Gonia Monastery ( el, Μονή Γωνιάς), Monastery of Our Lady of Gonia or Monastery of

Panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...

Hodegetria A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of s ...

(Μονή της Οδηγήτριας) is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

located 1 km north of

Kolymvari Kolymvari ( el, Κολυμβάρι, Δήμος Κολυμβαρίου), also known as Kolymbari ( el, Κολυμπάρι), is a coastal town at the southeastern end of the Rodopou peninsula on the Gulf of Chania. Kolymvari was formerly a munici ...

and some 26 km from

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

, on the southeast coast of the Rodopos peninsula in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, overlooking the

Gulf of Chania The Gulf of Chania is an embayment of the Sea of Crete in the northwestern region of the island of Crete in present-day Greece. One headland forming the Gulf of Chania is the promontory known as the Akrotiri Peninsula. Ancient history In prehistor ...

. The monastery was given the same name as

Hodegon Monastery The Hodegon Monastery (also Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria or Monastery of the Hodegoi) in Constantinople was allegedly founded by Saint Pulcheria (399–453), a daughter of Emperor Arcadius. The monastery is considered one of the three mai ...

in Constantinople. Both were named in honor of the sacred icon painted by Luke the Evanglist. The icon featured the Virgin and Child. It is traditionally called

("She who shows the Way"). Some churches adopted the name Madonna of Constantinopli in honor of the

icon.

History

Dedicated to the

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic_Mariology#Dogmatic_teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and d ...

(feast day: August 15), the monastery was founded in the 9th century and was originally dedicated to St. George. It was formerly situated at Menies, on the ruins of the ancient temple of Artemis

Britomartis Britomartis (; grc-gre, Βριτόμαρτις) was a Greek goddess of mountains and hunting, who was primarily worshipped on the island of Crete. She was sometimes believed to be an oread, or a mountain nymph, but she was often conflated or sy ...

( Diktynna). The monastery was built in the 13th century adjacent to a cemetery, but it was rebuilt between 1618 and 1634 in its present location, with Venetian influences in its architectural design and adornments. The distinctive fountain in front of the monastery's entrance was built in 1708, and the belfry in 1849. According to monks the present location at Kolymvari was considered safer from attack. Despite this, the monastery was heavily damaged by Ottoman bombardment on many occasions throughout its history including in 1645, 1652, 1822, 1841, and finally in 1867, during the

Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) Cretan Revolt may refer to one of the following uprisings in Crete: Under Venetian rule * Cretan Revolt (1212) of the Hagiostephanites family * Cretan Revolt (1217) of the Skordiles and Melissenos families * Cretan Revolt (1222) of the Melissenos f ...

against the Ottoman Empire. Evidence of this last attack can be evidenced today by the remaining cannonball lodged in the seaside monastery wall. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the monastery was partly destroyed by German bombing and it became one of the most important areas of

Cretan resistance The Cretan resistance ( el, Κρητική Αντίσταση) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Architecture and relics

Gonia Monastery is a Venetian-style fortress monastery. Its main church has a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

, a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, and a number of chapels surrounded by a courtyard. The courtyard area also contains the quarters of the abbot and monks of the monastery, along with the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

and storehouses. Today, the monastery and its museum contain numerous

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 ...

artifacts from the 15th to the 17th centuries, including Cretan icons by Parthenios,

Andreas Ritzos Andreas Ritzos ( el, Ανδρέας Ρίτζος 1421-1492) also known as (Rico, Ricio, Rizo). He was a Greeks, Greek icon painter, from Crete. Ritzos is considered one of the founding fathers of the Cretan School. He was affiliated with Angel ...

, and Neilos. It also has numerous relics and other rare religious treasures from the Byzantine period, and ancient inscriptions on the walls.

References

{{commons category-inline, Moni Gonias, Gonia Monastery Monasteries in Crete Buildings and structures in Chania (regional unit) 9th-century establishments in Greece Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece