3 September, 2018

The Holy Monastery of Kostamonitou (or Kastamonitou)

The Holy Monastery of Kostamonitou (or Kastamonitou)

Monk Chariton of Karoulia

 

The monastery was founded in the first half of the 11th century by a man from Kastamoni in Anatolia, from whom it takes its name. A more recent benefactor was the Christian wife of Ali Pasha, Vassiliki, who largely financed the restoration of the monastery in 1819-1820. The katholikon, dedicated to St Stephen the Proto-Martyr, was built in 1867, and is the fourth church on this site. The most important treasures are the three miraculous icons of St Stephan, the Virgin-who-Guides (Hodegetria) and the Virgin-who-Answers (Antiphonetria).

Source: Monk Chariton, Images of Athos, 3rd edition, Mount Athos, 2007