Page 160 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Greek Islands

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MONASTERY Did You Know?

OF ST JOHN slits used by the monks
The front gate had
to pour hot oil over
ΜΟΝΉ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΊΟΥ ΊΩΑΝΝΟΥ
EXPERIENCE The Dodecanese ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΥ the monastery.
people attacking
⌂ Hóra, 4 km (2 miles) S of Skála # 8am–1:30pm daily;
4–6pm Tue, Thu & Sun ∑ patmosmonastery.gr
St John was said to have written the Book of
Revelation on Pátmos, and the Monastery of St John
was founded in his name in 1088. A UNESCO World
The Hospitality of
Heritage Site, it remains rich and influential.
most important
frescoes in the chapel
of the Panagía.
A spectacular example of Byzantine religious architecture, the Abraham is one of the
Monastery of St John looks more like a fortress than a holy The monks’
building. It looms over Hóra with defensive walls and forti­ refectory has two
fications of towers and buttresses protecting its religious marble tables
treasures; its treasury, containing over 200 icons, 300 pieces from the Temple
of silverware and a dazzling collection of jewels, is the star of Artemis.
attraction for the thousands of pilgrims and tourists who visit
the site every year. Particularly revered is the 12th­century icon
of St John, housed in the complex’s katholikón
(main church). The walls of the monastery
encircle a number of buildings, including the
tomb of the Blessed Christodoulos, who
founded it in the name of St John.

NIPTÍR CEREMONY
The Orthodox Easter celebrations on
Pátmos are some of the most important
in Greece. Hundreds of people pack Hóra
to watch the Niptír (washing) ceremony
on Maundy Thursday. The abbot of the
Monastery of St John publicly washes
the feet of 12 monks, re-enacting
Christ’s washing of his disciples’ feet
before the Last Supper. The rite was
once performed by the head of the
church, the Byzantine emperors, as
an act of humility.

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