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St John the Theologian Monastery in Aptera

Monasteries

ABOUT

In the heart of the ancient city of Aptera stands the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian.


It is a dependency of the Monastery of Saint John in Patmos.

The earliest reference to the monastery dates back to 1182, a period during which the Byzantine emperors dedicated large areas of land to it. The dependency maintained privileged relations with the Venetian authorities and continued to operate even after the Ottoman conquest, as recorded in the 1650 census.

In the mid-20th century, its property was expropriated in favour of the residents of the surrounding villages.

Photo: Wikipedia

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