The monastery of the Transfiguration
The monastery was founded by St. Athanasius of Meteora, when he and his
spiritual father, Gregory, retreated to Meteora in around 1340 AD. The two
monks settled at Megalo Meteoro, in a hermitage located to the left of the staircase
leading to the monastery entrance. Brother Athanasius’ renown attracted an ever
increasing number of monks, leading to the establishment of the first coenobium
at Meteora, along the lines of Athonite monasticism.
The second founder was Joasaph, a disciple and successor of Athanasius. He was the son of Symeon Uroš
Palaeologus, despot of Epirus and descendant of the Serbian Nemanjić dynasty, who settled at Megalo
Meteoro in 1373. Joasaph collected sizeable donations and fostered a marked
increase in building activity, thus lending the monastery considerable
prestige.
The monastery became independent and stavropegic in the 16th century under
Jeremiah I, Patriarch of Constantinople. From that time on it flourished,
especially under brother Simeon, who was the founder of the new catholicon,
the refectory and other smaller buildings in the Megalo Meteoro complex.
Over the course of its 600 year history the monastery has been attacked
and looted many times: by the Saracens in 1609 and by Arslan Pasha in 1616,
while it was extensively damaged by fire in 1633.
The monastery catholicon, the Church of the Transfiguration, is
perhaps the most impressive of the Meteroa catholica, and was built in
three construction phases. The Church of St. Athanasius belongs to the first
phase, and is a typical cross-in-square church, parts of which were
incorporated into the masonry of the newer Bema. The triconch
cross-in-square church erected by Athanasius’ successor Joasaph dates to the
second phase, when rebuilding and expansion work was carried out in 1388. The
new catholicon was built during the third construction phase, in 1545. Its
cloisonne masonry is finely crafted and, though not bombastic, commands
attention.
The wall paintings adorning the
interior of the church were likewise completed in three phases. The scene of
the Second Coming still visible on the exterior of the north wall belongs to
the first phase, shortly after 1388. The paintings from the old catholicon
- those on the present day Bema - date to 1483, with the exception of those
in the dome and the apse, which come from the third decoration phase, in 1552.
The dynamic, detailed, richly coloured decoration in the older catholicon,
completed over a period of thirty years, remains true to Byzantine iconography
and the composite designs of Palaeologan art, while also being enhanced by
secondary iconographic details from western art, notably Italian Late Gothic
painting. The entire composition of the old catholicon is attributed to a
workshop from Kastoria which was active in the region of Thessaly, Western and
Central Macedonia and the wider Balkan Peninsula (Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova). The
sumptuous iconography in the new church is influenced by Athonite models and Palaeologan
traditions, with a modicum of fully assimilated loans from Western art. The
style and artistic choices made by the anonymous artists attest their close
relation to the Cretan School and Theophanes of Crete, who painted the Church
of St. Nicholas Anapafsas in 1527, while still a young man. Furthermore, the new
catholicon of the Transfiguration was quite possibly the work of the
Cretan painter Tzortzis, a pupil of Theophanes, together with members of his
workshop.
One remarkable feature of the
interior is the carved wooden templon, lavishly decorated in a multitude
of themes. The oldest surviving part of this lies over the sanctuary door; it
dates back to 1634/5 and is signed “by the hand of Master John”. However, most of the templon was
replaced in 1791, being the work of a certain Constantine from Linotopi and
Kostas from Metsovo.
Abbuting the
south side of the sanctuary is the Chapel of St John the Baptist, a small domed
building dating to the 18th century.
To the southwest of the catholicon
lies the chapel of Saints Contantine and Helen, built in 1789 under Abbot
Parthenios and financed by Dionysius the monk and his son priest-monk Zachariah.
The monastery refectory, founded
by Αbbot Simeon, was built to the north of the church and
inaugurated on August 10th 1557. It is a vaulted oblong building ending in a
polygonal apse to the east, and divided internally into two aisles by a five
columned colonnade. The building presently functions as a museum.
The monastery kitchen was built adjacent to the north side of the
refectory. A spacious square room covered by a hemispherical vault and crowned
by a small dome, it likewise serves as a museum open to visitors.
The monastery also had a hospital, located opposite the sanctuary of the
catholicon.
It was founded at
the same time as the nursing home, in 1572. In a previous phase this imposing
domed structure stood two storeys high.
Glossary (10)
stavropegic monastery:
Monastery that is a direct dependency of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
catholicon:
the main church
of
a monastery.
As a rule
it
was the most imposing one, located in the center of the courtyard
cross-in-square church:
type of church where the central dome is supported by four arches covering the extremities of an equilateral cross. Lateral compartments, covered with small domes or barrel vaults, are formed at the four corners of the cross and thus the church forms a cross inscribed in a square or rectangular area. Externally the sign of the cross is also prominent because of this unique way of covering the roof.
bema (chancel or sanctuary):
eastern
part of the church
forming an apse. Usually
elevated
in relation to
the floor
of the nave
by
one to three
steps.
The term derives
from the verb
"βαίνω (go)" and is also known as
the sanctuary.
triconch:
building with three apses.
cloisonne masonry:
elaborate church masonry style, in which rectangular stones are framed by one or two plinths (bricks) laid horizontally and vertically in single or double rows within the mortar of joints.
wall paintings or murals:
Painted scenes on a wall or ceiling surface.
apse or conch:
Semicircular
structure
at the east end
of a basilica. Internally covered by a semidome,
while externally
with a tiered
roof; can be
horseshoe shaped,
rectangular or
polygonal.
altarscreen or templon:
screen separating the
altar area
from the
rest of the
church. This
can be
of marble
or
wood,
adorned with
wall paintings
and icons depicting Christ,
the Virgin Mary, St. John
the Baptist,
the saint to
whom the church is consecrated,
the Apostles
and other saints.
colonnade:
sequence of columns placed in and around buildings.
Information Texts (1)
The monastery of Agios Nikolaos Anapausas:
The Monastery
of Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas) Anapausas lies on a hill a short distance from
the village of Kastraki, and is built on one hundred and
forty-three stepped levels. Visitors enter the monastery complex after climbing
eighty-five rock-cut steps. Space limitations on the flat summit meant
that the monastery had to be built upwards rather than outwards. Access to the main
living area is gained via the small narthex in the catholicon; to
the right of this, after ascending successive flights of steps, visitors see
the refectory, the cells and other areas before reaching the rock plateau at
the top, which commands a stunning view.
Both the origin of the name, Anapausas, and the date of first habitation on the
rock remain unclear. The name is at times attributed to the etymology of the
word, from the verb “to rest”, and at times linked in an unsubstantiated way to
the name of an original founder. The monastery is believed to have been founded
in the 14th century, when the first catholicon was built. Scholars see it
as contemporary with the Chapel of Agios Antonios (St. Anthony), where wall
paintings dating to the same century still survive.
The
catholicon as it now stands was built in the early 16th century. It is an
irregularly shaped building, tailored to fit the rock plateau: a compacted
cross-in square church, with a dome supported by shallow pointed vaults. On the
east side of the building is an irregular Bema with a low conch, and on the
west a timber-roofed lite with a small niche. According to the
inscription painted on the eastern wall of the lite, above the door leading
to the nave, the paintings in St. Nicholas Anapafsas were commissioned in 1527
on the initiative of a deacon named Cyprianus, and are attributed to Brother
Theophanes Strelitzas Bathas, a Cretan monk. The paintings in Agios Nikolaos
are his first large-scale composition, and display consummate skill in dividing
up what is a lavish iconographic programme on numerous themes, with individual
scenes the size of portable icons. The artist’s gifts are evident in this
monument, which further exhibits influences from Palaeologan art: a firm and confident
hand; harmonious, balanced scenes free of anecdotal elements; an emphasis on doctrinal
content; clarity of composition; soft colors in harmonious combinations;
detailed rendition of faces deep in thought, with a profound humanism. The
themes are mainly drawn from the Christological cycle, although some subjects
previously unknown to monumental art are shown, such as the scene of Adam
naming the animals. The paintings in the small church at St. Nicholas Anapafsas
not only mark the inception of Theophanes’ career as an artist in mainland Greece, but
also stand as the forerunner of the Cretan
School, the formal
artistic expression of the Orthodox Church during the Ottoman period.
Bibliography (15)
1. Βελένης Γεώργιος, Πρώτες πληροφορίες για έναν ζωγράφο τού 16ου αι. από την Κωνσταντινούπολη, 1974
2. Bitha, I., Le monastère de la Transfiguration aux Météores dit le grand Météoron (1552). Son programme iconographique et sa place parmi les programmes des églises du XVIe s. en Grèce, Paris, 1984
3. Georgitsoyanni E., Les peintures murales du vieux catholicon du monastère de la Transfiguration aux Météores (1483), Athènes, 1993
4. Γεωργιτσογιάννη Ε., Εικονογραφικές παρατηρήσεις στις τοιχογραφίες του παλιού καθολικού στη Μονή Μεταμορφώσεως των Μετεώρων (1483), 1989
5. Θεοχαρίδης, Π, ‘Το παρεκκλήσι του Προδρόμου στο Μεγάλο Μετέωρο’ in Εκκλησίες στην Ελλάδα μετά την Άλωση, Athens, 1979
6. Μπούρας Χαράλαμπος, Βυζαντινή και Μεταβυζαντινή Αρχιτεκτονική στην Ελλάδα, 2001
7. Nicol, D. M, Meteora. The Rock Monasteries of Thessaly, London, 1963
8. Νικόνανος Ν, Μετέωρα. Τα μοναστήρια και η ιστορία τους, Athens, 1987
9. Νικονάνος Ν., Βυζαντινοί ναοί της Θεσσαλίας. Από τον 10ο αιώνα ως την κατάκτηση της περιοχής από του Τούρκους το 1393. Συμβολή στη βυζαντινή αρχιτεκτονική, Athens, 1997
10. Ορλάνδος Α., Μοναστηριακή Αρχιτεκτονική, Athens, 1958
11. Προβατάκης, Θ., Τα Μετέωρα - Ιστορία του μοναχισμού των Μετεώρων, Athens, 1987
12. Σοφιανός, Δ, Ο όσιος Αθανάσιος ο Μετεωρίτης: Βίος, Ακολουθία, Συναξάρια - Προλεγόμενα, Μετάφραση του Βίου, Κριτική έκδοση των κειμένων, Μετέωρα, 1990
13. Σωτηρίου, Γ., Βυζαντινά μνημεία της Θεσσαλίας ΙΓ΄ και ΙΔ΄ αιώνος, Αι μοναί των Μετεώρων, 1932
14. Χατζηδάκης Μ., Σοφιανός, Δ, Το Μεγάλο Μετέωρο. Ιστορία και Τέχνη, Athens, 1990
15. Αλμπάνη Τ., Χούλια Σ., Μετέωρα, Αρχιτεκτονική - Ζωγραφική, Athens, 1999
Comments (0)