Historic monastery in Kalavryta Municipality, Achaia, Greece
Agia Lavra ("Holy Lavra") is a monastery near Kalavryta, Achaea, Greece. It was built in 961 AD, on Chelmos Mountain, at an altitude of 961 meters, and can be described as the symbolic birthplace of modern Greece. It stands as one of the oldest monasteries in the Peloponnese.
It was burnt to the ground in 1585 by the Turks. It was rebuilt in 1600 while the frescoes by Anthimos were completed in 1645. It was burnt again in 1715 and in 1826 by the armies of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. In 1850 after the rebirth of modern Greece, the building was completely rebuilt. The monastery was burned down by German forces in 1943.
It is famously linked with the Greek War of Independence, since it was here that the call for Eleftheria I Thanatos (Ελευθερία ή θάνατος) was first heard on 25 March 1821,[1] launching the revolution against the Ottoman Empire. That day, Bishop Germanos of Patras performed a doxology and administered an oath to the Peloponnesian fighters.[2][3] The revolutionary flag was raised by the Bishop under the plane tree just outside the gate of the monastery.[4][5]
To this day, the vestments of Germanos, documents, books, icons, the Gospel of Tsarina Catherine II of Russia, sacred vessels, crosses, etc. are preserved in the Monastery's museum, along with the holy relics of St Alexios, given by Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus in 1398. Pieces of embroidery, made with gold or silver threads woven in pure silk materials in Smyrna and Constantinople, are also possessions of the Monastery and they date from the 16th century.
On the hill opposite, a monument to the heroes of the Revolution of 1821 looks down upon the monastery.
^"Greek Independence Day". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2009-09-09. The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued.
^McManners, John (2001). The Oxford illustrated history of Christianity. Oxford University Press. pp. 521–524. ISBN 0-19-285439-9. The fact that one of the Greek bishops, Germanos of Old Patras, had enthusiastically blessed the Greek uprising at the onset (25 March 1821) and had thereby helped to unleash a holy war, was not to gain the church a satisfactory, let alone a dominant, role in the new order of things.
^History of the Hellenic Nation, v. 12, p. 82
^"Greek Independence Day". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2009-09-09. The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued.
^Frazee, Charles A. (1969). The Orthodox Church and independent Greece, 1821-1852. CUP Archive. pp. 18–20. ISBN 0-521-07247-6. On 25 March, Germanos gave the revolution its great symbol when he raised a banner with the cross on it at the monastery of Ayia Lavra.
AgiaLavra ("Holy Lavra") is a monastery near Kalavryta, Achaea, Greece. It was built in 961 AD, on Chelmos Mountain, at an altitude of 961 meters, and...
Great Lavra, Mount Athos (10th century): Georgian Orthodox Church: David Gareja monastery complex (since 1505)[citation needed] Church of Greece: Agia Lavra...
the north Peloponnese due to his skull being kept in the monastery of AgiaLavra. Alexius is a patron saint of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of...
on 21 March 1821 the flag of the revolt was raised at the monastery of AgiaLavra by bishop Germanos III of Old Patras. At the end of 1943, near Kalavryta...
proper): Patras 169,886 Aigio 19,857 Kato Achaia 7,689 The monastery AgiaLavra is situated a few kilometres west of Kalavryta on the top of a hill. 12...
Germanos of Patras, who raised the banner with the cross in the Monastery of AgiaLavra (near Kalavryta, Achaea) although some historians question the historicity...
Ottoman Empire and blessed the flag of the revolution at the Monastery of AgiaLavra. Earlier, another revolt of the Greek War of Independence had also been...
children to escape. The following day the German troops burned down the AgiaLavra monastery, a landmark of the Greek War of Independence. During the reprisals...
Patras blessing the flag of the Greek revolutionaries at the Monastery of AgiaLavra, part of a popular legend regarding the start of the revolution of 1821...
Metropolitan Germanos of Patras blesses a big Greek flag at the Monastery of AgiaLavra in Peloponnesia and proclaims to people assembled the beginning of a Greek...
arguments the meeting was postponed for a later time in the monastery of AgiaLavra. In January 1821 meetings took place with Papaflessas recounting his supplies...
Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of AgiaLavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the...
positions in private residences. The 2nd Taygetus Battalion had entered the AgiaLavra monastery during the early morning hours of the day, seizing its abbot...
raised the banner of independence on 10 March 1821, at the Monastery of AgiaLavra. It was after the Bey of Tripoli imprisoned and threatened to execute...
Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of AgiaLavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the...
Stadium in Athens, Greece To the Defeated of Life (large work in 12 parts) AgiaLavra Liberation of Chios Island The Bacchae The Sceptic The Bathing Woman Muhammad...
of Patras raises the revolutionary flag of Greece at the Monastery of AgiaLavra (according to oral tradition, not historical record), symbolically marking...
Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of AgiaLavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the...
Germanos" (celebre Germanos) proclaimed the Revolution on 17 March 1821 in AgiaLavra, and that the revolution spread throughout the Peloponnese on 25 March...
proclaimed a national uprising against the Ottoman empire at the Monastery of AgiaLavra. Jerusalem's Christian population, who were estimated to make up around...
Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of AgiaLavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the...
(hermitage-style) skete, a monastic community attached to the more formalised Great Lavra Monastery in Mount Athos, Greece. It lies on the shore of the Aegean Sea...
Germanos III of Old Patras blessing the blue and white Greek banner at AgiaLavra at the outset of the national revolt against the Ottoman Empire on 25...
Ypsila Alonia, which now houses a cafeteria The beach promenade Plateia AgiasLavras is also a square in the centre of the town, and is lined with neoclassical...