The Agathonos Monastery () is a

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 ...

male monastery in

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

, Central Greece. The monastery is located on the northern slopes of

Mount Oeta Mount Oeta (; , polytonic , ''Oiti'', also transcribed as ''Oite'') is a mountain in Central Greece. A southeastern offshoot of the Pindus range, it is high. Since 1966, the core area of the mountain is a national park, and much of the rest has ...

, some 3 km west of the town of

Ypati Ypati () is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, central peninsular Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 257.504 ...

. The monastery's ''

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon () or ''sobor'' () refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major Church (building), church building (temple) of a monastery corresponding to a conventual ...

'' dates to the 15th century, which is also when the monastery was probably founded, although it may have antecedents as early as 1271, when the ruler of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

John I Doukas John I Doukas (), List of Latinised names, Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his own death in 1 ...

, received horses in the locality. The ''katholikon'' is of the Athonite variety of the

cross-in-square A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan was the dominant form of church architecture in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome. Architecture Archite ...

church with two

conch Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

, and exonarthex, with four attached chapels on each corner. The main church is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and the chapels to the Transfiguration (southeast), the Holy Apostles (northeast),

Saint Charalambos Saint Charalambos or Haralambos () was an early Christian priest in Magnesia on the Maeander, a city in Asia Minor, in the diocese of the same name. His name means ''glowing with joy'' in Greek. He lived during the reign of Septimius Severus ...

(northwest), and Saint John (southwest). Its interior decoration dates to three clearly discernible phases: the 16th–17th centuries, the 18th century, and the 20th century. The monastery served as a refuge for Greek rebels during the early stages of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, and was burned down by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

, with the ''katholikon''s roof and dome being rebuilt afterwards. The rest of the monastery buildings are of more recent construction, with the originals having been destroyed. In 1959, the alleged tomb of St. Agathon was discovered in the south wall of the ''katholikon''. The noted Greek Resistance member Germanos Dimakos was abbot (''

hegumenos Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns ...

'') of the monastery until 1940. Since 1985, the monastery also houses the Oiti Natural History Museum (Μουσείο Φυσικής Ιστορίας Οίτης), dedicated to the geology, climate, flora and fauna of Mount Oeta and its national park.

References

Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece Buildings and structures in Phthiotis 15th-century churches in Greece Christian monasteries established in the 15th century Ypati {{coord, 38, 52, 02, N, 22, 12, 19, E, region:GR-06, display=title

See also

References