Recently I was driven to this Monastery named Mega Spileo, not far from Attica region, situated near the city of Kalavryta in Peloponnese, in the south of Greece. It is a historical convent as it has existed since 362AD. Therefore, it has been part of Greece’s history for centuries.
You can see this by visiting a small yet beautiful museum on the first floor of the convent building.
This monastery pocesses an amazing Mother of God icon. It was created in 40-45AD by Lucas the Evangelist and contains wax and mastic among other ingredients. It could have been burned along with the monastery four times in its entire history of wars, conquests and plundering, but miraculously the icon was saved.
The church of Mother of God is small and amazing. It has a nice iconostasis, marbles and iconography.
The spot where the monastery was built is one of a kind. It is situated in a cliff of Chelmos Mountain, while it has an amazing view of forest, the Vouraikos river gorge and the Corinthian Bay.
This convent is the most ancient one in Greece and amongst the most ancient ones worldwide – along with that of St Catherine on Mount Sinai and St Anthony in Cairo.
Enjoy!