Forty Saints Monastery, Sarandë
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The Monastery of the Forty Saint Martyrs (, , ''Iera Moni ton Agion Saranta Martyron'') is a ruined
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
monastery overlooking the coastal city of
Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; ) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Mediterrane ...
in southern
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. The monastery was erected during the 6th century AD and possibly became for at least one millennium the most important pilgrimage site in the
Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...
region.Hodges, Mitchell, 2014, p. 39 The name of the monastery (Agioi Saranta in Greek meaning ''Forty Saints'') was transferred to the adjacent city of Onchesmos. During the
People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...
(1944-1991) the site was transformed into a military installation. Today only a part of the side walls of its
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
type church survive.


History

The monastery was probably founded during the reign of Byzantine Emperor
Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
(527–565 AD) and remained a shrine until the communist era in Albania (1944-1991). The complex of the monastery included the basilica church as well as hostels for pilgrims and other guests, underground chambers, holy water springs and crypts. In the underground rooms there were a total of forty small chapels, each dedicated to one of the
Forty Martyrs of Sebaste The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty (Ancient/Katharevousa Greek and Ἅγιοι Τεσσαράκοντα; Demotic: Άγιοι Σαράντα) were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII ''Fulminata'' (Armed with Lightning) whose m ...
who were martyred during the Early Christian period.Giakoumis, Vlassas, Hardy, 1997, p. 45 During the High Middle Ages the name of the monastery was transferred to the nearby coastal city of Onchesmos. The later developed into the modern settlement of Sarandë.Giakoumis, Vlassas, Hardy, 1997, p. 148: "The name of the monastery was then transferred to the ancient city of Onchesmos, which developed into the modern town of Ayii Saranda." The monastery remained a major pilgrimage site until the 14th-15th centuries when it suffered repeated destruction due to the Ottoman conquest of the region. However, it attracted again renewed attention in the 18th-19th centuries. The basilica was abandoned and fell into ruins in early 20th century, but part of its high walls were still standing as seen in photographs dating from the early 1930s. The roofless church remained a place of annual religious celebrations on each 9 March. Additionally, a small number of monks appear to be active that time there. During World War II (1944) the monument witnessed devastating destruction and was reduced to shattered ruins: it was either destroyed by German artillery or Allied aircraft. In the 1950s it was demolished during the atheistic campaign launched by the authorities of the
People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...
. The site was transformed into a military base, a fact that prevented the preservation of the monument. It remained as such until the
1997 Albanian civil unrest In 1997, Albania experienced widespread civil unrest due to economic problems caused by the collapse of pyramid schemes. The large sums of money siphoned from the government to fund these schemes led to the collapse of the Democratic Party's ...
.Hodges, 2017, p. 91Giakoumis, Vlassas, Hardy, 1996, p. 148 Much of the massive structure of the basilica has long been demolished today with only parts of its side walls still standing. However, it still retains some religious importance for the local
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
population and pilgrims continue to leave flowers there.


Architecture

The church of the monastery was the largest basilica type church in the region and was comparable to those of the episcopal see at
Nicopolis Nicopolis () or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus (Roman province), Epirus. Its site, near Preveza, Greece, still contains impressive ruins. The city was founded in 29 BC by Octavian in commemoration of his ...
. The main structure of the church seems indicative of late antique Christian architecture while it shares parallels to the seven apsed banqueting hall of the palace of Lausos in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
built in c. 530-550 AD. The basilica was a building of rectangular shape with a single apse, exonarthex and esonarthex, as well as two small exterior tower structures. The interior included a total of six apsidal chambers. Each one was probably roofed either by domes or half domes as indicated by the pilasters that divide them. Traces of paintings dating from late antiquity appear in at least one chamber. Those depictions include two figures with haloes holding open books and a painted arcade. A crypt is located in the western part of the structure.Bowden, 2015, p. 85 A number of dedicatory Greek inscriptions made of broken tile and potsherds have been unearthed on the sides of the structure with some of them dating from the 5th and 6th centuries.


Excavations

In 1913 Greek archaeologist Demetrios Evangelides undertook a survey and excavations at the monastery.Hodges, 2007, p. 19 During the 1920s Italian archaeologist Luigi Maria Ugolini published the first research about the basilica of the monastery in which he mentioned it as among the finest religious monuments he had studied in Albania. A survey conducted in recent years offers details about its changing architectural styles in addition to its crypts and decoration.


References


Sources

* * * * * {{Religious Cultural Monuments in Vlorë County Buildings and structures in Sarandë Byzantine church buildings in Albania Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Cultural Monuments of Albania Destroyed churches in Albania Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Albania Medieval_Epirus Christian monasteries in Albania