in 849, 1400, and 1640, when it was comprehensively rebuilt.
Several of the monks became members of the ''
Filiki Etaireia
Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''retr ...
'' and took part in the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
.
In 1934, the ''
katholikon
A ''katholikon'' or catholicon ( gr, καθολικόν) or ''sobor'' ( Slavonic: съборъ) refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church:
* The cathedral of a diocese.
* The major church building (temple) of a monastery corre ...
'' was destroyed in a fire, and replaced by a new church in 1937.
On 8 December 1943, the German
117th Jäger Division destroyed the monastery and executed 22 monks and visitors as part of
reprisals that culminated a few days later with the
Massacre of Kalavryta.
The monastery was rebuilt from the ground after the war, and now comprises an eight-storey complex set in the high cliff face.
A male monastery, it celebrates on
15 August
Events Pre-1600
* 636 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The Battle of Yarmouk between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate begins.
* 717 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik begins the Second Arab Siege of Const ...
(the day of the
Dormition),
14 September
Events Pre-1600
*AD 81 – Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus.
* 629 – Emperor Heraclius enters Constantinople in triumph after his victory over the Persian Empire.
* 786 – "Night o ...
, and
18 October
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation.
* 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...
(
Luke the Evangelist and the ''
ktetor
''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...
s'').
References
Sources
*
{{Authority control
Christian monasteries established in the 4th century
Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece
Buildings and structures in Achaea
Tourist attractions in Western Greece
20th-century architecture in Greece