Monastery of Malevi, Orthodox monastery in North Kynouria, Greece

The Monastery of Malevi stands at about 900 metres on the slopes of Mount Parnon, 5 km from Agios Petros and 20 km from Astros. Its catholicon is an inscribed cross-in-square church with a dome, recently painted inside. A Byzantine-style church dedicated to the Virgin was built recently in the upper courtyard, and chapels of Agios Nilos, Agios Nektarios and Agios Georgios stand among new and renovated cells.

The monastery was founded in the 8th century and moved multiple times before establishing at its present location. Its relocation in 1616 under Abbot Joseph Karatzas marked the beginning of its stable period at this mountain site.

The name Malevi comes from Malevos, the local name for a peak of Mount Parnon. The monastery was converted into a nunnery in 1949 and today counts 14 nuns. Its catholicon celebrates the Apodosis of the Theotokos on 23 August, and the monastery holds a metochion, Agios Charalambos, in the village of Korakovouni.

The monastery sits at elevation and is best visited in fair weather when mountain roads are safer for travel. Bring warm clothing as the high altitude means cooler temperatures year-round, and check locally about access before your visit.

The monastery's name comes from Malevos, the local name for a peak of Mount Parnon. Tradition holds that the first monastery was founded around 717 AD at a different spot, in the protected Kanali area, and that a shepherd found the icon of the Virgin in bushes there in the 10th century.