Saints Cosmas and Damian Monastery, Melissotopos, 15th-century monastery in Melissotopos, Greece

Saints Cosmas and Damian Monastery stands about 2 km northwest of Melissotopos, 24 km northeast of Kastoria. Its church, built in 1858 on the foundations of an older one, is a three-aisled basilica with a wooden roof, carved stone and marble reliefs, and a wood-carved iconostasis holding icons dated 1763. A marble inscription in the courtyard records the stay of Kosmas Aitolos in late 1774.

A monastery existed on this site by the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (1080), originally dedicated to Saint Panteleimon. It was re-established in 1457 under the name of the Holy Anargyroi, destroyed by Turkish-Albanian raids in 1734, and rebuilt in 1754 by the monk Gerasimos from Sifnos. The present church was raised in 1858.

The monastery celebrates its feast on 1 November. In the courtyard a marble inscription records that Kosmas Aitolos stayed here in late 1774. The 1858 church holds a carved wooden iconostasis with icons dated 1763, and the south wing has a brick-coloured church built in honour of Saint Nektarios, who lived here as an ascetic after 1460.

The monastery sits in a remote village location and is not easily accessible without planning ahead, so contacting beforehand is advisable. Wearing sturdy shoes and allowing extra time to navigate the rural surroundings will help make your visit more comfortable.

A marble plaque in the courtyard records that Kosmas Aitolos stayed here in late 1774. The monastery's library, destroyed by fire during the Greek Civil War, was refounded in 2001 and is now among the largest in Western Macedonia for theological books and printed archives. In 2011 the settlement counted 9 monks.