Greece - Konitsa, Moni Stomiou

Moni Stomiou (Stomiou monastery) lies in one of the most astonishing locations in Greece, above the gorge of the Aoos river (PiP5). It owes its name to that location: the stomiou (= "mouth") of the ravine.

The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was originally built in 1590 on the other side of the river. It was moved to its present location in 1774 because the Holy icon of the monastery had been miraculously transported there.

In 1943 the monastery was almost completely destroyed by German troops, only the church was spared. Fifteen years later, the complex was rebuilt and restored by the Konitsa monk Paisios, who was canonized in 2015. The cell in which he lived during his four-year stay is still being maintained.

Moni Stomiou now functions as an active male monastery. It has eleven newly built cells with additional rooms and a small, cruciform church with dome. Interesting are the iconostasis with several Byzantine icons and the relics of many saints, which were transferred from the original monastery.

The only way to visit the monastery is a two hour walk through the Aoos Gorge from theKonitsa bridge.