Monastery of Saint John of Pelekete
per person
The Monastery of St. John is located ca 5 kilometers west of Trigleia on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It is also known as Pelekete which means “carved” probably to it being constructed upon a steep rock.
Its foundation should be dated before the middle of the eighth century, as at that point it existed already a large monastery with more than forty monks and more than one church. In 764 it was destructed as a punishment for the rejection of the iconoclastic policy of the Byzantine Emperors. Many of its monks were killed. The monastery reappear in the end of the 8th century and in the second phase of Iconoclasm becomes again a center of opposition to Iconoclasm. After the 9th century, the sources are silent about Pelekete which is mentioned again in the 17th and 18th centuries. Two earthquakes in 1855 and 1880 caused damages to the monastery which was subsequently restored. In the beginning of the 20th century, it was abandoned.
FORMAL ANALYSIS
The church as it was reconstructed in the 19th and 20th century is rectangular (15 X 12 meters) but it follows the lines of the medieval construction. The area of the bema and apse is definitely dated in the Byzantine period. Based on the southeast naos column which consisted of spolia, we can deduce that the Byzantine dome had a diameter of 4 meters. Some carved fragments of a cornice are dated in Late Antiquity. The south wall of the church had Roman fragments whereas in the church were found two capitals with crosses. Also further marmor plates and other carved elements are to be seen on the area around the monastery.
EKATERINI MITSIOU
From Our Gallery
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- Monastery of Saint John of Pelekete © PHOT. https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/pelekete
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- Monastery of Saint John of Pelekete © PLAN. Mango and Sevcenko
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- Pelekete monastery, The three apses seen from the west © PHOT. https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/pelekete
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- Pelekete monastery, External view © PHOT. https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/pelekete
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- Western end of the exterior of the south wall © PHOT. Adam Kaya Heskith: http://www.enormousfish.co.uk/?p=10901
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- Pelekete Monastery, marmor plaque from a sarcophag © PHOT. Adam Kaya Heskith: http://www.enormousfish.co.uk/?p=10901
Tour Location
Monastery of Saint John of Pelekete
| Other monuments and places to visit | Panagia Pantobasilissa (Lady Queen of All) Church in Tirilye |
| Natural Heritage | |
| Historical Recreations | |
| Festivals of Tourist Interest | |
| Fairs | |
| Tourist Office | No |
| Specialized Guides | |
| Guided visits | |
| Accommodations | In the city of Tirilye |
| Restaurants | |
| Craft | |
| Bibliography | |
| Videos | |
| Website |
| Monument or place to visit | Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, known as Pelekete |
| Style | Remains of the 8th century and later (19th/20th century) |
| Type | Byzantine Monastic architecture |
| Epoch | 8th century and later (19th and 20th centuries) |
| State of conservation | Ruins |
| Degree of legal protection | |
| Mailing address | 9QQ3+Q8G Mudanya, Bursa, Turkey (no actual mailing address) |
| Coordinates GPS | 40°23′21.97″N 28°45′11.98″E |
| Property, dependency | |
| Possibility of visits by the general public or only specialists | No general public visits |
| Conservation needs | Yes |
| Visiting hours and conditions | No specific visiting hours; not an easy access |
| Ticket amount | |
| Research work in progress | Repair works in the 19th and 20th centuries |
| Accessibility | Not very good. 5km to the west of Trilye |
| Signaling if it is registered on the route | No |
| Bibliography | -Cyril Mango and Ihor Ševčenko, Some Churches and Monasteries on the Southern Shore of the Sea of Marmara. Dumbarton Oaks Papers 27 (1973), pp. 235-277 (jstor.org) -Alice-Mary Talbot: Pelekete monastery. In: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, vol. 3, p.1620. |
| Videos | |
| Information websites | wikipedia.org thebyzantinelegacy.com |
| Location | 9QQ3+Q8G Mudanya, Bursa, Turkey |
