Patmos - St John the Divine Monastery

(Local Name: Áyios Ioánnis Theológos) The most notable of the religious sites on Pátmos is the monastery of St John the Theologian (Aàyios Ioánnis Theológos; St John the Divine), towering over the town with its massive 15th century walls topped by 17th century battlements. The monastery is directly subordinate to the Oecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

A ramp leads up through the entrance gateway into a courtyard surrounded by loggias. On the left is the principal church (Katholikón), with an open exonarthex containing four ancient columns and some mediocre 18th and 19th century paintings. The church itself was decorated and furnished in the 19th century at the expense of the czars of Russia (iconostasis of 1820, with rich carving). The paintings include many representations of St John and his apocalyptic visions. In the first chapel on the right is the silver-plated sarcophagus of the founder, Oàsios (Blessed) Christodoulos. In the second chapel, dedicated to the Panayía, are frescoes of 1745, under which older paintings were discovered, including the Mother of God enthroned, Abraham entertaining the three angels and the Woman of Samaria (12th century). Frescoes of the 14th century have been preserved in the refectory (trápeza).