Monastery of Panagia Molyvdoskepastos, Orthodox monastery in Konitsa Municipality, Greece.
The Monastery of Panagia Molyvdoskepastos stands 400 m from the Greek–Albanian border, where the Aoos and Sarantaporos rivers meet. Its catholicon was built in three phases: an 11th–12th-century cross-in-square church with a dome, a 13th–14th-century cross-vaulted section added by Andronikos Komnenos Palaiologos with two side chapels, and a large three-part narthex added in 1521. The stone facade has a gabled central section with two arched windows divided by columns, a dark-roofed entrance porch, and a cylindrical tower with a conical roof.
Founded in the 7th century by Emperor Constantine Pogonatos, the monastery was rebuilt in the 11th–12th centuries as a cross-plan church with a dome. Andronikos Komnenos Palaiologos added the middle cross-vaulted section and two chapels around 1300, and in 1521 villagers of old Pogoniani added the three-part narthex. It was bombed in 1943 and reoccupied by monks in 1988.
The name Molyvdoskepastos means 'covered in lead', from the sheets of lead that once roofed the catholicon; the flat grey stone slabs seen today are later. The monastery is a male house and celebrates its feast on 15 August, the Dormition of the Theotokos. It keeps a miracle-working icon of the Panagia whose maker is unknown; after being stolen and left in the open it was damaged, the rotten parts cut away and the rest retouched.
The monastery is open most days, though it closes on Wednesdays and does not receive visitors on Friday mornings. Since it is an active place of prayer, it is worth being mindful of services that may be taking place during a visit.
The monastery's name comes from the lead sheets that once covered the catholicon's roof. Its dome, tall for its architectural type, is considered the highest in Greece in proportion. The miracle-working icon of the Panagia was stolen and left exposed to the weather; its rotten parts were cut off and retouched.
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