History

History

The Holy Monastery of Faneromeni is situated on a hill overlooking the northwest coast of Naxos. It dates back to the 15th century and is built in the form of a Venetian tower.

Faneromeni means the one who appears miraculously; and its name is derived from an ancient miracle. A small ship was fighting a storm near the coast where the monastery lies now. While praying in agony, the sailors suddenly saw a light radiating from the shore. As soon as they managed to approach that point, they found a small icon of the Mother of God. They placed the icon in a chapel nearby, but their vessel could barely leave the shore until the captain promised to come back and establish a monastery dedicated to her grace, in memory of their rescue. 

The monastery came under the direct authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the late 16th century, and consequently enjoyed special privileges during the years of the Ottoman rule. Among the holy men who lived in and sanctified the place was St. Arsenios of Paros.

In the eighteenth century (while still under Ottoman and Venetian rule) a school was supported by the monastery, offering free education to 100 students. In 1829 its erudite abbot Dorotheos Tziotis established the first organized schools of Naxos, launching a system of peer learning for the education and enlightenment of the young Greeks. This was accomplished with the intervention of the first Greek Governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias.

Dedicated to the Dormition of Panagia, the monastery holds its celebration on August 15th, with an all-night vigil. One of its dependencies is St Kyriaki, a beautiful church situated in the old town of Naxos.

The monastery declined in the twentieth century. Yet, despite tribulations and desertion, it is now on the road of recovery, and is staffed with a small brotherhood from Mount Athos. The new innovations are guided by the traditional rules of spiritual life, while the future of the Monastery is now confronted with a new dynamism, inspired by the spirit of renewal at work in the Orthodox Tradition.

As we pass through a time which ignores the life of the spirit, the monastery has been at work building bridges by means of which the Orthodox message can be conveyed. First and foremost, however, it perseveres in its main task, that of prayer, the liturgical and mystical union of all things with God.