Description of the attraction
Among the attractions of the Greek city of Kalavryta and its environs, the Makelaria Monastery deserves special attention. It is located about 30 km from Kalavrita, on the right bank of the Selinuntas River, next to the village of Lapanagoi, on the top of a steep scenic cliff and offers its guests fantastic panoramic views and an incredibly relaxing atmosphere of peace and quiet.
Makelaria Monastery is one of the oldest Orthodox shrines in Greece. It was founded in 532 by decree of the talented commander of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I Belisarius, who thus tried to atone for the brutal suppression of the notorious Nika uprising in Istanbul (the largest riot in the history of Constantinople and Byzantium). Initially, the holy abode was called “the monastery of the Virgin Mary of Litostrotiotis” (probably because of its location on the top of a cliff). The monastery received its modern name already in the second half of the 15th century after the brutal massacre carried out here by the Turks in 1458.
The main Catholicon of the monastery is the Church of the Holy Trinity, made in the Byzantine style. On the luxurious wooden iconostasis, you will see the main relic of the monastery and a wonderful example of Byzantine art - the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. They say that this icon has a very original feature: no matter where you are in the temple, it seems that the Mother of God is watching you. Next to the katholikon there is a small church of the Assumption, and just below the monastery complex in a small cave there is another temple - the Chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord, where a healing spring beats above the altar right from the rock all year round.
