Monastery of Agia Moni, Kythira, Greece

The Monastery of Agia Moni was built on a mountain above the village of Diakofti, at an exceptional location that allows visibility to the whole island and the sea, up to the coast of Peloponnese on the mainland.

The monastery's history begins in 1767, when a shepherd discovered an icon of Virgin Mary at this location. The icon was believed to be miraculous since it survived a natural disaster that affected the whole area and for this reason, the construction of a monastery dedicated to Mary began shortly after, on top of the ruins of a much older chapel.

In 1840, the monastery and the basilica were reconstructed with the assistance of the war hero Theodoros Kolokotronis who undertook this task to show gratitude to Virgin Mary for winning the war. A few years later, in 1848, the church's bell tower was constructed.

The monastery has many cells that were used not only by the monks but also to offer hospitality to visitors who went there to stay for a fortnight in order to fast and pray, from August 1st to August 15th, according to the custom of Dekapentismos.

The church celebrates every year on August 6th and it is open to visit at almost any time of the year. In its interior, you will get to see the silver-coated icon of Virgin Mary, as well as a hand-carved wooden altarpiece.

References:

greeka.com

User Reviews

George Kontogouris (2 years ago)
The Monastery is located above diakofti and has wonderful 360 views. Worth visiting

Michal Satransky (2 years ago)
Absolutely fantastic place, a definite must see. Ubiquous monastery, fabolous church.

Peter Sulser (2 years ago)
Many thanks to Father Thaddäus for his warm welcome. We took great inspiration and will come back asap.

Georgios Stratigos (2 years ago)
Breath taking view of diakopti port..regarding monastery .one monk lives permanently here ,he told us that monastery built around 1843 and there was a great contribution by kolokotronis (he made a promise that if the Greek revolution succeeded he would help to rebuilt)

Phil Nelkin (3 years ago)
Wow! One of the most peaceful places on an already peaceful island. A short drive to this spirituality amazing monastery with breath taking views. The wind whistling through the buildings is one of the only sounds up here. Reminds me of the Escher painting Castrovalva.

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There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

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