The Monastery of the Holy Zoni, located on the eastern side of Samos in Vlamari, was built in 1695 by Hieromonk Meletios, who had the desire to build a monastery in honor of the Holy Zoni on the foundations of the old church that existed in the area which bore the same name, but of which he did not know the exact location, nor were there any remains to help him, so he chose roughly the area and built the church in the place where it stands today. In this work he had the help of many lay people, and before a church existed at this location in antiquity there was a temple of the goddess Demeter in the same place.
At the request of the founder Hieromonk Meletios, a seal of the Ecumenical Patriarch Kyrillos of Akarnanos was issued in 1696, according to which the Monastery was recognized as Stavropegial.
Initially, the church and some monastic cells around the church were built to meet the housing needs of the initially few monks. Later, with the increase of monks, the cells multiplied and slowly surrounded the church area, at the same time a fortification wall was built, which protected the holy icons, the holy objects, the collections of texts and the monks themselves from the then frequent (18th 19th century) pirate raids.
The church of the monastery is a vaulted basilica with a dome, while inside it there were wonderful frescoes of the 17th century, of great artistic value, which were, however, destroyed over time to a large extent. Some parts of the frescos have been repaired, while the lower frescoes are recent with minor artistic value.
Above its entrance, the modest marble belfry survives, the inscription of which mentions Abbot Merkourios and bears the date 1751. The marble slab of the Holy Table dates back to 1752 and is the work of the marble sculptor Alexandros from Crete, and is again attributed to the reconstruction program of Abbot Merkourios, according to a relevant inscription.
Prominent in the church is the large silver-plated icon of the Holy Zoni created in 1819 by Ioannis Kousantianos, as well as the stunning wood-carved iconostasis of Abbot Gabriel from 1801, which depicts the sacrifice of Abraham, Adam and Eve, and the Omnipotent God above the Beautiful Gate.
From two inscriptions we know that in 1833 and 1855 renovations and additions were made to the buildings of the monastery. Near the monastery there is a spring and in its eastern part there was a small leper home maintained by the brotherhood. Apart from the Founding seal, the records of the Monastery preserve the seals of the Ecumenical Patriarchs Sophronios (1776), Gregory V (1797) and Kyrillos (1816) which refer to the property of the Monastery and for its preservation.
During its heyday, the Monastery had a press for grapes, bought in 1797, but also the ownership of a salt pan in Psili Ammos, which was dedicated by its owners in 1768. This prosperity is also witnessed by the Monastery's fourteen dependencies and chapels, in Eastern Samos but also opposite the islet of Samiopoula. There were also three dependencies of the Monastery on the opposite coast of Asia Minor. One dependency of the Monastery was the Temple of the Taxiarchs in Malagari which was erected by Abbot Gregory Atmanis at the beginning of the 18th century, and where the Anatoli seminary and the Mavrogenios vocational school later functioned.
The current Metropolitan Church of the city of Samos dedicated to Saint Nicholas and the Church of Saint Theodore of the city of Samos were also dependencies of the Monastery.
The position of the Monastery in the history of the island was also great during the Revolution of 1821 but even more so during the Revolution of 1912. The Monastery was the center of the revolutionary Samians, in fact a relevant photograph of the army corps outside the walls of the Monastery has been preserved. shortly before they started bloody battles against the Turks in the area between the Monastery and Palaiokastro.
In 1996, the 300 year anniversary of the Monastery was celebrated with splendor. A large number of people gathered to venerate a piece of the Holy Zoni of the Mother of God which came from the Monastery of Xenia in Volos for the blessing of the fathers and the faithful of Samos.
However, the ravages of time and human weakness did not treat the Monastery well, so that the building facilities reached a semi-ruined state, with the result that there was a serious danger for the brothers living there. This is how Metropolitan Eusevios took action and from 1997 began the renovation of the Monastery. On June 16, 2013 (Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod) the ceremony of the "restoration of the Holy Altar" was done and the Monastery returned to its former glory.
At the request of the founder Hieromonk Meletios, a seal of the Ecumenical Patriarch Kyrillos of Akarnanos was issued in 1696, according to which the Monastery was recognized as Stavropegial.
Initially, the church and some monastic cells around the church were built to meet the housing needs of the initially few monks. Later, with the increase of monks, the cells multiplied and slowly surrounded the church area, at the same time a fortification wall was built, which protected the holy icons, the holy objects, the collections of texts and the monks themselves from the then frequent (18th 19th century) pirate raids.
The church of the monastery is a vaulted basilica with a dome, while inside it there were wonderful frescoes of the 17th century, of great artistic value, which were, however, destroyed over time to a large extent. Some parts of the frescos have been repaired, while the lower frescoes are recent with minor artistic value.
Above its entrance, the modest marble belfry survives, the inscription of which mentions Abbot Merkourios and bears the date 1751. The marble slab of the Holy Table dates back to 1752 and is the work of the marble sculptor Alexandros from Crete, and is again attributed to the reconstruction program of Abbot Merkourios, according to a relevant inscription.
Prominent in the church is the large silver-plated icon of the Holy Zoni created in 1819 by Ioannis Kousantianos, as well as the stunning wood-carved iconostasis of Abbot Gabriel from 1801, which depicts the sacrifice of Abraham, Adam and Eve, and the Omnipotent God above the Beautiful Gate.
From two inscriptions we know that in 1833 and 1855 renovations and additions were made to the buildings of the monastery. Near the monastery there is a spring and in its eastern part there was a small leper home maintained by the brotherhood. Apart from the Founding seal, the records of the Monastery preserve the seals of the Ecumenical Patriarchs Sophronios (1776), Gregory V (1797) and Kyrillos (1816) which refer to the property of the Monastery and for its preservation.
During its heyday, the Monastery had a press for grapes, bought in 1797, but also the ownership of a salt pan in Psili Ammos, which was dedicated by its owners in 1768. This prosperity is also witnessed by the Monastery's fourteen dependencies and chapels, in Eastern Samos but also opposite the islet of Samiopoula. There were also three dependencies of the Monastery on the opposite coast of Asia Minor. One dependency of the Monastery was the Temple of the Taxiarchs in Malagari which was erected by Abbot Gregory Atmanis at the beginning of the 18th century, and where the Anatoli seminary and the Mavrogenios vocational school later functioned.
The current Metropolitan Church of the city of Samos dedicated to Saint Nicholas and the Church of Saint Theodore of the city of Samos were also dependencies of the Monastery.
The position of the Monastery in the history of the island was also great during the Revolution of 1821 but even more so during the Revolution of 1912. The Monastery was the center of the revolutionary Samians, in fact a relevant photograph of the army corps outside the walls of the Monastery has been preserved. shortly before they started bloody battles against the Turks in the area between the Monastery and Palaiokastro.
In 1996, the 300 year anniversary of the Monastery was celebrated with splendor. A large number of people gathered to venerate a piece of the Holy Zoni of the Mother of God which came from the Monastery of Xenia in Volos for the blessing of the fathers and the faithful of Samos.
However, the ravages of time and human weakness did not treat the Monastery well, so that the building facilities reached a semi-ruined state, with the result that there was a serious danger for the brothers living there. This is how Metropolitan Eusevios took action and from 1997 began the renovation of the Monastery. On June 16, 2013 (Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod) the ceremony of the "restoration of the Holy Altar" was done and the Monastery returned to its former glory.
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