St. Nicholas Monastery Church, Mesopotam
| St. Nicholas' Monastery Church | |
|---|---|
| Native names Albanian: Kisha e Manastirit të Shën Kollit Greek: Ιερά Μονή Αγίου Νικολάου | |
.jpg) Church of Saint Nichοlas | |
| Location | Mesopotam |
| Coordinates | 39°54′21″N 20°06′02″E / 39.9058°N 20.1006°E |
| Designated | 1224 |
St. Nicholas Monastery Church (Albanian: Kisha e Manastirit të Shën Kollit, Greek: Ιερά Μονή Αγίου Νικολάου) is a monastery church in Mesopotam, Vlorë County, Albania.
History
The monastery is thought to have been built in 1224 or 1225. Its double apse makes it unique in its genre, and some researches have advanced the hypothesis that this was due to the monastery being used by two religious rites (catholic and orthodox).[1]. The East–West Schism of 1054 appears not to have deterred the Catholic and Orthodox believers in Mesopotam, evidently successful in finding a compromise that enabled them to work together in the construction of the monastery. It is designated as a Cultural Monument of Albania [2] and is a protected heritage site, although the church and temple building is in need of restoration, held against collapse with wooden props and scaffolding. The Othodox monastery was built on the walls of a temple which probably dates from the time of Pyrrhus of Epirus (297 BC). An Albanian Heritage Foundation team (directed by Architect Reshat Gega) conducted research on this Monastery, performing excavations and restoration over a period of 20 years. [3] Evidence the team found include Hellenic stones from the 4th-4th centuries BC, confirming the connection with the capital of the Epirote League at Phoenice (Finik) located 3 km from the Monastery. One of the decorative stones bears the inscription "Menelau", presumed to be a reference to the Spartan King Menelaus whose brother Agamemnon led the assault diring the Trojan War. The nearby area includes the site of Butrint (Roman Buthrotum) which legend says was founded by descendants of Andromache, the Queen of Troy who is believed to have settled in the area after the Trojan War and death of her husband, King Priam. The original openings in the temple walls have been used as either alcoves or windows by the builders of the monastery. An accompanying photograph shows such an alcove with an icon of the patron saint Nicholas of the Monastery.
Agios Nikolaos, Shen Kollit or Saint Nicholas
As immediately evident to speakers of Greek, Albanian and English languages, Greek "Agios Nikolaos" and Albanian "Shën Kollit" are the same saint, Anglicised to Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was contemporary with Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of the island of Corfu, that lies 20 km west of Mesopotam. Bishops Nicholas and Spyridon both attended the First Council of Nicaea in the year 325. The bodies of both Saints were "rescued" and sent by ship to Italy during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Corfiots successfully petitioned for the body of Saint Spyridon to be relocated to the capital of Corfu. The remains of Saint Nicholas are revered at Bari's great Basilica di San Nicola Italy, it Venice and in Myra in Turkey. [4]
The Dragon Icons
The temple walls contain several legendary icons including a Lion, a serpent dragon with a knot in its tail, and a serpent dragon with its tail coiled around its neck and on its back. The following information may be co-incidental that
- (a) the Iliad refers to Agamemnon as "the Lion" and numerous Roman and Greek authors write that Laocoön, the priest of Troy and his two sons were strangled by a pair of serpent dragons.
- (b) The site of Butrint (Roman Buthrotum) has a great gate, referred to as the Lion Gate, whose headstone depicts a Bull - possibly Paris (mythology) - being wrestled to the ground by a Lion - possibly Agamemnon.
- (c) In 297 BC, the occupants of Butrint and the builders of the temple walls forming Mesopotam Monastery were neighbors.
- (d) According to the Roman writer Virgil, Butrint's legendary founder was the seer Helenus, a son of king Priam of Troy, who moved West after the fall of Troy with Neoptolemus and his concubine Andromache.
Access to the Site
The monastery site is normally closed with fencing and locked gates, but the Papas of the modern Orthodox church in Mespotam has the keys and visits can be arranged if planned and coordinated in advance. In May each year the community of Mesopotam village hold an "open day" and "festival" to celebrate Saint Nicholas "saint's day" at the site of the monastery.
References
- ^ Manastiri i Mesopotamit, Një rast unikal në arkitekturën bizantine botërore Reshat Gega 6/12/2010
- ^ "Religious buildings with the "Culture Monument" status". Republic of Albania National Committee for Cult. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ "Pasurohet historiku i Mesopotamit". Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Who is Saint Nicholas". Retrieved May 23, 2018.