Moni Archangelou Michail Tharri, Orthodox monastery in Laerma, Rhodes, Greece.
Moni Archangelou Michail Tharri is an Orthodox monastery on a hill in a dense forest about 4 km southwest of Laerma, Rhodes. Its katholikon, dedicated to Archangel Michael, is a domed cross-in-square church with a short eastern arm and an extended western arm, dated to the 9th–11th centuries and reshaped in the 12th or early 13th century. The complex also includes the chapels of Agios Eleftherios, Agios Ioannis Prodromos and Agios Nektarios, plus a refectory, guesthouse and a monastic building around the chapel of Agios Eleftherios about 150 m southwest.
A temple of Apollo is thought to have stood here before a 5th-century early Christian basilica was built on its ruins. The surviving church of Archangel Michael dates from the 9th to 11th centuries with a wooden roof, and was rebuilt in the 12th or early 13th century as a domed cross-in-square. A monastic community is attested from at least the 13th century; the oldest known abbot, the monk Gregory, died in 1473. After abbot Ignatios died in 1916 the monastery declined and was abandoned until 1989, when archimandrite Amphilochios Tsoukos revived it.
Greek Orthodox worshippers visit on November 8th to celebrate Archangel Michael's feast day with prayers and ceremonies rooted in ancient religious tradition. The gathering shows how the monastery remains central to local spiritual practices.
The monastery sits deep within the forest and requires careful navigation or GPS coordinates to reach, as conventional directions are difficult to follow. Visitors should allow extra time for location and consider gathering local information beforehand.
Two megalithic monuments stand northwest of the monastery, and one explanation of the name Tharri derives from lithari, the Greek word for stone. The monastery also gave rise to baptismal names still used on Rhodes, Tharinos/Tharini or Tharenos/Thareni.
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