The Monastery of San Giovanni Theristis , is an

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

monastery in

Bivongi Bivongi ( Calabrian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria in the Stilaro Valley, at the feet of the Mon ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

( province of Reggio), southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is part of the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...

Diocese for Italy.

History

Calabria was part of the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

until the 11th century. A Greek monk, St.

John Theristus John Theristus ( it, Giovanni Theristis; 1049–1129) was an Italian Byzantine monk, called Theristus or “Harvester”. Despite dying almost a century after the Great Schism of 1054, he is notably a saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churc ...

, operated in the

Stilaro Valley The Vallata dello Stilaro is a valley in the Province of Reggio Calabria of Southern Italy. It takes its name from river that flow in the area, the Stilaro. The principal settlements present in the valley are Bivongi, Monasterace, Pazzano and ...

during the 9th century. His ''aghiasma'' ("holy font") became a popular center of local pilgrimage, and here a Byzantine monastery was founded in the 11th century. After the

Norman conquest of southern Italy The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1139, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern th ...

, it developed as one of the most important

Basilian Basilian may refer to a number of groups who are followers of Saint Basil the Great and specifically to: * Basilian monks (founded c. 356), monks who follow the rule of Saint Basil the Great, in modern use refers to monks of Eastern Catholic Chur ...

monasteries in southern Italy, maintaining its splendour until the 15th century, with a rich library and numerous art treasures. It lived a phase of decline until 1579, when the founding of the Basilian Order of Italy restored it as the main Basilian center in southern Calabria. However, in the 17th century

brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded usa ...

damaged the monastery, and the monks decided to moved to a bigger monastery outside the walls of

Stilo , image_skyline = Stilo vecchio 2.jpg , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_shield = Stilo-Stemma.png , shield_alt = , image_map = , map_alt = , m ...

, carrying with them the relics of the namesake saint. In the early 19th century, after the

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

conquest of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

, it was acquired by the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of Bivongi, who sold it to private owners. In 1980 it was sold back to the municipal authority and, in the 1990s, restored to the Italian Basilian Order. In 2001, the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

Bartholomew I Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the '' ...

visited the monastery and returned here the saint's relic from Stilo. In July 2008, the city council of Bivongi has granted the use of the church for 99 years to the newly formed Romanian Orthodox Church in Italy.

Description

The edifice is an example of transition between the

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 ...

and Norman styles in architecture in southern Italy. Norman elements include the four corner pilasters closed by four arches, which support the dome, two of them being ogival. Clearly Byzantine is the exterior, in particular in the external walls, in the fake columns of the apse, which forms ogival arches, and in the 16 small columns decorating the dome's tambour. The interior also houses traces of Byzantine frescoes, such as that portraying St. John Theristis.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Italy Buildings and structures in the Province of Reggio Calabria Greek Orthodox monasteries Byzantine sacred architecture Vallata dello Stilaro Monasteries in Calabria