Hosios Loukas () is a historic walled

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

situated near the town of Distomo, in

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

and art, and has been listed on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s since 1990, along with the monasteries of Nea Moni and Daphnion.

History

The monastery of Hosios Loukas is situated at a scenic site on the slopes of Mount Helicon. It was founded in the early 10th century AD by the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

(Greek: ''Hosios'') Luke of Steiris (Greek: ''Lukas''), whose relics are kept in the monastery to this day. St Luke (not to be confused with the Evangelist author of the Gospel of Saint Luke), was a hermit who died on 7 February 953. He is famous for having predicted the conquest of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

by Emperor Romanos. It was unclear if he was referring to Romanos I, the emperor at the time. However the island was actually reconquered by Nicephorus Phocas under Romanos II. It is believed that it was during the latter's reign (959-963) that the monastery's Church of the Theotokos ('' Panagia'') was constructed. The main shrine of the monastery is the tomb of St. Luke, originally situated in the vault, but later placed at the juncture of the two churches. The monastery derived its wealth (including funds required for construction) from the fact that the relics of St. Luke were said to have exuded ''myron'', a sort of perfumed oil which produced healing miracles. Pilgrims hoping for miraculous help were encouraged to sleep by the side of the tomb in order to be healed by incubation. The

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s around the tomb represent not only St. Luke himself, but also

hegumen 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 ...

Philotheos offering a likeness of the newly built church to the saint. The saint Nicholas the Pilgrim, a local shepherd, lived for some time in the second half of the eleventh century in the monastery until he was expelled due to his abnormal behaviour. Under the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

in 1206, the legate Benedict of Porto gave Hosios Loukas to the canons of the Holy Sepulchre.

Architecture

The church

The Hosios Loukas, the oldest in the complex, is the only church known with certainty to have been built in the tenth century in its site in mainland Greece. This centralized parallelogram-shaped building is the oldest example of the cross-in-square type in the country; its plan closely follows that of '' Lips Monastery'' 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 ...

. The walls are opus mixtum (part brick, part stone, part marble) and display curious pseudo-kufic patterns. The Hosios Loukas adjoins a larger cathedral church, or '' Katholikon'', tentatively dated to 1011-12. The Katholikon is the earliest extant domed-octagon church, with eight piers arranged around the perimeter of the '' naos'' (

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

). The hemispherical dome (without a drum) rests upon four squinches which make a transition from the octagonal base under the dome to the square defined by the walls below. The main cube of the church is surrounded by galleries and chapels on all four sides.

Decoration

Hosios Loukas is the largest of three monasteries surviving from the Middle Byzantine period in Greece. It differs from the Daphnion and Nea Moni in that it is dedicated to a single military saint. St. Lukes' prophecy about the reconquest of Crete is commemorated by the image of

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

on the exterior wall of the Panagia church: Joshua was considered a model "warrior of the faith", whose help was especially effective in the wars waged against the Arabs. The Katholikon contains the best preserved complex of

s from the period of the Macedonian Renaissance. However, the complex is not complete: the original image of Christ Pantocrator inside the dome is missing, as are the figures of archangels normally placed between the upper windows. There is evidence that the monastery was reputed all over Byzantium for its lavish decoration, liberally applied to all surfaces. Apart from revetment, carving, gold and silver plate,

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, and mosaics (especially imposing on curving surfaces), the interior featured a choice assortment of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

s, silk curtains, and altar cloths. Only a fraction of these items are still in situ, most notably colored marble facings and window grilles. Notwithstanding the losses, the Katholikon "gives the best impression available anywhere today of the character of a church interior in the first centuries after the end of Iconoclasm".

The Burial Crypt

Beneath the great domed Katholikon is a burial

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

, accessible only by a stairwell on the southern side. The crypt has three distinct areas: the entrance way; the main interior space which includes nine groin-vaulted bays and a sanctuary with a vaulted bay and an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

; and three vaulted passages, referred to formerly as bone vaults. The crypt’s frescoes were until recently covered in hundreds of years of dust and hidden but in the 1960s the crypt underwent a cleaning by the Greek Archaeological Service which revealed their remarkably well preserved state with the exceptions of the

which has lost most of its plaster exposing brick and stone, as well as the entrance vault and groin vaults which have suffered slight damage from water seepage and minor vandalism, mostly on the lower

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

s near the entrance. The crypt contains frescoes on the entryway and its vault, eight

s around the walls with depictions of ''Christ’s Passion'' and ''Resurrection'', and forty medallion portraits of apostles,

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s and holy men,

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

s including Philotheos, as well as numerous inscriptions. C.L. Connor claims it has "the most complete programme of wall paintings surviving from the Middle

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period." It is believed that most if not all of the

frescoes were painted after 1048 AD and the death of Theodore Leobachus, a wealthy, government elite believed to have been one of the prominent patrons and who later in life became the

of Hosios Loukas. The

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

of the

contains a prosthesis niche, an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, and a chancel barrier which all indicate that the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

was likely celebrated here as part of the services of burial and commemoration of revered religious figures, or as part of the ceremonies relating to the healing cult of Saint Luke. When Hosios Loukas was frequented by

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s or members of Saint Luke’s healing cult, visitors would sleep not only in the Katholikon, but in the

itself where the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

was kept along with two others, believed to be

s. Saint Luke was believed to have been a miraculous healer, levitator, miraculous feeder and prophesier during his lifetime; after his death, all of the miracles associated with him involved the healing power of his tomb. Connor says that accounts in ''The Vita of St. Luke,'' written by an anonymous

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, indicate that “healing agents” associated with the

include but are not limited to exposure to “oil from the lamp above the tomb, moisture exuded from the tomb, and dreams experienced when sleeping near the tomb in the practice called incubation.” The

was frequented before and after the completion of the complex, but following completion it became the focal point of the miracle cult of Saint Luke. There is evidence that some wishing for miracles stayed for periods of up to six days near the

or in adjacent rooms.

Gallery

File:Hosios Loukas Katholikon (nave, South-West squinch) - Baptism - detail 02.jpg, Interior mosaic with procession of angels File:Hosios Loukas (south west chapel, groin vault) - anonymous saints.jpg, Fresco of the interior depicting martyrs File:Hosios Loukas Katholikon (Dome) - Pantocrator 01.jpg, View of the dome File:Hosios Loukas (narthex) - center ceiling 02 (October, 2014) by shakko.jpg, Clockwise:
St John, Archangel Gabriel, Virgin Mary, Archangel Michael
(narthex mosaic) File:Hosios Loukas (narthex) - North ceiling - detail 02 (S.John).jpg, St John File:Hosios Loukas (narthex) - Ceiling, 2nd arch (S.Mark) 02.jpg, St Mark File:Hosios Loukas (narthex) - center ceiling - detail 01 (S.Michael).jpg, St Michael File:Hosios Loukas (narthex) - East wall, 3rd arch (S.Paul) 01.jpg, St Paul File:Hosios Loukas (diakonikon, arch) - Dionysius Areopagite.jpg, Dionysius the Areopagite File:Hosios Loukas (south cross-arm) - Zacharias by shakko.jpg, Zacharias File:GR-osios-loukas-barbara-kap.jpg, View of the lower church (crypt) File:Hosios Loukas Crypt (west groin-vault).jpg, Clockwise:
St Bartholomew, St John the Theologian, St Peter, St Paul (crypt fresco) File:Hosios Loukas Crypt (south west groin-vault).jpg, Clockwise:
St Theoctistus, St Maximus, St Abramius, St Dorotheus File:Hosios Loukas Crypt - Doubting Thomas 01.jpg, Touching of Thomas/Antipascha
(crypt fresco) File:Hosios Loukas Crypt (east groin-vault) - Andrew.jpg, St Andrew File:Hosios Loukas Crypt (east groin-vault) - Luke.jpg, St Luke File:Hosios Loukas (diakonikon) - Fiery furnace 01.jpg, Three youths in the fiery furnace File:Hosios Loukas (narthex) - East wall, right (Harrowing of Hell) 01 (October, 2014) by shakko.jpg

References

Sources

* Efthalia Rentetzi, ''Il Monastero di Hosios Lukas in Focide'', in Ειρμός, n. 1, 2004, Αποστολική Διακονία, pp. 227–382, ISSN 1109-9135
Weblink
. * Efthalia Rentetzi, ''Elements of Classical Style in the mosaic decoration of Hosios Lukas Monastery Phocis, Greece'' in ANISTORITON: Art History, Volume 9, June 2005, Section O052

. * Efthalia Rentetzi, ''Mosaici del monastero di Hosios Lukas in Focide e della basilica marciana: parentele stilistiche'', in Arte - Documento, n. 16, 2002, pp. 66–71, ISSNT IT 1121-0524. * Demus, Otto, ''Byzantine Mosaic Decoration: Aspects of Monumental Art in Byzantium'', Boston, MA: Boston Book and Art Shop, 1955. * Ousterhout, Robert, "Churches and Monasteries," in ''The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies'', edited by Robin Cormack, Elizabeth Jeffreys and John Haldon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. * Cormack, Robin, "Wall Paintings and Mosaics," in ''The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies'', edited by Robin Cormack, Elizabeth Jeffreys and John Haldon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. * Oikonomides, Nicholas. "The First Century of the Monastery of Hosios Loukas," in ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'', vol. 46 (1992).

External links

Official Web Site of Hosios Loukas Monastery

* High-resolution 360° Panoramas o
Hosios Loukas , Art Atlas
{{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 10th century 11th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Byzantine church buildings in Central Greece Monasteries in Central Greece Eastern Orthodox church buildings World Heritage Sites in Greece Buildings and structures in Boeotia Tourist attractions in Central Greece Macedonian Renaissance architecture 11th-century churches in Greece Byzantine monasteries in Greece Church buildings with domes 11th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire