The monastery of Saint Stephen is an Orthodox monastery , located in northern Greece , in the plain of Thessaly , near Kalambaka , in the valley of the Peneo River . It is part of a group of six monasteries called Monasteries suspended in the air or Monasteries in the sky located in Meteora , which were classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco since 1988. It is, together withRoussanou , one of the two monasteries in Meteora run by nuns.
The settlement of the monks on the cliff of San Esteban began at the end of the 12th century, when in 1191 or 1192, according to tradition, the ascetic Jeremías founded the monastery. The founder and main organizer of the present monastery was Archimandrite Antonios Kantakouzenos. Construction work began in the 14th century and was completed in the 16th century . In 1333, the monastery received the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus III Palaiologos . It is believed that there were later restoration works directed by the monk Philotheos of Sklátaina. The monastery took its current form with buildings built in the 18th and 19th centuries .
Since 1961, the sorority of women was established in the monastery. During World War II, it was bombed by the Nazis. In 1961 it was occupied by the congregation of nuns, who have been in charge of the monastery until today, coexisting in it, in 2008, up to a total of 28 nuns.
The monastery is connected to the modern highway with a small bridge. The cells of the monastery are located on both sides of the main entrance. To the southeast of the enclosure is the old monastery church, dating from the 15th century . It is a small church, with a single nave, decorated with simple elements, the work of Nicholas Kastrinsio. The new church is located in the northwest of the site and dates back to the year 1798
Font: (
visit link)