Holy Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Holy Monastery of Pendeli)

On the western slopes of Mount Pentelikos, in a position naturally protected by the height of Koufos, with the possibility of supervision in the surrounding area, we find the Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin Pentelis or Mentelis, as it was called during the Turkish rule, one of the richest and largest monasteries in Greece. Its construction took place in 1570 or, more likely, in 1578, when a monk of the Gortynia monastery with the same name settled in Athens. At the beginning of the 17th century the monastery was renovated. During the period of the Turkish occupation (1456-1833) it continued to function and it has remained in operation ever since, including after the founding of the Greek state.

Of the original monastic complex, the catholicon and the old people’s home survive today. Of the original church, the inner narthex has been preserved, covered by a blind dome. As its wall paintings indicate, it was probably added in the 17th century, while the outer narthex was added at a later stage. The interior of the church was richly decorated, and the wall paintings of the inner narthex survive today. The old templon was adorned with icons of the 17th and 18th centuries, which are kept in the monastery’s museum and are attributed to the painter Ioannis Tzen, who signed two of them. The cross with the two mourning figures also survives from the same templon.

The monastery is a men’s monastery and celebrates on 15 August, on 16 August (memory of its founder, Saint Timothy) and on Whit Monday (Monday of the Holy Spirit).