Nea Moni

Nea Moni (Νέα Μονη) means new monastery. It is located in the center of the island of Chios and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was built in the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos. Today it is famous for its mosaics, which represent the "Macedonian Renaissance"-art in Greece, for its architecture and its history.

One of outstanding characteristics of Nea Moni is the shape of its main building, the Katholikon. This central church is of an octagonal shape, which represents a type of architecture, which is present only on Chios and Cyprus. Next to the central church, Nea Moni includes several building, like small churches, the dining hall, the monks' cells, the reception hall, the cistern etc. All in all the area, belonging to the monastery, is about 17.000 square meters.

The territorial and financial belongings of Nea Moni were increased during its versatile history.

The founding-myth deals with three monks, who found an icon of the Virgin Mary hanging from a branch of myrtle. This site of the find was the mountain Provateio Oros in the center of Chios island and the place, where Nea Moni was built. The monks went to Constantine Manomachos, who was exiled to live on Chios island, and told him about their vision, which dealt with Constantine, who should become an emperor. The about-to-be emperor promised to build a church if the vision was to comes true. In a matter of fact it did, and Constantine IX Monomachos started to build the "New Monastery" in 1042. Thirteen years later the monastery was finished and its versatile history began.

Until 1822 the Monastery prospered, benefiting from several concessions given be Constantine, and became one of the richest monasteries in the Aegean area. Temporarily 800 monks were part of Nea Moniand benefited of the granted land, tax of all the Jews on the island and being not part of any secular hierarchy.

But in 1822, during the "Greek War of Independence", Nea Moni was plundered by the Turks and destroyed. Many parts of Nea Moni were reconstructed, but the past prosperity was never reached again. Furthermore, the earthquake of 1881 damaged above all the main building (Katholikon). The main dome collapsed and many other buildings were damaged. The process of rebuilding and replacing destroyed parts of the monastery is still present today. The institution of Nea Moni was converted to a convent in 1952. Therefore the complex is inhabited by just a few nuns nowadays.

But even if it is not as glamorous as in the past, the beautiful mosaics, the reconstructed building and the guided tour to learn more about the gripping history are just a few reasons to add Nea Moni to ones must-visit-list, when traveling around the island of Chios.

 

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