Greece 2021

Wednesday27October

We therefore left Delphi behind us to join another UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1990): the monastery of Ósios Loukás or ???? ?s??? ????? in Greek in the text meaning, the blessed Lucas...   Before going into the large church of the monastery, we pass by the small Chapel of the "Transfiguration of the Savior".;;

The small fresco above the entrance door.

The interior of the typically Orthodox church with its multitude of paintings.

Two pillars painted with Saints Phanourios and Demetrius

Christ Pantocrator. "It is a privileged representation of Byzantine art showing Christ from the waist up, holding the book of the Holy Scriptures in his left hand and raising his right hand in a codified gesture of teaching inviting to eternal life" © Wikipedia
On each side of the halo, are written IC and XC, thus creating the Christogram ICXC for "Jesus Christ".  

Return to the center of the monastery.
"The history of the monastery begins with that of its founder, a local anchorite saint named Luke of Steirion (or Steiris), born in 896 in the ancient village of Delphi called Castri, in Phocis. He settled as a hermit on the site of his future monastery in 945, on the slopes of Mount Helicon, under the acropolis of the ancient city of Steirion, on the very site of the temple of Demeter." © Wikipedia

Here we are in the Saint Barbara crypt.

The four-faced fresco covering one of the crypt ceilings.

The tomb of Saint Lucas. His body is no longer here, but not far away. He is just above in a reliquary, in the Catholicon, the church dedicated to him. We will see him later.

Frescoes on the life of Jesus cover the very damaged walls of the crypt.

The buildings are composed of two adjoining churches: the Catholicon dedicated to Ósios Loukás (facing us in the photo), and the Church of the Virgin (on the right in the photo).

On the left, the Catholicon. On the right, the Church of the Virgin.

Passage through the first building of the monastery.

A little apart, a small cemetery where monks of the monastery are buried.

The interior of the small chapel next to the cemetery.

Return to the Catholicon west side.

The fresco at the top of the porch.

The church dedicated to Saint Lucas dates from the early 11th century. The gold-ground mosaics decorating it are original.

The frescoes of the domes date from the 16th century.

Christ Pantocrator in the center of the 9-meter diameter dome.

On the side, in a glass reliquary, rests the remains (at least what is left) of Ósios Loukás. It was not until 1986 that the latter returned here. Indeed, 2 centuries after his death, the remains of Loukás had been offered to the Vatican and transferred to Venice, because confused with Saint Luke the Evangelist...

We have passed into the Church of the Virgin.

And back in the Catholicon.

A last little perspective effect with a distorted vision presenting the floor and the dome from the front.  

Exit through the small door.

We now pass into the monastery museum which starts with the monks' cell.

A series of photos on the life of the monks of the monastery.

The monastery enclosure opens onto an esplanade with a superb panorama of, among others, Mount Koliedes.

Olive groves leave little room for other crops. A house therefore brings a tiny touch of color in this ocean of greenery...

We leave this pretty relief now to reach Volos where we will take the ferry tomorrow for the small island of Skiathos.

After 3 hours of driving, we arrive at our Airbnb in the port city of Volos.

Some seafood for the evening restaurant. Tomorrow, we get up early. The boat departure is at 8 am.