Agia Lávra

Agía Lávra ( Greek : Αγία Λαύρα Καλαβρύτων, holy Lavra ) is an Orthodox monastery in Kalavryta , Greece . It was built in 961 on the Gelmos mountain at an altitude of 961 meters. It is one of the oldest monasteries in the Peloponnese as well as a symbol of the independence of Greece .

Metropolitan Germanos of Patras blesses the flag of the Greek resistance in the monastery of Agía Lávra ( Theodoros Vryzakis , 1865)

history

Agía Lávra was built in 961 on the outskirts of the small town of Kalavryta. In 1585 the Turks burned down the place of prayer completely, in 1600 it was rebuilt. The frescoes of the monastery were completed in 1645 by the icon painter Anthimos. In 1715 Agía Lávra was burned down again and then rebuilt.

Agía Lávra gained international fame in connection with the Greek Revolution. Here on March 25, 1821, the slogan "Freedom or Death!" Was proclaimed by Greek rebels , which marked the beginning of the Greek uprising against the Ottoman occupation and is still the motto of Greece today. On the same day, Germanos of Patras conducted a doxology and took an oath from the Peloponnesian fighter. Then he blessed her revolutionary flag and hoisted it under a plane tree in front of the gates of the monastery.

In 1826 Agía Lávra was burned down again by the troops of the Ottoman general Ibrahim Pasha . After Greece regained independence, the reconstruction of the monastery was completed again in 1850.

On December 14, 1943, the monastery fell victim to the flames again when it was set on fire by German occupation troops of the 117th Jäger Division . This happened during the Kalavryta massacre . Partisans of ELAS directed after unsuccessful negotiations on a prisoner exchange 80 German soldiers back. The Wehrmacht then destroyed Kalavryta and shot at least 674 male residents of the town between the ages of 13 and 65 on December 13, 1943.

today

Today there is a museum on the monastery property . This is where old documents, books, icons and other things are kept. These include, for example, silk fabrics from the 16th century from Smyrna and Constantinople , robes by Germanos of Patras and donated Gospels from Catherine II. There are also various relics there . Among them are the bones of Alexius of Edessa , which were given to Agía Lávra in 1398 by the Byzantine ruler Manuel II .

On a hill opposite the monastery there is an independence monument for the Greek revolutionaries from 1821.

gallery

Germanos of Patras (portrait)
View from the Independence Monument to the monastery (September 2016)
Close up view of the monastery
Catholicon
Side view of the Catholic (September 2016)

Individual evidence

^ Greek Independence Day. . www. britica.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009: “The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry “Freedom or Death” became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. "
^ John McManners: The Oxford illustrated history of Christianity . Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-19-285439-9 , pp. 521-524: "The fact that one of the Greek bishops, Germanos of Old Patras, had enthusiastically blessed the Greek uprising at the onset (25 March 1821) and had thereby helped to unleash a holy war, was not to gain the church a satisfactory, let alone a dominant, role in the new order of things. "
^ History of the Hellenic Nation, v. 12, p. 82
^ Greek Independence Day. . www. britica.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009: “The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry “Freedom or Death” became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. "
^ Charles A. Frazee: The Orthodox Church and independent Greece, 1821-1852 . CUP Archive, 1969, ISBN 0-521-07247-6 , pp. 18-20: "On March 25, Germanos gave the revolution its great symbol when he raised a banner with the cross on it at the monastery of Ayia Lavra."

38.013056 22.081111Coordinates: 38 ° 0 ′ 47 " N , 22 ° 4 ′ 52" E

[1] Greek Independence Day. . www. britica.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009: “The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry “Freedom or Death” became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. "

[2] John McManners: The Oxford illustrated history of Christianity . Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-19-285439-9 , pp. 521-524: "The fact that one of the Greek bishops, Germanos of Old Patras, had enthusiastically blessed the Greek uprising at the onset (25 March 1821) and had thereby helped to unleash a holy war, was not to gain the church a satisfactory, let alone a dominant, role in the new order of things. "

[3] History of the Hellenic Nation, v. 12, p. 82

[4] Greek Independence Day. . www. britica.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009: “The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry “Freedom or Death” became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. "

[5] Charles A. Frazee: The Orthodox Church and independent Greece, 1821-1852 . CUP Archive, 1969, ISBN 0-521-07247-6 , pp. 18-20: "On March 25, Germanos gave the revolution its great symbol when he raised a banner with the cross on it at the monastery of Ayia Lavra."