Monastery of St. Stephen

The monastery was founded in the 14th century, but the rock itself became inhabited in the 12th century. The creator of the monastery is considered a descendant of the Kadakuzinos family, monk Anthony. The restorer of the ancient cathedral of the monastery in the middle of the 16th century, and then the second creator was the monk Philotheus. In the same period, approximately in 1545, Patriarch Yeremey declared the monastery patriarchal and independent - this privilege has been in effect for more than 200 years. At the end of the 18th century, a new cathedral was built, dedicated to St. Charalampius, which since the 17th century was considered the second patron (after St. Stephen ) of the monastery.

In addition to the old and new cathedrals, the latest buildings, the monastery has preserved the ancient altar (now a museum), the hearth, stables and cells - all restored. Today, St. Stephen’s Monastery is the only one among the meteors that has a modern access road and a stone bridge located at the same height as the rock.

The old cathedral of the monastery, restored by the monk Philotheus, consists of a main temple and a nave . The latter is a square room connected to the rest of the temple by three vaults, covering the entire width of the temple. The main temple is very voluminous, under a wooden roof, in the east goes into a triangular niche.

The iconography of the Old Cathedral of St. Stephen is now cleaned and restored, is an interesting picturesque complex. The inscription on the western wall of the nave is preserved:

According to this inscription, the iconography of the temple was completed in two stages. The first stage is connected with the work of the abbot of the monastery Mitrofan and hieromonk Gregory. At this time, icon-painting of the altar, the main temple and most of the nave was completed. In the second stage, to which the inscription described above is attributed, the western wall and the lower zone of the columns were finished, which lead from the nave to the main temple. At the same time, the name of the master is named - Nikolai Kastrisio from the city of Stagon. Only the first letter Ζ is preserved from the date. Its ancient reading as ΖΘ, that is, 1510 , is now considered erroneous.

Under the arches of the dome of the altar, the Virgin of Vlachernetissa is depicted between the two archangels and below - the priests. On the walls, in order, are depicted: Conversation of the Apostles , Meeting of Christ with a Samaritan woman, Christmas , Preparing Pentecost , Moses in front of a burning bush, Transfer of the law to Moses, Scene of martyrdom.

The scenes of Christ's life continue in the main temple. On the south wall are the Meeting , Baptism , the Resurrection of Lazarus , the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem . On the inner side of the window of the south wall are the prophets Elisha and Habakkuk. On the western wall are the Last Supper , the washing of the feet and the prayer for the cup and below the Evangelists. Two columns below depict the apostles Paul and Peter .

On the north wall are depicted scenes of Judas Betrayal, Pilate Washing, Crucifixion , Mourning. On the next belt are St. Azariah and the Resurrection . In the lower zone are the figures of St. Artemius , Eustathius , Nikita , Mercury , Procopius , Nestor, Demetrius and George . On the inner side of the window of the north wall are the prophets David and Solomon. On the eastern wall of the nave there are evangelists, the petition of the Mother of God and Christ the Merciful, St. John the Theologian, St. Adrian. On the northern column is Saint Orestes and Saint Luke.

On the western wall of the nave are scenes of the life of the Virgin: Birth, Christmas and the Assumption ^[1] . Below are two archangels and two creators, the martyrdom of St. George. Among the figures of the lower belt of this preserved only the figure of St. Constantine.

The iconography of the first stage of decoration of the Old Temple of the monastery of St. Stephen belongs to the so-called anti-classical direction of post-Byzantine painting. The scenes are many-sided with a rich architectural background, they are characterized by real estate and asymmetrical compositions. In contradiction with the images of scenes, which are characterized by a small size, isolated figures of the lower zones of the walls, on the contrary, look more monumental. The color palette is very saturated. The color is earthy, and the use of vibrant red gives the songs a rhythm. Researchers date the icon painting to the half of the 17th century and attribute it to the skill of painters from the mainland, namely from Linotopia. Iconography of the second stage is characterized by plasticity and a tendency to jewelry. These traits indicate a painter with a good artistic education and can be dated to the last decade of the 17th century.

The new cathedral of the monastery was built in 1798 . A large nave opens from the entrance along the northern wall. Here the system of cover is repeated with nine cruciform vaulted domes, as in the nave of Megala Meteora . The main temple repeats the type of vaulted cruciform, with three niches, four-columned temple with a dome. The temple in the east ends with three semicircular arches and domes. Cathedral of St. Charalampia is now the main temple of the female monastery, therefore it is closed to visitors.

Among the ancient structures, cells, a hearth (a small square building) and an altar have been preserved. The latter is also a small structure, covered with two ellipsoidal domes, now there is a sacristy- museum. The exposition is represented by manuscripts, ceremonial dishes and ancient icons belonging to the master from Crete, Emmanuel Tsane , as well as samples of highly artistic wood carvings.

• The film "The Abode of St. Stephen (Greece, Meteors)" - TV channel "Glas"
• Vitaliotis G. Frescoes of the old cathedral of the monastery of St. Stephen / / 17th symposium of Byzantine and post-Byzantine archeology and art. - Athens. 1997, - 13-14 C.
• Sofianos D. Manuscripts of the monastery of St. Stephen. - Athens, 1986.