MONASTERIES OF GREECE

Παρουσίαση

Dramatically sited monasteries, built on cliff-tops or hidden in remote valleys, are one of the most characteristic sights of rural Greece. Around two hundred, some small others more than fortified hill towns, lie scattered across the country, from the central Peloponnese to the narrow peninsulas of southern Macedonia, from the heights of Thessaly to the remotest Greek Life.
This book takes us inside of the more remarkable houses; to the semi-autonomous theological community of Mount Athos, the leading center of Orthodox monasticism for over a thousand years, and to the soaring pinnacles of the Meteora massif, site of the perched 'monasteries of the air'. On Patmos, the holiest island stands the fortified Monastery of Saint John, near the grotto where, according to tradition, Saint John had his apocalyptic vision. And in the central Peloponnese lie the ruins of Mistra, once the 'Florence of the Orient' where the last group of medieval monasteries was built during the final flourish of Byzantine power.
These monasteries contain some of the greatest and most venerated treasures of the orthodox world: fragments of the True Cross, ornate reliquaries and innumerable icons. The monastery churches of Daphni and Saint Luke glitter with an astonishing cycle of eleventh century mosaics, while others are decorated with Byzantine frescoes of saints and martyrs and biblical scenes.
Greek monasticism grew out of the early eremitic communities of the Near East. Its fortunes waxed and waned with the rise and fall of the Byzantine empire. During the Turkish occupation it helped sustain the Greek spirit and played a role in launching the war of independence. In free Greece many monasteries were closed. Yet today several thousand monks, black-clad figures from the past, still follow rites little changed since the days of Byzantium. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

1 OUT OF THE DESERT
2 IN THE SHADOW OF BYZANTIUM
The Stairway to Heaven - Theodore of Sykeon - Forbidden Images - Saint Theodore and the Studium - The Second Golden Age - The Cistercians and the Fourth Crusade - The Palaiologos Renaissance - Excess in Excelsior
3 THE GUARDIANS OF HELLENISMOS
Beggar Monks - Behind Closed Doors - Travellers' Tales - Raising the Flag - The Dispossessed
4 REMAINS OF THE WAY
Revelations on Patmos - Saint Luke and the Daphni Mosaics - Prayers Among the Ruins
5 ATHOS: THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
Athanasius and the Hermits - Beyond the Frontier - Monks, Turks and Russians - Athonite Style - Manuscripts and Miniatures - Holy Smoke: Athos Today
6 MONASTERIES IN THE AIR
The Blessed Father Athanasius - The Monk King - Decadence and Disorder - Bessarion and After - Foreign Aid - Shell Shock
7 MORE NUNS THAN MONKS
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX