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Modern Description: More impregnable and imposing than almost any other monastery in the islands, the fortified appearance of the *Monastery of St John the Divine is eloquent both of the frightening insecurity of these scattered islands in the Middle Ages, and of the material and spiritual treasure that the walls were designed to protect. Though dedicated to St John the Divine, the monastery possessed no relics of him, which would have represented its greatest wealth had they existed. But from the time of its founding it possessed important manuscripts, icons, and documents, to which were added a library of valuable incunabula, gold and silver liturgical objects, antiquities and paintings. From the very moment of its inception, the monastery was on the frontier of Christianity with Islam and, only four years after building had begun, its founder was forced to flee from an attack by Seljuk Turks, never to return.
It is in this context that the massive castellation of the religious buildings, begun in 1088 by Hosios Christódoulos of Latmos, must be seen. Forced to flee ahead of the advance of Seljuk Turkish incursions, he settled at the monastery of Stylos, near the large monastic community of Mount Latmos to the east of Miletus, of which he was soon appointed archimandrite. Once again he was constrained to flee by Turkish incursions, this time to the island of Kos, where he built the monastery of the Panaghia Kastrianí (at today's Palaio Pyli). He organised a mission to Mount Latmos to salvage whatever had been left of the valuables, manuscripts and books after the Turkish attacks. He had what was saved sent to Constantinople; most was retained at Haghia Sophia, but some of the items were gifted back to Christódoulos by the Patriarch. In this period he developed relations with the court of Byzantium, with the Emperor's mother and with Alexios I Comnenus himself, of whom he requested official blessing for his project to leave Kos—because it was too ‘noisy' for his ascetic life— and to settle on Patmos. The Emperor granted him the whole island as well as lands on neighbouring islands, principally Leros and Lipsi, gave him a boat and dispensed the monastery from tax obligations in a signed and sealed chrysobull which is exhibited today in the Treasury. The monastery of St John was fortified to protect the monastic community as well as to safeguard the precious manuscripts that Christódoulos had salvaged. In 1092, almost four years after founding the monastery, he and his fellow monks were forced to flee once more by Turkish attacks. They fled to Euboea where Christódoulos died in March 1093: the possessions—principally books and icons—which he left in his will to the monastery became the heart of its library and treasury. The monks returned with his remains in 1095 to complete the work they had begun under his guidance.
Already by the time of the Fourth Crusade the monastery had acquired wealth from its land revenues as well as a certain international, or rather pan-Christian, prestige. In the Deed of Partition of 1204, it was largely left free and independent by the Venetian victors; and then, after 1309, the Knights of Rhodes accorded it similar privileges since their presence on Patmos might only have served to attract Turkish reprisals. After Suleiman the Magnificent's defeat of the Knights in 1523, the monastery wisely acknowledged Turkish suzerainty and in return was once again left largely to continue its life undisturbed. In 1713 an important Theological School was founded which continued to benefit from Ottoman tolerance until the Dodecanese passed under Italian occupation in 1912. The Italian authorities tried to impose language and other restrictions on the Monastery, and in 1935 attempted to create an independent Dodecanesian Church which they hoped eventually to subsume into the Catholic Church. The school continued to function with difficulty in hiding. Today the monastery still preserves an independence within the Greek State. It must rank as one of the most successful and long-lived, independent and self-governing monasteries of the Byzantine world.
It appears from ancient spolia (some inscribed) incorporated into the original fabric of the building, as well as other pieces and inscriptions from the surrounding area, that the monastery was built over the remains of a temple dedicated to Artemis Patnia. An important inscription (now in the Treasury— see below) attests to the legend that Orestes brought the cult of Artemis to Patmos from Scythia and was cured of his post-matricidal madness by the goddess as a result. Another clear but fragmentary inscription of the early 4th century AD refers to the founding of a church to St John during ‘the ministry of the venerable Bishop Epithymetos'. This may have been the first Christian building to be erected over the pagan temple, and would probably have been in ruins when Christódoulos began constructing the present buildings.
The enceinte of walls stand to between 16 and 18m in height all round, with only one protected entrance on the north side. These were constructed as an almost windowless, crenellated curtain in the first building campaign of the 11th century, and then substantially strengthened in the 17th century by the addition of the impressive scarps or batters which are the exterior's most visible characteristic today. This is seen best on the north and northeastern sides, where the batters project most massively. The whole complex was extended in the 16th and 17th centuries to the south; in this period the ramp of steps leading up to the north entrance was also added, including the projecting terrace supporting the beautifully proportioned chapel of the Holy Apostles, built in 1603. The (un-scarped) western wing was added, last of all, in the 20th century.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_Saint_John_the_Theologian
Wikidata ID: Q1982506
Trismegistos Geo: 11321

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

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