Monastery Great Meteor

The Monastery of Metamorphosis Sotiros, also known as Great Meteor, is a male monastery located at the highest point of Meteora, at an altitude of 534 meters. It is the largest of the six who continue to be active in Meteora, which since 1988 has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was founded in the 14th century by St. Athanasius of Meteora, and was particularly popular in the mid-16th century. The monastery is located on the top of the Platys Stone and access to it is done through a scale. The monastery was created as a cloister of St. Athanasius of Meteora in the first half of the 14th century. Athanasius built a temple dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which became known as the Virgin of the Meteorite Stone, and created a monastic community in the form of a communion. The student of Ioannis Oresti Palaiologos, who was named after Joseph Ioasaf, built in 1387/88 in the place of the temple new. The monastery with the patron saint of Jeremiah A gained privileges and complete independence, such as the monasteries of Mount Athos. In 1544/5, a new katholikon was built, dedicated to the Metamorphosis of the Savior, at the initiative of Abbot Symeon, integrating the former as a sacred step. During the same period the tower was also built and in 1572 the farmhouse. In 1806 new cells were built. Close to the entrance of the monastery, there is a rooftop tower, which houses the net mechanism, and the cellar of the monastery, which today functions as a museum with everyday objects. Then there is the fireplace, the dining room, the hospital and the nursing home to the east and the Catholic right. Next to the sacred step is the vaulted chapel of Timios Prodromos and to the southwest the single-chapel of Sts Constantine and Helen, which was built in 1789.