Museum on Saint Dionysios Zakynthos

After the devastating earthquake of 1997 that caused serious damage to the Monastery of Strofades, all the heirlooms and icons were transferred to the Monastery of Agios Dionysios in Zakynthos. The new church museum was founded in 2000 and is located right next to the church of Agios Dionysios in the city of Zakynthos. Most of the icons that decorate the museum are from Cretan painters who create them in Crete or Zakynthos after the capture of Crete by the Turks in 1669. Many of them also belong to Zakynthian artists, most like Koutouzis and Kantounis. Among them are four icons of Koutouzis depicting the life of St. Dionysios and a Cretan style depicting Jesus among the hierarchs. The oldest picture is the Virgin of Thalassomachoussa from the 13th century, which according to tradition had been thrown into the sea during the period of iconoclasm and reached the waves in the Monastery of Strofades. Admirable icons are those of the Virgin Mary, “Panta Xara“, St. Theodore of Stratilatis, St. George, the Annunciation and many others.In the new museum also displays old and rare versions of functional books of the 16th-18th century. Finally, you can meet a rich collection of priestly vestments that the clergy wore during the Divine Liturgy and the other celebrations of Orthodoxy. A special exhibit is the costume of the relic of Agios Dionysios. All of these exhibits show us the true Orthodox church tradition of Zakynthos.