Kleiston Fylis Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary

The monastery of Kleiston of Fyli, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is located three and a half kilometers northwest of Hasia, on the western bank of the Giannoula Gorge. The site is impressive. The almost vertical walls of the gorge create a sense of wonder in the visitor. The unrelenting roar of the water in the rocky and uneven riverbed in winter and spring, mixed with the rustling of the leaves from the trees and the sound of the nuns' singing, touches the visitor's soul like a divine concert to the Almighty Creator. The in fact isolated ("Kleiston" in Greek) site of the monastery is bounded to the north by the vertical rocks of "Armata" or "Kaliakuda", to the east by the peaks of "Tamilthi" and "Alogopetra" and to the west by the ridges of "Thodora" and "Kalliniko". At noon, the view opens again to the outskirts of the village of Hasia and the surrounding wooded peaks. The wider area presents a great archaeological interest. The strategically important path to the Boeotian fields, the "Kleisoria" of the Byzantines, or "Derveni of Hasia", as they were called during the Turkish occupation, was passing a little further below the monastery, in the location where today the road to Dervenochoria almost coincides with the old passage, which was the shortest and busiest one. In ancient times, this road was controlled by two fortresses, Fylis and Panaktos, located a little further up on the Dervenochoria plateau. It belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Attica. It is not known when it was founded, but it seems to have been a very old monastery, as is confirmed by various inscriptions: 1204 on the narthex, 1677 on a fountain and 1742 on one of the windows of the sanctuary. It is located 20 km from Athens, 3 km from Fyli, at an altitude of 600 m in the southwestern foothills of Parnitha. It is also called "Kleiston Monastery" because it is surrounded by mountains. The Catholicon is a cruciform Byzantine church with a dome. According to tradition, an icon of the Virgin Mary was found in a cave in the hillside (separated by a stream) just opposite the monastery. Due to the difficult access, the church was built right across the site where the icon was found, in its current location. During the German occupation, the monastery contributed a lot to the war against the invaders. The church celebrates the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on 15 August. There are several reliquaries with relics of great Orthodox saints. The Kleiston Monastery was once a men's monastery and at another time a women's monastery. Today it is still a women's monastery.