In the center of the lake of Ioannina, Pamvotida, there is the picturesque island with many small monasteries, which can easily be visited because of the close distance between them.
In the castle of Ioannina, built by Michael I Komnenos Doukas, founder of the Despotate of Epirus, installed at the beginning of the 13th century some aristocratic families of Constantinople, such as the family of Philanthropinoi, the Stratigopoulos, etc. who fled to Epirus after the fall of Constantinople by the Franks in 1204. Members of these eminent families built some of the most important monasteries in "Island".
The 16th century is the period of great prosperity for the monasteries of the island. At the beginning of the century, the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of the Philanthropinoi was restored, which was painted with hagiographies around 1531-1532. A little later, in 1542 and 1560, new additions were made to the Katholikon and its hagiography was completed. At about the same time the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Stratigopoulos was also painted with hagiographies. At the end of the same century was also built the Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Methodata, later renamed “Eleousa”. Prosperity continued in the following centuries, as other monasteries were repaired and built, such as the Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon, the Holy Monastery of Metamorphosis and the Church of the Assumption in the settlement.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the thriving monastic community had begun to relent, and the monasteries served as a place of residence for prisoners. The Island suffered a mighty punch during the siege of Ali Pasha (1820-1822). The Sultan troops made an exit on the Island to stop Ali's supply through the lake. Most of the monasteries were plundered and inflamed, while many residents were displaced or imprisoned. In 1822, in one of the cells of the Monastery of Panteleimon, the legendary Ali Pasha of Ioannina left his last breath.
During the 1960s, the Archaeological Service carried out important work to clean the murals in the Holy Monasteries of Philanthropinoi and Stratigopoulos, as well as works of restoration to their Katholikon (Catholic). Up to date, maintenance and restoration of the monasteries of the island have taken place. Today the island is inhabited by 500 inhabitants, while paved roads are the two main roads, despite the fact that cars are not in circulation. The first leads northeast to the Holy Monasteries of Saint Panteleimon and Prodromos, while the other south, to the Holy Monasteries of Philanthropinoi, Stratigopoulos, Eleoussis and Metamorphosis.
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Philanthropinoi
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Filanthropinoi is for many, the most important monastery in the island of the Lake of Pamvotida. Next to the entrance we can see the cells in very good condition and ruins of other buildings. The temple is one-aisled with a arched roof.
It was built by Michael Philanthropinos in the year 1272. It is painted with fine wall paintings of 1542 with the care of the monk Ioasaf the Philanthropinos.
In the "Π" shape around the temple there are narthexes of 1560 with frescoes. The fresco of the 7 wise men of Ancient Greece, which is a rare phenomenon for a Christian church (when it was in operation, Ancient Greek was taught), stands out for its importance. Specifically, the seven wise men are depicted on the western wall of the southern outer narthex: Plato, Apollonios Tyaneus, Solon the Athenian, Aristotle, Plutarch, Thucydides, and Hilon the Lacedaemon. The depiction of the ancient philosophers is probably traced to occult texts of the 5th century, reviving in the 14th century, which have as their subject the prophecies of the seven philosophers about Christ.
It is also called monastery of Spanos, because teacher Spanos taught. During the period of despotate of Epirus and later Ali Pasha, it was the most important National-Religious Spiritual Center.
The history of the Holy Monastery is associated with the great Byzantine royal family of the Philanthropinoi, who settled in Ioannina after 1204, when Constantinople was occupied by the Franks.
The frescoes of the monastery of Philanthropinoi are considered to be the most mature creation of the "School of Northwest Greece" or "Continental School", i.e. the artistic stream originally developed in Epirus in the 16th century and then spread to the western and central Greece.
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas Stratigopoulos or Dilios
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas Stratigopoulos or Dilios is built on the northeastern side of the island, near the Holy Monastery of Philanthropinoi. The Holy Monastery of Stratigopoulos was probably founded in the 13th century by the homonymous Byzantine family, which settled in Ioannina in 1204, after the occupation of Constantinople by the Franks of the Fourth Crusade, as well as the family of the Philanthropinoi.
There is no important information about the Holy Monastery.
In the middle of the 16th century, the frescoes of the Katholikon were created, at the expense of the Hieromonk Niphon and Sofronios. In the 17th century the monastery was benefited by the Dilios family, due to its second name. According to a tradition, in the Holy Monastery was the famous School of the Despots.
Her frescoes are an excellent work of an unknown artist. The representations are divided into three zones and are framed in red, according to the hagiography system of the Cretan School painters. Impressive is the scene of Crucifixion on the gable that is formed by the roof on the west side. Particular emphasis is placed on the scenes of the Passion of the Lord. The entire Eastern wall of the narthex is covered by the composition of the Second Coming. The scene is multifaceted and monumental. In the northern, southern and western walls of the narthex there are 28 scenes from the life of the Virgin and especially from her childhood.
The Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon
The monastery of Saint Panteleimon, a museum today, is worth visiting, because it is known for the events that have been unfolded there, and are related to the last days and the murder of Ali Pasha, which took place in its cells in January 1822. It is located southeast of the island community.
The monastery consists of the Katholikon and the cells that are on the north and south side. The Catholic is a small-sized basilica. Interesting is the wood-carved iconostasis of the temple, dating back to the 16th-17th centuries, decorated with a gold-plated relief on a blue and red background.
The cells that are saved on the north side, where the Abbey of the Holy Monastery was located, today house the collection of manuscripts and post-incunabulum from the Holy Monasteries of the island. In the newly restored cells on the south side, Ali pasha was murdered. Today these cells function as a museum of the pre-revolutionary period.
The Monastery of Eleousa
The Monastery of Eleousa is located further south than the Holy Monasteries of Philanthropinoi and Stratigopoulos. It is built on the foothills of a verdant hill, near the shore of the lake and enclosed by a high-rise parapet. Originally, the monastery was dedicated to Saint Nicholas of the Winds, and was named "Methodatoi" or "Giakoumatoi" by the families that probably benefited it. Today the Holy Monastery is known as Panagia Eleousa. Its renaming is linked to the miraculous finding of the Virgin Mary's icon, which was transferred to the Holy Monastery in the 16th century. According to a reminder of 1584, the icon was originally located in the Byzantine Monastery of Saint Paraskevi in Ioannina, which was built on the location of today's Prefecture.
In the 19th century, the Abbots gave the Holy Monastery the name "Eleousis and Sotiros" from the nearby Monastery of Metamorphosis, which in 1822 was burned during the siege of Ali Pasha by the Sultan troops. In 1924, in the cells of the Holy Monastery of Eleousa, at the expense of the Greek state, was founded a Holy-Teaching School, which ceased its function in 1929.
The Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior
The Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior is located near the Monastery of Eleousa, on the southwest side of the island. It was probably built at the beginning of the 17th century, as deduced from a preserved seal of the Holy Monastery dating back to 1656. For the initial stage of the Holy Monastery there are no testimonies. The Monastery had benefited from Panos Ieromnimonas, an eminent merchant, descended from Ioannina, in Venice.
In 1822 the Holy Monastery was burned during the siege of Ioannina by the Sultanian troops. After its destruction, Metamorphosis came to the nearby Monastery, which since then, its Abbots called "Eleousis and Sotiros".
The present Temple was built in 1850 at the expense of the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Eleoussa, Avvakum. In 1872 Avvakum established a Hieratic School, which operated until 1922, with the permission of Sultan Abdul Aziz, who gave it the relative decree in 1872. In 1873 the Holy Monastery and the Primary School became Stavropegics with Patriarchal Sigilio (document) and depended on the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Today, the Monastery has Monks, who are based on the cenobitic system.
The Katholikon is built on the type of three-aisled basilica. On the side walls are depicted large forms of whole saints; among these, two New Martyrs, Saint John and Saint George. Remarkable is the wood-carved iconostasis, as well as the wood-carved pulpit, with painted decoration of flowers and fruits.
The Holy Monastery of Prophet Elias
The Holy Monastery of Prophet Elias, is built on the top of a pine-covered hill, at the highest point of the island. There is not enough information about the Holy Monastery. It must have been built in the late Byzantine period. However, in 1822 it was destroyed by the Sultanian troops and rebuilt later, incorporating on its walls the architectural remains of the older temple. In the 19th century, the craft of the Furriers took over the monastery. In 1833 the sanctuary was painted with hagiographies and in 1918 the wall paintings of the main temple were made. Among the few relics of the Holy Monastery that have been preserved are a silver cross of sanctification dating back to 1821, which is kept in the Holy Monastery of Eleousa.
The Holy Monastery of Saint John the Baptist
The Holy Monastery of Saint John the Baptist was built in 1506-1507 on the eastern side of the island by the brothers Hieromonks Apsarades, Nektarios and Theophanis. Information about the Holy Monastery we receive from the autobiography of the two founders. In 1505 they chose the location of Gouva, near the shore of the lake, where earlier there was a small temple, and was near the monastery of Saint Panteleimon, in order to build the Holy Monastery.
The Katholikon was built in contact with the cave, as well as the cells, which today are not preserved in their original state. Along with the construction of the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Prodromos (Forerunner), the two brothers also took care of the renovation of the Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas "in Lepeno", probably founded by their father, as well as for the construction of a cell for their three sisters, also nuns, on the Island.
In 1821-1822, during the siege of Ali Pasha from the Sultan's troops, the monastery suffered disasters. In 1824 and 1891, the frescoes of the Katholikon were repaired, at the expense of the guilds, who regularly attended the Monastery of “Ai (Saint)-Giannopoulos”, as they called the Monastery of Prodromos (Forerunner).
From the monastery complex only the Catholic is preserved. The cells are newer and have recently been restored. The Holy Temple is built in a rare architectural style, combining elements from the Crossed-Roof and the Mount Athos type.
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
The Church of the Assumption is located in the center of the small community of the island and is the central parish church. According to an inscription, the sanctuary was restored in the early 19th century, probably after the island's destruction during the events of Ali Pasha's siege and his assassination in 1822.
However, on the western wall there is a sculpture dating back to 1614-1615, probably coming from a temple that previously existed in the same place. In 1868 the belfry was built, according to an inscription on its front, while a little later it was built with money from the Church of the Assumption and the community school.
The Temple is built on the type of three-aisled basilica. The urban architecture of Ioannina has influenced the structure of the Temple, with skylights, wood-carved ceilings and colorful floors. One of the most important icons of the Temple is: Enthroned Christ in the style of the Great High Priest, probably a 17th-century work that has been repainted, Saint George the killer of the Dragon, a work of the 17th century, and the New Martyr Saint George from Ioannina.
