Panormitis
| Panormitis (monastery) | |
|---|---|
 Panormitis Monastery |
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| Data | |
| place | Symi Island , South Aegean Region, Rhodes Regional Unit |
| Construction year | 18.-20. century |
| Coordinates | 36 ° 33 '15 " N , 27 ° 50' 45" E |
The Panormitis Monastery ( Greek Ιερά Μονή Πανορμίτου Ierá Moní Panormítou ) is a monastery ( Μοναστήρι Monastíri ) in the southwest of the Greek island of Symi .
The monastery is an important Orthodox pilgrimage site, a religious center and an important tourist attraction on Symi. The monastery is under the patronage of St. Michael the Archangel. It is the second largest monastery in the Dodecanese after the Johannes monastery on Patmos .
Geographical location
The monastery is located in the southwest of the island of Symi , which is otherwise largely uninhabited. The monastery cannot be seen from the sea because it is located on the inner edge of an oval book that has an opening only 150 m wide in a north-westerly direction to the open sea. There is a landing stage in front of the monastery where ships from Rhodes regularly dock. The monastery of Gyalos (main town of Symi) can be reached by land on an 18 km long road. There are regular minibuses there.
history
The history of the monastery goes back a long way, possibly to the 9th century. An origin legend describes (probably against the background of the disputes that have become known as the Byzantine Iconoclasm) that a Symiotin found an icon of the Archangel Michael under a mastic bush in the bay of today's monastery . She took the icon, secretly brought it home, and placed the icon at home. The next morning, however, the picture was gone. When the woman was later back in the bay, she found the icon under exactly the same bush, took it again and put it back at home. The next day, however, the picture was gone again. She went back to the bay and looked under the mastic, and there she found the icon again. A third time she took it into her house and set it up. But even the morning after, the icon was no longer in its place. The woman of the house is now very worried about these miraculous occurrences. Then the Holy Archangel Michael appeared to her in a dream and informed her that his icon should stay in this bay. The woman organized herself to help and a first small chapel was built, consecrated to the Holy Archangel Michael, the icon was placed there, and now it stayed there. And their miraculous work was discovered and known. From this chapel the mighty Panormitis Monastery developed. The existence of the monastery is documented in the 14th century and the monastery was first mentioned in a manuscript from 1460. This manuscript has been lost since 1862. The monastery was then repeatedly destroyed and plundered by Saracens and pirates. In 1775 the monk Neophytos arrived in Panormitis Bay and found the monastery largely destroyed. He set himself the goal of rebuilding the monastery and in fact the monastery was rebuilt, the church was completed in 1783, and the complex slowly took on its present form. The carved iconostasis was finished in 1787, the frescoes inside the church are from 1792. The bell tower was finished in 1911. From 1922 the monastery housed the Symi grammar school, later it also became a retirement home. Today the monastery is a regional religious and cultural center that radiates far beyond the region.
architecture
The center of the current monastery complex dates largely from the 18th century and has recognizable influences from the Venetian style. To the left and right of the Venetian facade from the 18th century, outbuildings were built by the Italians in the 20th century, which today function as guest houses. The facade is dominated by the baroque bell tower , which is one of the highest in Greece. Directly under the tower is the main portal, i. H. the tower also functions as an entrance gate. Behind the tower gate there is a right-angled courtyard in which the center of the monastery stands: the catholicon , which is home to the miraculous icon of St. Michael the Archangel. The external dimensions of the Catholic are 18 m × 8 m, and the building is designed as a basilica with a nave and two aisles, broken by two transepts . In other words, the floor plan and the roof structure each correspond to that of a double cross. The building is classically oriented from west to east (slightly east-northeast aberuded). The main courtyard with the catholicon is entered from the north and immediately - slightly to the left - we encounter the unspectacular, round-arched and ornamented entrance to the basilica, which is lined with two classicist windows on the left and right. There is a round floor window with columns above the entrance and a small round window at the very top. Byzantine frescoes of John the Baptist can be seen on the outer north side of the Catholicons. The corresponding inscriptions give u. a. the penance of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark: "μετανοεῖτε καὶ πιστεύετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ": "Repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1, 15). The interior of the Katholikon is richly painted with icons, large chandeliers hang at the architectural crossings and the floor is made of polished marble. The famous icon of St. Michael the Archangel is in front of the iconostasis on the right. The wings of the building surrounding the Katholikon were on the lower floor earlier v. Chr. a. Economic class. A gallery above was for the monks. In the lower part of the building there is now a reception area with a shop that offers monastery-specific items (icons, brochures, postcards, oil, wine, spices). The monastery also houses two museums: One is the Ecclesiastical Museum (das ΜΟΥΣΕΙΟ), which was founded in 1987 by Archimandrite Gabriel Margaritis and which primarily presents ecclesiastical treasures, history and documents from Symi and the Dodecanese. The other is the Folklore Museum (ΛΑΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΟ ΜΟΥΣΕΙΟ), which guides you through the practical and intellectual worlds of the residents of Symi through the ages with countless exhibits.
