Saint Nicholas Monastery, Spata

Saint Nicholas Monastery
Μονή Αγίου Νικολάου
Location of the monastery in Greece
Interactive map of Saint Nicholas Monastery
Monastery information
Full nameHoly Monastery of Saint Nicholas in Sparta
OrderEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
DenominationGreek Orthodox Church
Dedicated toSaint Nikolaos
Celebration date
DioceseMetropolis of Elis and Olena
Architecture
StatusMonastery
Functional statusActive
Completion date18th century
Site
LocationSpata, Achaea, Western Greece
CountryGreece
Coordinates37°59′55″N 21°31′47″E / 37.99861°N 21.52972°E / 37.99861; 21.52972

The Saint Nicholas Monastery (Greek: Μονή Αγίου Νικολάου, romanizedMoni Agiou Nikolaou) is a Greek Orthodox monastery in Spata, Achaea, in the Western region of Greece. The monastery was founded at the end of the 18th century,[1] by a monk of the Monastery of Pammegiston Taxiarchon of Aegialia and of which it was a metochion for several years.

Overview

The monastery is located very close to the homonymous village of the Municipal Unit of Larissos of the West Achaea municipality. It belongs ecclesiastically to the Metropolis of Elis and Olena.[2][3][4] The monastery is located at 430 metres (1,410 ft) above sea level, on the low slopes of southern Movri.

The monastery is an important historical and religious monument and a landmark of the region that attracts many pilgrims from Achaea, Elis and elsewhere.[5]

On the occasion of the finding of a miraculous icon, which popular tradition places in the years of iconoclasm, a small church was built for the pilgrims at the beginning of the 19th century and later, in 1875, another larger one was built in its place. According to the tradition of Achaea and Elis, pilgrims head towards the pilgrimage of the Saint on the day of the feast of the passage of the relic. According to tradition and various historical sources, in 1087 the holy relic was moved from Myra in Lycia (modern day Turkey) to Bari in Italy where it was deposited on May 20.[5]

The monastery celebrates three times a year: on December 6, the commemoration of the saint's death; on May 10, more solemnly, the passage of the relics of Saint Nikolaos; and on Pentecost.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Άγιος Νικόλαος Σπάτα. imilias.gr (in Greek). Ανακτήθηκε. October 3, 2016. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016.
  2. ^ Διοικητικές μεταβολές Μονής Αγίου Νικολάου Σπάτων Αχαΐας. eetaa.gr (in Greek). Ανακτήθηκε. October 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Διοικητικές μεταβολές Κοινότητας Αγίου Νικολάου Σπάτων Αχαΐας. eetaa.gr (in Greek). Ανακτήθηκε. October 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Saint Nicholas Of Spata Orthodox Monastery, Moni Agiou Nikolaou, Greece". orthodx-world.com. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas in Sparta". Orthodox Christianity: Then and Now. December 6, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2025.

Sources