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The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

Vikos gorge, Monodendri, Zagorochoria, Epirus / Western Greece

By Desolation Road

June 30^th, 2020

During the 600 years of its existence, the Monastery of Ayia Paraskevi, which overlooks the ravine of Vikos from a steep slope, has witnessed the alternating periods of wealth or poverty, cultural prosperity or war persecution, which the inhabitants of the villages of the Zagori region were experiencing.

For the almost five Centuries of the Turkish occupation there (up until the early 20th Century), the Monastery and the "hermitage", a large series of natural openings in the rock where one can reach following a small uphill path, were shelters of the inhabitants of the area from the attacks of the Turkalvans. In one of these openings, a petroglyph of monks who practiced there is preserved.

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

However, for Michail Therianos, who financed its construction in 1414, the Monastery of Ayia Paraskevi was totally different: a display of prosperity, wealth and power. These are clear from his clothing and his expression at the large mural which is depicting him, along with his family, in a central point of the Monastery's church.

Michail Therianos, with roots from the Byzantium empire, was a Voivode. This title, similar to that of the Duke in England, means that he was the commander of this specific province of the Ottoman Empire, which belonged to the despotate of Epirus, based in the large city of Ioannina. The responsibilities of the Voivode had to do mainly with the administration and security of the province, as well as with the collection of taxes.

In the mural, the costumes of himself, his wife Theodora and his two children, make it clear that Michael Therianos possessed the wealth and power of the nobles of the central city of Ioannina. Their Byzantine clothing is full of influences from the costumes of the Western aristocracy, especially of the Italian Renaissance and the French nobles, such as the vertical, dense folds and embroidered lilies on his clothes, as well as the high waist, the pearl jewelry and the long lines of buttons of his wife and daughter's clothes.

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

Meanwhile, the extremely talented hagiographer of the time had managed to give to Michail Therianos the expression of prestige and authority, to Theodora the kindness and prudence, to the daughter an unpretentious sweetness, and to the son the seriousness and respect. It is also no coincidence, for the morals of the time, that Therianos is at the front, the woman at the back and at the edge, and the children at the back and between them. Also, the fact that the Archangel Michail, from whom Therianos took his name, seems to bless only the two men, the father and the son (pictured above).

The taxation of the province and the wealth of the family of landowners of the descendants of Therianos for centuries was totally different, compared to the unbearable experience of life of the inhabitants of the area, in a wild and inhospitable place, with the constant fear of persecution by the Turkalvans. These times are now long gone, with the liberation of Epirus by the Ottomans and its annexation to the Greek state in the second decade of the 20th century.

During this century, the Monastery of Agia Paraskevi was again witnessing an age of prosperity, thanks to the large donations of the national benefactors Manthos and Georgios Rizaris to their birthplace, the nearby village of Monodendri - one of the most beautiful in the Zagori area.

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The monastery's katholikon is a small one-room church with a wooden roof, the southern wall of which was rebuilt in the 17th century. Its frescoes are among the few surviving specimens of the early 15th century in Epirus, while the frescoes on the south wall date back to 1689. The church's perimeter includes the abbey, the cells and warehouses, a well and a hatch.

Visiting the Ayia Paraskevi Monastery

The majestic stone-built Monastery of Ayia Paraskevi is located at a walking distance from the village of Monodendri, 41 km north of Ioannina city, at the region of Zagororchoria. After you reach Monodendri, and park there, you will see the signs to the Monastery at the piazza, and a wonderful stone-paved road of less than 1 km will lead you there. You can enter the Monastery during the morning or the afternoon, after meeting the parson, father Elias Chrysospathis (tel.: +30.26510.26397).

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

The Monastery at Vikos’ edge

Footnotes

Text & photography Copyright: Panos Diamantis 2012

FootNotes

Text & photography Copyright: Panos Diamantis 2012

© 2026 Desolation Road

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