Makelaria Monastery

Achaea, Greece

The Makelaria Monastery is a 6th-century Eastern Orthodox monastery located in the Peloponnese, Greece. It lies on a big rock near the villages of Lapanagoi, at a distance of 30 km from the town of Kalavryta. The monastery, one of the oldest in Greece, was founded in 532 AD and is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos.

It has a small Byzantine church with a beautiful wooden-carved screen, on which the icon of the Virgin is placed. This is an authentic Byzantine art piece, with a distinctive feature: wherever you stand, the Virgin's eyes give you the impression that they follow you. The holy icon of the Virgin, along with a pot full of olive oil, was found in the 15th century in an area close to the Monastery.

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Address

Achaea, Greece
See all sites in Achaea

Details

Founded: 532 AD
Category: Religious sites in Greece

Rating

4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΛΕΟΥΣΗΣ (10 months ago)
I started to go to the Monastery yesterday 06/01/24. The view is wonderful. It opens your eyes from the landscape and your lungs from the fresh air. Luckily we had good weather. With sun and not too cold. The road to the Monastery for the last 10 to 15 kilometers (I'm not sure) is a dirt road and in some parts of the road, due to erosion from the rain and the weather, difficult. In addition, in some places small and somewhat large stones had fallen on the road from the landslides and you need to be careful and move at a low speed, especially if you don't have a suitable car like me. Now about the Monastery I can't tell you why I didn't finally manage to visit it. A few minutes before we arrived we met some nuns in a car leaving the monastery and they informed us that the monastery was closed for today and we didn't catch it open. The time was 14:35 and according to the internet the Monastery would be open from 09:00 am. until 5:00 p.m. Let me tell you here that on Friday we called to ask what hours it would be open because it was the Day of Lights and after several attempts we spoke to a nun and she assured us that the Monastery would be open to visitors and in fact it would have a Liturgy from 07:30 am So that's why we started going. We tried after that and while we were completely disappointed because while we could see the Monastery from the road we didn't manage to visit it, we called the Monastery to explain our situation and ask if we could go since we were close and we had talked and the previous day for the hours. The nun who answered the phone told us that unfortunately they were closed for today because they opened earlier and because there was not enough traffic they decided to close at 2:00 pm. instead of 5:00 p.m. which was normal. He apologized for our inconvenience and hung up on us. Now after all this what can I tell you. My girlfriend and I have visited many Monasteries and Monasteries. I will simply say that my girlfriend was very sad that she was not able to visit the Monastery and worship the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary and I will say that after this I will reconsider going to any Monastery or Monastery if the road is not accessible throughout the route. Have a good year.
Ilias Georgouleas (15 months ago)
Unique experience! Sacred place of pilgrimage. Literally on the cliff!!
Δημητρης Κωστοπουλος (2 years ago)
Help us or Virgin Mary ? I have been coming since I was a small child with my parents and brothers, the monastery hosted us..! Very nice location with nice view..!
Konstantinos Verras (3 years ago)
Worth for visiting to get faith and energy.
Gus V (6 years ago)
Just for the view,the rest is not worth it hard,dangerous roads,be aware.
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