The 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 ...

Mavriotissa ( el, Παναγία Μαυριώτισσα) is a

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 whi ...

that is built on the spot where troops of

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 ...

military commander

George Palaiologos George Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Γεώργιος Παλαιολόγος) was a Byzantine general, one of the most prominent military commanders and supporters of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). He was the son of the first know ...

encircled the attacking

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

in 1083. It is believed that the emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

(r. 1081-1118) built the monastery there to commemorate the event. Surrounding the region of the lake of Kastoria there are 72

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

es and

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s, Mavriotissa being one of the earliest of them.

History

The monastery was initially named ''Mesonesiotissa'' ("in the middle of the island") and in the beginning of the 17th century it renamed itself to ''Krepenitissa'' ("of Krepeni") after the name of the nearby village Krepeni. Sometime from the middle to late 17th century it changed its name to ''Mavriotissa'' ("of Mavrovo") after the village

Mavrochori Mavrochori ( el, Μαυροχώρι(οv), meaning "black village"; before 1928: Μαύροβον - ''Mavrovon'') is a village on the shores of Lake Orestiada in Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Gr ...

near

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...

. The monastery was a significant landowner in the village of Krepeni.

References

Monasteries in Kastoria (regional unit) Byzantine church buildings in Greece Alexios I Komnenos Byzantine monasteries in Greece Archbishopric of Ohrid {{greece-christian-monastery-stub