In the shadow of the steep rock in Helmos stands one of the most important pilgrimages of Orthodoxy in the Greek area, the Holy Monastery of Megalo Spileio.
The rocky face is awe-inspiring. Anyone who gets to know the history of the emblematic monument, will encounter its Byzantine past which is inextricably linked to today thanks to the extremely important work of preserving the frescoes of the catholicon of the Holy Monastery of the Great Cave of Kalavryta which was completed at the end of 2023 and brought to light important evidence that enriches our knowledge.
The important conservation project started in 2021 – as the director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia, Anastasia Koumousis, told “ET” – and was included in the NSRF “Western Greece 2014-2020”.
The conservation work on the Holy Monastery of Megalo Spileio in Helmos (right) started in 2021.
The fresco decoration that was preserved had a total area of 433 sq.m. According to tradition, the Monastery of the Great Cave was founded in the times following the end of the Iconoclasm with an initial core of a large cave in which the Catholic Church developed. However, the establishment of an organized monastery is considered to have taken place in the 13th century. The chrysobull of the emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, with which in 1348 the immovable property that the Monastery possessed since the time of Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328) is validated, is the oldest surviving historical evidence for the Great Cave.
“However, until the completion of the conservation work, there were no archaeological evidences of its Byzantine phase, with the exception of the marble floor of the Catholicos which is a work of the late Byzantine period (14th century)” notes Mrs. Koumousi and points out that during the work they came to light evidence documenting the existence of the Catholic, as early as the mid-Byzantine period and probably in the 11th century. Also, during the conservation work, it was documented that the Catholic of the Byzantine years had painted decoration, which was created in 1653 by the painter-priest Manuel Andronis from Nafplion.
The current Catholic Church of the Monastery dates back to the times immediately following the disastrous arson by Ottoman soldiers, on September 4, 1640. The written inscription giving the above information was published by G. Sotiriou in 1918 and was found in the Narthex during the maintenance work. Loyal to the Byzantine tradition, Manuel Andronis draws his models selectively from Cretan painting, but also from the School of Northwest Greece. A special feature of his art is the use of halos with a relief decoration of nine rosettes. “The revelation of figures of saints in the narthex with the characteristic relief halos overturned the prevailing opinion that the frescoes of the narthex are not the work of Andronis” also notes the Dr. archaeologist-Byzantineologist Anastasia Koumousi.
The remarkable painting ensemble of the Catholicos of the Great Cave is part of the heyday of church painting in the Peloponnese during the 17th century, a time of general economic recovery in the Ottoman Empire which also affected the enslaved Greeks.
The fresco decoration that was preserved had a total area of 433 sq.m.
OPENING ON SUNDAY
The fire of 1934 caused irreparable damage to the frescoes. “The original colors have been lost and the whole gives the image of monochrome” notes Ms. Koumousi, emphasizing the importance of the conservation project for the history of the monastery which brought to light documents from the Middle Byzantine and Late Byzantine periods, which will be presented in detail on Sunday, March 3 following the Thyranoksia of the Catholicos of the Byzantine Monastery of Megalo Spileio in the presence of the Minister of Culture Linas Mendonis. The Holy service will be performed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Hieronymos of Kalavryta & Aegialia.
Bad weather Emil: The streets in Nafplio are “rivers” – Shops were flooded [Βίντεο]
Visitable 4 shipwrecks in Alonissos and Pagasitikos
Non-state universities: Accepted in principle by the Committee on Educational Affairs the bill
#hagiographies #Monastery #Megalo #Spileio
