Monastery of Great Meteoron

Monastery of Great Meteoron
Religion
Affiliation	Eastern Orthodox
Location
Location	Greece
Coordinates
Elevation	613 m (2,011 ft)

From right to left: the Great Meteoron, the Devil's Tower, Ypsilotera, and a partial view of the Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas

The Monastery of Great Meteoron (Greek: Μεγάλο Μετέωρο) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery that is part of the Meteora monastery complex in Thessaly, central Greece. It is situated on top of a rock called Meteora or Platylithos, which is 415 metres above the Pineios valley floor.

History

The monastery was founded by Athanasius the Meteorite in 1356, sponsored by the local lord Simeon Uroš, based in nearby Trikala, who that same year proclaimed himself Emperor of Serbs and Greeks following the death of Stefan Dušan. During the ensuing century the region fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, which lasted until the Convention of Constantinople (1881) by which Thessaly was taken over by the Kingdom of Greece.

Emilianos (Vafidis) was the abbot of the Monastery of Great Meteoron from 1961 to 1973, when he moved to Simonopetra and became the abbot there. His disciple Alexios, later known as Alexios of Xenophontos, then became the abbot of Great Meteoron from 1973 to 1976. In 1976, Alexios moved to Xenophontos Monastery.

Library

The Great Meteoron has the largest manuscript collection in Meteora. Out of 1,124 codices that were catalogued by N. Veis at the six Meteora monasteries, 610 were recorded at the Great Meteoron.

Nearby attractions

The Devil's Tower (), a large towering rock, is located directly to the south of the monastery. It is next to the ruins of a former monastery on Ypsilotera Rock ().

External links

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