Veliki Preslav
It is located about 4 km from the present-day town of Preslav and about 20 km from the district center of Shumen. The name comes from the Slavic words for Great for Veliki and Gorgeous for Preslav. The Bulgarian state was founded in 681 by Khan Asparuh, son of Khan Kubrat, after a victorious war […]
Saint Vitus Monastery of Ellwangen
The town of Ellwangen, belonging to the province of Badem-Würrtemberg in the south of Germany, is situated mostly on the eastern bank of the river Jagst, which in turn flows through the manifold forested hills of the broader ‚Schwäbisch-Fränkische Waldberge‘. Though in modern days, the Jagst‘s course has been straightened to the demands of civilization […]
St. Athanasius Monastery
According to tradition, it is considered the oldest active monastery in Europe. It was founded in 344 by St. Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria. Saint Athanasius was born in 295 or 296 in Alexandria, Egypt, in a family of Christians. Excellently educated, he devoted himself to the study of the Holy Scriptures. Because of the virtues […]
Monastery of Nova Mahala
The village of Nova Mahala located at 1273 m. above sea level in the Western Rhodopes. Its population is Muslim by faith, settled sometime after the late 14th c. For this reason, the toponymy in the surrounding area is Turkish, often a literal translation of previously existing local names. There is no continuity between the […]
Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila
The Rila Monastery is located in Southwestern Bulgaria, Kyustendil District, Rila Municipality. It is 117 km from Sofia on the international road Sofia – Kulata (E79), after turning off at Kocherinovo station. It is another 30 km up the Rila Mountain to reach 1147 m above sea level. The road winds along the fast-flowing Rila […]
Monastery of Saint John of Pelekete
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 […]
Andrew en te Krisei
The monastery of Saint Andrew (the Apostle) was allegedly founded at early 5th century by Arcadia, sister of Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408–450) near the Gate of Saturninus in Constantinople. By 792 it was converted into a nunnery and after the end of Iconoclasm it was rededicated to Saint Andrew of Crete who was killed […]
Kellibara Monastery
The Kellibara monastery is one of the most important foundations on Latmos (Latros), a monastic center in Caria, northeast of Miletos (Milet). The Latros monasteries are clustered on islands in the lake of Herakleia (Bafa Gölu) and on Mt. Latmos (modern Beşparmak). The first monasteries were allegedly founded in the 7th century by monks who […]
Myrelaion Monastery
The Myrelaion monastery was founded on the premises of a palace which the future Emperor Romanos Lekapenos constructed in the place called Myrelaion (=»the place of myrrh») in Constantinople. The palace was built upon a huge 5th century rotunda with an external diameter of 41.8 metres. The rotunda was transformed into a cistern with the […]
Saint Paul Monastery
The Stylos Monastery (Arapavlı) lies between Bağırcık and the Kovanalan Plateau at a height of 740m. It was the most important among monasteries at Latmos (see also Kellibara). It was built in the 10th century during the lifetime of Saint Paul the Younger around the Stylos, that is the rock, on which he lived as […]