The monastery of Panagia Spilaiotissa is dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin. It is located between Aristis and Papigos, built on a vertical rock, next to the river bank. Voidomati near the bridge. The monastic complex develops on and inside the rock on several levels which communicate with each other with stairs and hatches.
The katholikon of the monastery is a one-room basilica with a dome and a cross-roofed narthex to the west. The main church is covered by a semi-cylindrical arch. According to an inscription, the church was built in 1665 and chronicled 8 years later, in 1673, by the painters Ioannis, Dimitrios and Georgios. The interior of the temple is covered with hagiographies, which, however, are not preserved in good condition.
Remarkable is the iconostasis of the sanctuary, which is carved in wood with rich plant and animal decoration and bears the Despotic icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary and 15 small icons in the Dodekaorto. The Monastery of Spilaiotissa in the past owned a large property and thus subsidized the schools of Aristi and three other communities, as a result of which more and more students were able to study there. Finally in the 19th century, by a decision of the Turkish courts, the monastic property was expropriated. The monastery was looted and set on fire and in 1897 its hostels collapsed due to an earthquake.
Today the monastery is abandoned and is kept in good condition. It celebrates the Zoodochos Pigi so that it does not coincide with the festival of the Monastery of Panagia tou Vikos.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou