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Read more about the holy monasteries: Great Meteoron - Varlaam - St. Stephen - Holy Trinity - St. Nicholas Anapausas - Rousanou - other monasteries - Kalambaka

The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron

It is the biggest of the Meteorite monasteries. The church 'Katholikon', honoured to the 'Transfiguration' was erected in the middle of 14th c. and 1387/88 and decorated in 1483 and 1552. The old monastery is used as a museum, nowadays.

The Great Meteoron (a.k.a. Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ) is the highest, largest and oldest of the six monasteries of the Meteora. Founded in the 14th century by a monk from Mount Athos, the Great Meteoron is still impressive and important today. If there is only time to visit one monastery in the Meteora, this is the one to choose.

Platýs Líthos ("Broad Rock"), the rock on which the Great Meteoron stands, rises over 2,000 feet (615m) above sea level. The original hermitage of St. Athanasios Meteorites, a simple building carved into the rock, can be seen on the left of the staircase leading to the monastery entrance. Within the monastery, a shady courtyard provides a pleasant place to rest after the ascent.

The Church of the Transfiguration consists of the katholikon built by Saint Ioasaph's in 1388 and a nave and narthex added in 1544-45. The katholikon has a Greek-cross-in-square floor plan, with a 12-sided central dome resting on a drum. The icons adorning the iconostasis date from the 14th to 16th centuries.

The frescoes of the katholikon date from 1497-98 and are well-preserved. They are painted in the Macedonian style and depict Christ Pantocrator, the Virgin Enthroned, the Three Hierarchs, various military saints, the monastery's founders Athanasios and Iosaph, and scenes from the life of Christ.

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