St. Nicholas' Monastery Church, Mesopotam, Byzantine monastery church in Mesopotam, Albania

St. Nicholas' Monastery Church is the katholikon of the abandoned Orthodox monastery of Saint George in Mesopotam, Vlorë County. Its walls mix rough grey stone rubble with bands of red brick and patches of pale plaster; the facade ends in three arched gables with recessed circular brick patterns, and three tall blind arches outlined in brick rise from the lower wall. A stone plaque carved with "KISH E SHEN" and "NDËRTUAR" is set at the left, and the side view shows three rounded roof sections, a larger central drum above two lower ones.

The church was built in 1224 using stone from an ancient temple dating to the 3rd century BC that was linked to the Epirote capital of Phoenice. This reuse of older materials shows how the site maintained religious importance across many centuries.

The temple walls carry several legendary carved icons: a lion, a serpent dragon with a knot in its tail, and a serpent dragon with its tail coiled around its neck and back. The name Shën Koll is the Albanian form of Saint Nicholas, the monastery's patron, whose feast the village marks each May with an open day and festival at the site.

The monastery site is normally closed, with fencing and locked gates; the papas of the modern Orthodox church in Mesopotam holds the keys, and visits can be arranged in advance. Each May the village holds an open day and festival for Saint Nicholas's day at the site. The church is held against collapse with wooden props and scaffolding.

The monastery held stauropegion status, meaning it answered directly to Constantinople's Patriarch rather than to local bishops. This special standing created notable disputes over religious authority in the region.