The Monastery of

Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...

Mavriotissa () is a

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 ...

that is built on the spot where troops of

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 ...

military commander

George Palaiologos George Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; ) was a Byzantine aristocrat and general. One of the earliest known members of the Palaiologos dynasty, he was a capable military commander who played a critical role in helping his brother-in-law Alexios I ...

encircled the attacking

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

in 1083. It is believed that the emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

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

lake of Kastoria Lake Orestiada or Lake of Kastoria ({{langx, el, Λίμνη Ορεστιάδα) is a lake in the Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia, northwestern Greece. It spreads out in a natural basin, surrounded by mountains and is the remnant of a huge anc ...

there are 72

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

es and

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

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 Krepeni () is a village near the lake Orestiada in Macedonia, Greece, part of the Makednoi municipal unit of Kastoria municipality. History Ancient Greece Three necropolises of different dates have been identified in the area. The oldest is ...

. Sometime from the middle to late 17th century it changed its name to ''Mavriotissa'' ("of Mavrovo") after the village

Mavrochori Mavrochori (), meaning "black village"; before 1928: Μαύροβον – ''Mavrovon'') is a village on the shores of Lake Orestiada in Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. Today Mavrochori is a tourist destination for a quiet vacatio ...

near

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

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

References

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