| Leimonos Monastery Info | Leimonos Monastery Photos | |||||||||||||||
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The Leimonos Monastery is found a few miles past the town of Kalloni on the island of
Lesbos. Having visited the
Ossios Lucas Monastery on the mainland of Greece,
I was expecting a similar design. Though they are both in the middle of nowhere there design is fairly different.
Where Ossios Lucas is more traditional Byzantine, the Leimonos Monastery has more Italian Influence.
The monastery contains many relics of national pride and importance including the remains of St. Ignatius, the monastery's founder. (?) It contains many manuscripts and icons collected through out its operation and now has over 2,500 volumes of books and 450 manuscripts. A couple of the manuscripts I was most impressed with were a huge scroll of the Gospel that was spread over four corners and all of the Turkish documents granting the Monastery permission to operate. The Monastery was one of the cultural centers of Lesvos during the Turkish occupation. Setting up a secret school to teach the Greeks culture, tradition and language. This was common on islands during the Turkish occupation. Many Monasteries took upon themselves to preserve Greek culture this way. Because of the relics, many pilgrims visit the Monastery each year. Many leave rings or other belonging to the monastery, many apparently overcome by their visit leave something that they had no intention on leaving when they first came. I hope you enjoy the photos. Any comments, please E-mail me, .
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Click on the title or thumbnail to view the larger picture.
All photos by John L. Polos Copyright August 23, 2001 |
