New Monastery of Chios
(Homeroupoli 822 00 Chios)
The New Monastery was built in the 11th century (between 1045-1056) and was dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin. It covers an area of approximately 17000 square meters and is located in the center of the island.
Nea Moni includes the main temple, two smaller churches, the bank, where the monks dined, the monks' lodgings (cells) and underground cisterns created to store water. In the northwestern part of the Monastery there is an imposing defensive tower. All parts of the Monastery are surrounded by high stone walls.
According to monastic tradition, Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos funded the Monastery to please three Chiot Monks who predicted that his exile to Lesvos was temporary and that he would eventually seize the throne.
The three Monks discovered the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a myrtle tree at the current location of the Monastery. This was also the location where they initially built a small church with some accommodations.
The Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos and Zoe Porphyrogenitus at their own expense ordered the church to be built on the model of the church of the "Holy Apostles of the Little Ones" located in Constantinople and granted the Monastery properties and annuities, which was very rare for the Byzantine economic system.
The Monastery of Nea Moni was one of the richest and most famous monasteries of the Aegean. The boom continued until the time when the Turks invaded the island in 1822 and looted the Monastery and from then on its economic decline began.
The monastery's catholicon is located at the central point of the Monastery. It consists of the main temple, the inner narthex and the outer narthex. The architecture of the temple is simple octagonal with a dome ("island").
The remaining buildings within the walls are:
The church of Agios Panteleimon, a small church on the right of the road that leads to the tower.
The Museum, the exhibits of the treasures of the Monastery opened to the public in 1992.
The Church of the Holy Cross, a small church built next to the entrance gate, where there are the remaining skeletons of the martyrs and fighters of the Chios massacre.
The Mosaics
The mosaics of Nea Moni date from the 11th century and are relics of the Monastery. Today it is one of the three unique collections of the Byzantine period in Greece, which have been saved and remain in relatively good condition.
Characteristics of the technique used to make the mosaics are dramatic expression and monastic simplicity. A large part of the surface is made of gold and as the light reflects on it, it emphasizes the transcendence of the forms and shapes giving the impression that they are moving to a higher and spiritual world. Their exceptional quality, together with the fact that they are the work of artists who were connected to the largest workshops of Constantinople, ranks them among the most important creations of Byzantine art.
The Monastery has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou