Near the banks of the river Selinounda and 30 km from the city of Kalavrita is the Holy Monastery of Makellaria, which is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
It was built by Justinian's general Velissarios in 532 AD, as shown by an inscription that survives to this day, to atone for the massacre during the famous "Stasis of Nika" in Constantinople. In the middle of the monastery is the church of Panagia, built in Byzantine style, cruciform with a beautiful wooden carved iconostasis, on which the miraculous icon of Panagia is placed. It is a work of the Byzantine era, admired by all, because wherever the pilgrim stands, Her eyes are turned towards him. The monastery was destroyed by the Turks in 1458, and was restored by Hieromonk Neophytos. The original name of the monastery was Panagia tis Lithostrotiotissa, because it is built on a rock. The monastery got the name "Makellaria" from the massacre that took place when the Turks tried to conquer it in 1458, when they took it over and killed the monks who were there. After the destruction the fathers decided to build the monastery lower down in a cave to protect it from the weather. Every morning, the men of the construction crew who undertook the construction would find their buildings broken and their tools on the rock that is the current monastery. After discussions and arguments, they decided to build where their materials and tools were. While opening the foundation they found an earthen jar with oil, which still survives today, and the icon of the Virgin Mary.
In a subsequent attack by the Turks, tradition has it that the Turks were repulsed by the monks and subjects who were there, and the abbot of the monastery made a deal with the Turkish general that if the candle they threw on the rock broke, they would surrender, but if it did not break, they would turn and leave without burning the monastery. So it happened, the abbot threw the Virgin's candle on the rock, two Turkish soldiers came down and found it hanging from a branch of a tree. They took it up to their general and he in turn kept the agreement he had made with the abbot and they left without burning the monastery.
The most valuable treasure of the monastery is the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary and the chest with the miraculous oil, while several important relics were stolen in a robbery in September 1980. It is worth mentioning that at a short distance from the monastery, the visitor follows a small path leading to the small chapel of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. It is built in a small cave a little lower than the current monastery. Throughout the year it flows endlessly from the rock "holy water".
The monastery is commemorated on August 15, August 23 and September 14.
Opening hours:
- Winter hours 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.
- Summer hours 9:00am - 1:00pm & 4:30pm - 8:00pm.
The Monastery is CLOSED every Tuesday
EVERY SUNDAY Mass 7.30 - 10.00 a.m.