Gonia Monastery (), Monastery of Our Lady of Gonia or 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 ...

Hodegetria A Hodegetria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconography, iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of salvation for humankind. The Virgin's head usually inclines t ...

(Μονή της Οδηγήτριας) is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 ...

located 1 km north of

Kolymvari Kolymvari (), also known as Kolymbari (), is a coastal town at the southeastern end of the Rodopou peninsula on the Gulf of Chania. Kolymvari was formerly a municipality in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since t ...

and some 26 km from

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

, on the southeast coast of the Rodopos peninsula in

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 ...

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 ...

, overlooking the

Gulf of Chania The Gulf of Chania is an embayment of the Sea of Crete in the northwestern region of the island of Crete in present-day Greece. One headland forming the Gulf of Chania is the promontory known as the Akrotiri Peninsula. Ancient history In prehis ...

. The monastery was given the same name as

Hodegon Monastery The Hodegon Monastery (also Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria or Monastery of the Hodegoi) in Constantinople was allegedly founded by Saint Pulcheria (399–453), a daughter of Emperor Arcadius. The monastery is considered one of the three m ...

in Constantinople. Both were named in honor of the sacred icon painted by

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

. The icon featured the Virgin and Child. It is traditionally called

("She who shows the Way"). Some churches adopted the name

Madonna of Constantinopli Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

in honor of the

icon.

History

Dedicated to the

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

(feast day: August 15), the monastery was founded in the 9th century and was originally dedicated to

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. It was formerly situated at Menies, on the ruins of the ancient temple of Artemis

Britomartis Britomartis (;) was a Greek goddess of mountains, nets, and hunting who was primarily worshipped on the island of Crete. She was sometimes described as a nymph, but she was more commonly conflated or syncretized with the goddesses Artemis, Athena ...

( Diktynna). The monastery was built in the 13th century adjacent to a cemetery, but it was rebuilt between 1618 and 1634 in its present location, with Venetian influences in its architectural design and adornments. The distinctive fountain in front of the monastery's entrance was built in 1708, and the belfry in 1849. According to monks the present location at Kolymvari was considered safer from attack. Despite this, the monastery was heavily damaged by Ottoman bombardment on many occasions throughout its history including in 1645, 1652, 1822, 1841, and finally in 1867, during the

Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) Cretan Revolt may refer to one of the following uprisings in Crete: Under Venetian rule * Cretan Revolt (1212) of the Hagiostephanites family * Cretan Revolt (1217) of the Skordiles and Melissenos families * Cretan Revolt (1222) of the Melissenos f ...

against the Ottoman Empire. Evidence of this last attack can be evidenced today by the remaining cannonball lodged in the seaside monastery wall. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the monastery was partly destroyed by German bombing and it became one of the most important areas of

Cretan resistance The Cretan resistance (, ) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek resistance, it lasted from 20 May 19 ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Architecture and relics

Gonia Monastery is a

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

-style fortress monastery. Its main church has a

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 ...

, a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, and a number of chapels surrounded by a courtyard. The courtyard area also contains the quarters of the abbot and monks of the monastery, along with the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

and storehouses. Today, the monastery and its museum contain numerous

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 ...

artifacts from the 15th to the 17th centuries, including Cretan icons by Parthenios,

Andreas Ritzos Andreas Ritzos (; 1421—1492; also spelled ''Rico'', ''Ricio'' or ''Rizo'') was a Greek icon painter from Crete. Ritzos is considered one of the founding fathers of the Cretan school. He was affiliated with Angelos Akotantos. Most of his work s ...

, and

Neilos Neilos (; 1600 – 1660), also known as Neilos Kokolitza (), was a Greek painter, monk, and archbishop. He was the archbishop of Kea and Thira. He was a prominent member of the Cretan School. His contemporaries at the time were Ieremias Palla ...

. It also has numerous relics and other rare religious treasures from the Byzantine period, and ancient inscriptions on the walls.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Moni Gonias, Gonia Monastery
Gonia Monastery
Orthodox Crete Monasteries in Crete Buildings and structures in Chania (regional unit) 9th-century establishments in Greece Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece