Greek Orthodx Monastorey's in Greece

Greek Orthodox Monastorey's in Greece~

Good afternoon my dear friends & followers for today's post I thought I would bring you all into the world of Sarced 
Monastery's. I hope that you will find this as interesting as myself. The one that I am going to go over today is the Holy
Monastery of Great Meteoron. This happens to be the largest of the monasteries which is located at Meteora. 
The Monastery was erected in the mid-14th century and was
the subject of restoration and embellishment projects in the years 1483-1552. The building serves as the main museum for tourists. Now the Katholikon-main church, consecrated in honour of the Transfiguration of Jesus was erected in the middle of the 14th century & 1387-88 and then was decorated in the year 1483 -1552.
The Holy Monastery of Variaam, this is the second largest Monastery in the Meteora complex. The Monastery of Variaam was built in the year 1541 and embellished in the year 1548. 
An Church, was dedicated to the All Saints, is in the Athonite
with an spacious exonarthex is surrounded by a beautiful dome. This Church was built in the year 1541-42 and then was decorated in the year 1548, while the exonarthex was decorated in 1566. The old refectory is used as a museum while the north of the church is the parekklesion of the Three Bishops, that were built in 1627 and then decorated in 1637.
The Holy Monastery of Rousanou-St.Barbar was founded
in the middle of the 16th century and decorated in the 1560.

Monastery of the Holy Trinity

The Holy Monastery
of Stephen in the 16th century

The Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas 

The Monastery of Rousanou
StBarbar

The Holy Monastery of St.Nicholas of Anapusas, which was build in the 16th century. It has a small church that is decorated by the noted Cretan painter 

Theophanis Strelitzas in 1527.

The Holy Monastery of Stephen has a small church that was built in the 16th century and was decorated in 1545. This monastery rests on a plain rather than on the cliffs in Greece. It was sheltered during the Nazis during the World War ll who believed it was harboring insurgents and was abandoned. Nuns took it over and reconstructed to this day.

The Monastery of the Holy Trinity is on top of the cliffs. It was built in the 1475 and then remodeled in 1684-1741. 

In the 9th century, an ascetic group of hermit monks had moved to the ancient pinnacles.They were the first people to inhabit Meteora. They lived in hollows and fissures in the rock towers, some of which reach as high as 1800ft [550m] above the plain. This great height, combined with the sheerness of the cliff walls, kept away all people, however there were the most determined visitor. Which the initially is what lead the hermits to a life of solitude and only meeting on Sunday worship or special days of worship and prayer in a chapel built at the foot of a rock known as the Dhoupiani.  It seems as early as the 11th century AD hermits monks were believed to be living among these caves and cutouts in the rocks below the monasteries for century's. As for the exact dates of the establishment of the monasteries above well that is unknown other than the dates that I have given you folks. However, by the late 11th and early 12th centuries, an rudimentary monastic state had formed called the Skete of Stagoi and was centered around the still-standing church of Theotokos - [Mother of God]. By the end of the 12th century an ascetic community had flocked to Meteora. 

Then in 1344, Athanasios Koinovitis from Mount Athos brought a group of followers to Meteora. These followers from the years 1356 to 1372 is when the found the great Meteoron Monastery on Broad Rock, which were perfect for the monks at the time; they were safe from any political upheaval and had complete control of the entry of the monastery. They only way of reaching the monastery was by climbing a very long ladder, which was drawn up whenever the monks felt threatened. 

Monastery of the Stephen 

At the end of the 14th century, the Byzantine Empire and 800-year reign over northern Greece was being increasingly threatened by Turkish raiders who wanted all control over the fertile plains of Thessaly. Well during these turmoil times in ancient Greece, when the hermit monks were seeing a retreat from the expanding of the Turks occupation in their country, they found the inaccessible rock pillars of the Meteora to be an ideal refuge for them. So more than 2o monasteries were built, beginning in the 14th century to help the people and monks of the time during the threaten of the Turkish raiders into their country. Six of these 20 monasteries still remain today. 

Well were in the 1517, when Nectarios and Theophanes  built the monastery of Variaam, which was reputed to house the finger of St John and the shoulder blade of St Andrew. 

In the ancient times all access to any of the monasteries were originally and deliberately very difficult to impossible to get too! Also requiring either very long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This all required quite a leap of faith during those times. Now the ropes were replaced, so the story goes only '' when the lord let them break'.  In the words of the pilgrims in ancient times ' the net was hoisted up vertically alongside the 1,224 ft cliff [373metres] where the Varlaam Monastery dominates the valley and symbolizes the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction. 

Greek Monks

So were in the 1920's there was an great improvement in the arrangements on the monasteries. At least some would say that. Steps were cut into the rock, making the complex accessible via a bridge from the nearby plateau. Now many would have lots to say about this and I am sure my dear friends and followers you might too. its a hard call to say to do something like that ..

 Sadly during the World War ll the site was bombed and many of the art treasures were stolen. 

Now were in the 17th century, well this primary means a convey of goods and people from these eyries was by the means of baskets and ropes during this times. 

Well were now in 2015 and there are only Six of the Grand 

Monasteries that remain today.

Of these Six, Four are inhabited by men, and two by women. 
Each of the monastery has fewer than 10 people.
All the Monasteries that remain open today are
Now tourist Attractions.  
So I hope you all found this to be interesting 
I did myself, I also found it to be very sad too that these 
Amazing and Beautiful Monasteries are not saved, not even one! for
the monks and nuns of Greece. 
Well anyways I hope that you liked my dears 
Friends & Followers, I love you all very much
YOUR WENDY