Preveli, Orthodox monastery in Agios Vasileios, Greece.
Preveli is an Orthodox monastery near Kourtaliotiko Gorge, consisting of two separate complexes set on hillsides overlooking the Libyan Sea. The site contains multiple churches, residential buildings, and monastic structures arranged across the landscape with access to a beach below.
Preveli Monastery was probably founded in the Middle Ages, under Venetian rule, by a feudal lord named Prevelis. Abbot Melchissedek Tsouderos led rebels in the Greek War of Independence in 1821, after which the monastery was destroyed and later rebuilt; it backed further revolts in 1866 and 1878. In 1941 the monks sheltered Allied soldiers, and the Lower Monastery was destroyed by German forces in reprisal.
The monastery takes its name from the feudal lord Prevelis, credited as its founder. Its church, built from 1835 and dedicated in 1836 to St John the Theologian, holds a cypress-wood iconostasis and the cross of Evraim Prevelis, said to work healings and used on 8 May to bless the sick. A wall fountain in the lower courtyard bears the palindrome "NIPSON ANOMIMATA MI MONAN OPSIN".
The site sits south of Rethymno and is accessible by local road with parking near the upper complex area. Wear sturdy shoes for walking, as paths to both sections and the beach below involve steep and uneven terrain.
The monastery houses the Holy Cross of Preveli, a sacred religious artifact held in reverence according to local tradition and historical records. The site also preserves ecclesiastical garments, devotional icons, and other liturgical objects displayed for visitors to see.
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