Hermits Of Patmos And Hermitages

THE HUMBLE WORK OF SISTER ANTHOUSA

Translated by Kalliopi Prokes

Edition of the Holy Monastery Evangelismos, Athens 1998

TROPARION OF SAINT CHRISTODOULOS

Christodoulos, you built a dwelling in Patmos for God in the cave which was once possessed by demons. You erected a beautiful and venerable temple in which you gathered bands of monks, who glorified God of the universe. Do not forsake Your creation, but lead it into the Kingdom of Heaven, O Blessed One. 

† DEMETRIOS, by the grace of God archbishopof Constantinople, New Rome and Oecumenical Patriarch 

To the Reverend Nun Athousa, our beloved spiritual daughter. May God grant you grace and peace. 

With fatherly love and abundance of pleasure we received your beautiful and very informative work with the title, HERMITS OF PATMOS AND HERMITAGES. We gave it special attention and it is treasured in the Library of the Patriarchate for the benefit of all. 

We warmly thank you and congratulate you for your artful, skilled writing. It is a great contribution to the monastic history of the island. We send our wishes for your continued endeavors and ask that God enlighten you for future undertakings. 

We bestow on you fatherly and Patriarchal blessings and we pray the God will keep you under His protection. 

June 6, 1988† Archbishop of Constantinople DEMETRIOSFervent intercessor before God 

Acknowledgement

I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Mrs Kalliopi Prokes, a native of Patmos from the United States, who kindly translated this work, with great love and diligence, as an offering to the Monastery of Evangelismos. May God bless her and give her and her family health, strength and many years. 

Sister Anthousa 

Introduction 

 Patmos is not only the island of the Apocalypse but also the island of monasticism, with the great Monastery of Saint John the Theologian with the female Monasteries of Hagia Hagion, Zoodochos Pigi (Life-giving Spring) and the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Evangelismos). Because of the many hermitages, spread throughout, like flowers on the rocks, Patmos could be called the Holy Mountain» of the Dodecanese, the «Garden of the Theologian» and the «Garden of the Virgin.» From the time that Saint Christodoulos walked among its rocks until now, many monasteries and hermitages have blossomed like wild flowers, thick bushes and tall trees to adorn the spiritual face of the island. 

Every inch of these lands commands one to kneel and faithfully worship it. Reflecting on its past, one senses the aroma of this spiritual land. «You see here an abundance of caves and cells of old holy men and your heart rejoices.»

On Patmos, its infertile soul, its arid rocks, its austere and plain lines, give the impression that one is found in a place of the supernatural, in a place truly apocalyptic. 

Here space remains only for thought and meditation. 

Here monasticism found the best presupposition for its expression: The holy shadow of Saint John the Theologian, the rocky, gravel covered and infertile soil, guarantees poverty which frees man and allows him to live under God’s commandment, which is man’s true freedom. This way, the three monastic oaths of virginity, poverty and obedience found the necessary conditions to develop and richly multiply. 

The information about the holy figures that lived on Patmos is scarce, especially in the first centuries. For this reason, it is impossible to reach the inner spiritual world of these holy men. This is the reason why, we will limit ourselves to write about each one and how he was seen by his contemporaries or his descendent, from the little written information or the tradition that can be found. 

Our main source about these holy figures was the Brevium of the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian of Patmos. This is a documentary book about life of the monastery. Our information begins from the year 1552 to the present. Because it is from this date that information is recorded including the registration of the deaths of the monks of the monastery. 

Another important source was the book by Archbishop of Samos, Joseph Georgirinis. Georgirinis lived in Patmos for a while and wrote the impressions he had before the year 1674. 

Other sources were pilgrims such as H. Hill, V. Guerin and W. Geil who visited Patmos and left written information about hermits they met. 

One very important help was the unpublished work of Archimandrite Gerasimos Smirnakis a brother of the Holy Monastery of Saint John in Patmos. This monk visited the island and with diligence collected information and oral tradition from elderly people and he wrote a history of the island from the time of Saint John the Theologian until his death in 1935. He characterized his work as an «archeological, topographical, historical, religious, apologetic and critical,» report of the renowned island of the apocalypse. (J.-P. Migne, Patrologia, Graeca τ. 131 p. 80 Άννας Κομνηνής, Αλεξιάς, Α΄, 4). 

Also the work of P. Kritikos of Patmos, Professor at the University of Athens, «Patmiaka Toponimia» (Patmian location) was a great help. He used the work of Smirnakis but also gives further information and a complete picture of Patmos.

 In addition to all of the sources mentioned earlier were stories about the old hermits told by older people who either remembered them or were told of them by their parents. From this research we verified the existence of about 30 hermitages that are parts of the monasteries which are found on Patmos. 

Saint Christodoulos, the builder of the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, was a contemporary of St. Symeon New Theologian, the most important representative of traditional monasticism. He had lived in the famous monastery of Latros, which was illuminated by the personal experiences of Petros Latrinos. Holy Christodoulos, having lived in the monastic climate of his time, would be an ardent lover of the quiet and tranquillity and peace. 

His spiritual personality had gained an exceptional position in the monastic life of his time. His fame from Latros, where he was the Abbot, reached Constantinople. In the renowned Chrysobull with which Emperor Alexios I. Comnenus gave Saint Christoloulos the island of Patmos it is verified that Saint Christodoulos’ personality was already known. 

Saint Christodoulos, a monk of the great spiritual radiation, creator of the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, didn’t limit himself to only physical buildings, churches, cells and fortresses, but at the same time he took care of the organization of his monks. For this reason, he wrote the Ypotyposis, a chronicle of the foundation and function of the Holy Monastery. Because he himself was a hermit, he also understood his monks love, peace and tranquillity. He left orders that the Abbot should allow whoever desires to give himself to this life him to enter into it. 

We see from the time of Saint Christodoulos, that fathers of the monastery and hermits had the opportunity to escape «to the caves and holes in the land.» From the codicil of the secret will of Saint, we learn about the first hermitage, Petras, or Kallikatsous rock. 

After that follows the hermitage of the Asomaton and as the centuries pass, the number of hermitages increase. This way we have the Apocalypse and caves around it, the Hermitage at the «Gardens of Saint» the Hermitage of Evangelistria, the Hermitage of Saint Paraskevi of Kavos, the Hermitage at Loukakia, the Virgin of Epsimias and the Prophet Elias. 

These first hermitages and places of peace were founded on the southern part of the island and according to the Ypotyposis of Saint and were forbidden to be used by the laity. 

In the eighteenth century with the coming of the Kollyvades from Holy Mountain (Mount Athos) the founding of hermitages and places of peace on the northern part of the island begins Koumana, Livadion, Parthenion, Kalogiron (meadow of Monk Parthenios), Apollo, and Zarroi. All these places of quiet were founded for pure peaceful purposes by monks, who were drawn to them by their love of ascetic life and peace. 

Hermitages, which belonged to the Holy Monastery, existed at the same time. In these monks lived and cultivated the land. For their worshipping needs, they built small churches. These monks had to be skillful in this service but at the same time virtuous and friends of peace. This way monks who lived in these hermitages enjoyed the ascetic life. Examples of such hermitages were the «Gardens of the Saint» in Hiliomodi, Alikes, and other locations. 

Finally, we have monks who lived in other properties that belonged to the Holy Monastery outside of Patmos on land that could be cultivated. The monks with commercial abilities served on Lipsos, Samos, Stylo of Crete, and other places. 

A category of hermitages existed where the monks found tragic defeat from pirates and invaders such as those from Lipsos. 

In the Brevium of the Holy Monastery some monks are mentioned as «ascetics» only their names are known and the date of their deaths. 

From the ruins of buildings or from oral tradition, we are able to know about some hermitages but we don’t know who served them, for example, Anydros (without water) Virgin Epsimia, and the Island Loukaki. 

Because we have more information about the Three Great Hermits of contemporary times, Apollo, Theoktistos, and Makarios, we give more details about their lives. 

Because we have different categories of ascetics and holy hermits we considered it wiser for easier study to describe the hermitages in chronological order, with the details we have about each location and each hermit. 

All this work was laborious, but we believe our efforts will save all «the Holy figures of Patmos» from oblivion. On the other hand, «the ascetics in their wilderness searched with diligence the mysterious depths of the human soul and they spoke about it with true wisdom. It is not an exaggeration if we say they studied and learned the soul of man as no one else up to date» - because today’s man is searching to find the true meaning of his existence. Maybe the knowledge of the lives of these hermits,will teach the true joy, which is above comprehension. 

Before I close this introduction, I must acknowledge all those who gladly gave me information to complete this work about the hermits, especially the Abbot, Father Isidoros, Bishop of Tralleon (from 1990), Father Ieremias, Father Pavlos, Father Panteleimon, Father Bartholomew, Father Nikolas Giameas, Father Nikolas Mikels, and Mr. Grillis, nephew of the hermit Apollo Pantelliou, Mr. Spyros Bournis, father of Theodoretos, an Abbot, and Sister Marigo Vesti. 

I must offer thanks to father Chrysostomos Florentis, librarian in the Holy Monastery, who with pleasure, in spite of his heavy workload, read my manuscript and showed me certain corrections and additions which helped the final shape of this work. 

Our heartfelt wish is that this work will enlighten the immortal souls of the Greek Orthodox so they can find their true selves and we pray to all the holy hermits of Patmos to protect the Monastery and the island from all enemies. 

I wrote this at the Holy Monastery Evangelismos on the 28th of May, 1987 on the celebration of the ascension of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

Next page

Home |  Back |  Top