Legend has it that monks leaving on a boat from Palestine during the first byzantine war of icons (iconoclasm), in the 9th Century, carried a hidden icon of Mother Mary coming from the Holy Land, from the Orthodox Monastery of Choziba in Palestine’s West Bank. The boat finally arrived to the majestic bay of Agia Anna, in the South of Amorgos island.
After hiding the icon for almost four decades, the islanders then decided to house it in a Monastery they envisaged to build on the cliff, resembling the one of Choziba. But, whatever they were building during the day, it was collapsing during the night. Thus, the master builder asked for Mother Mary (Panagia, in Greek) to indicate the place they should build it. The next morning, they found the master builder’s chisel and his tools nailed on a rock of this steep cliff. Thus, they begun the Monastery’s construction there early in the 9th Century.
In 1088 the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komninos gave full rights to the Monastery and renovated it, as did the Venetians when they ruled the area after 1204. The Monastery’s wealth, mostly in agricultural land that it owned on the islands of Samos, Naxos, Santorini and Ios, secured its independence during the Ottoman rule the following Centuries.
At the entrance of Panagia Hozoviotissa, called the one-walled Monastery (given that its width is just 5 meters), one of its three monks awaits to treat you with psimeni, a traditional liqueur of Amorgos, and a sweet loukoumi. Inside, the narrow stone stairways (many of them carved on the rock) lead to its 8 floors connecting the cells with the dining room, the kitchen, the warehouses, the presses, the cisterns and the wells - and of course the katholikon, a single-aisled vaulted canopy, where you can see the icon of Mother Mary and also the master builder’s chisel.
Visiting Panagia Hozoviotissa
The Monastery is 2 kms away from the capital (Chora) of Amorgos. To get there, you will have to climb 300 steps under the sun. You can visit Panagia Hozoviotissa from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm every morning and from 5:00 to 7:00 pm every evening. It is suggested for visitors to wear descent clothing. You can contact the Monastery calling at +30.22850.71274.
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)