PERIOD

Post-Byzantine

Chora of Patmos with the Monastery of Saint-John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse

According to tradition, a small cave on Patmos, which is a small island in the Dodecanese complex, was the place where Saint John the Theologian wrote two of the holiest books of Christianity, his Gospel and the book Revelation. At the top of the hill near the cave, a large monastery dedicated to St. John the Theologian was founded in the late 10th century, fortified with high walls for protection from pirates. Gradually a settlement, named Chora, developed around the monastery. It was a settlement with densely built houses, narrow streets and arcades. The white houses with flat roofs around the imposing grey walls of the monastery form a tightly knit and picturesque ensemble, which is the historical center of the settlement.

Date of entry into UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites
1999

Visit website of MSC Supporting material

The Second Andent. Fresco at the portico (exonarthex) of the katholikon. Monastery of St. John Theologian, 15th c. AD.

The Infanticide in Bethleem. Fresco at the portico (exonarthex) of the katholikon. Monastery of St. John Theologian, 15th c. AD.

The Hospitality of Abraham. Fresco in the chapel of Panagia, 12th c. AD. Monastery of St. John Theologian.

Interior of the chapel of Panagia, 12th c. AD.

The view from the Monastery of St. John Theologian at Patmos.

The spire at the chapel of Holy Apostles, Monastery of St. John Theologian, Patmos.

A gallery in the museum of the monastery of St. John Theologian, Patmos.

Scenes of the life of St. John Theologian. Frescoes at the portico (exonarthex) of the katholikon, 15th c. AD. Monastery of St. John Theologian, Patmos.

Facades of houses of the picturesque settlement of Chora, Patmos.

Chapel of Holy Apostles at the entrance of the Monastery of St. John Theologian at Patmos.

View of Chora at Patmos, from the sea.

Narrow alleys at Chora, Patmos.

Patmos: Cave of the Apocalypse.

The impressive walls protecting the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Patmos.

Wood carved iconostasis at the Monastery of St. John Theologian.

Panoramic view of the Historic Centre (Chora) of Patmos.

Aerial view of the old town of Patmos (Chora) around the Monastery of St. John Theologian.

Aerial view of the Historic Centre (Chora) of Patmos with the Monastery of St. John Theologian.

Patmos: the churchyard of the monastery of St. John Theologian.

Aerial view of the Historic Centre (Chora) on the island of Patmos with the monastery of St. John Theologian.

Patmos: Chapel of St. Anna, the Cave of Apocalypse.

The monastery of St. John Theologian

Of the same period