The region of Thessaly in Greece is one of immense natural beauty, and is home to some truly unique and magical areas. From the Pelion peninsula, to the unique area of Meteora, Thessaly is a part of Greece that has so much to offer, and is one that is becoming more and more popular with visitors from all over the world.
	It is in the county of Larissa, in the heart of Thessaly, that you will find the dominating Mountain of Ossa. Pearched on the mountain is where you will find the beautiful Monastery of St John the Forerunner. This monastery is one of the most impressive in Greece, and is the perfect place to visit during your travels and holidays in the Thessaly region of the country. For those who are interested in religious tourism, this majestic monastery is one that should certainly be on the top of your list of places to visit. The monastery is one that has a very interesting and rich history and offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience the life of the nuns who reside there. The Old Monastery The old monastery of St John the Forerunner is located on the south side of Mount Ossa ( Kissavos ), four kilometers from the village of Anatoli, Agia, ( about an hour from the city of Larisa ) at an altitude of 1080 meters.
Although a section of the monastery dates from the 1100's, the main structure was founded around 1550AD by the Holy Martyr Damianos. He organized a coenobitic community of monks there, which was one of the most flourishing monastic communities of east Thessaly during the 16th century.

The buildings of the old monastery include the main church dedicated to St John the Forerunner surrounded by the cells and work and reception areas of the monastery, as well as a chapel dedicated to St Demetrios. Monks lived in the old monastery until 1889 when the last monk died. After this, the community of Anatoli looked after the buildings, seeing that they were kept in as good a condition as possible. They also appointed priests to live in and look after the monastery until about seventy years ago. Afterwards, during the civil war of Greece, the monastery was badly damaged.
The New Monastery A group of monks from Mount Athos came to the monastery in 1980 and began building a new structure on the premises. But after three years, the monks abandoned it uncompleted. The monastery remained deserted and suffered from the decay of time, extreme weather conditions, passersby and thieves until July of 2000 when a community of women monastics started monastic life there again. They have been working diligently over the past several years to restore and revive the monastery, exercising much personal effort and sacrifice, heavy expenses, and receiving innumerable blessings from God and much support from inconspicuous benefactors.
Church of St. Damianos In September of 2003, the nuns began building a church dedicated to St Damianos, the founder of the old monastery, next to the newer facility. The old catholicon of the Honorable Forerunner is in disrepair and the monastery has not yet obtained funding for its reconstruction according to archaeological regulations. So the sisters began building the church in order to provide a place of worship big enough to accommodate the many pilgrims who come to visit them.

Hermitage of St. Damianos The humble hermitage of St Damianos is located two kilometers across the mountain of Kissavos. After living with the monks in the monastery of St John for some years, St Damianos moved to this cave, living as an ascetic the rest of his life. He continued, however, to often visit and teach the monks and the people of the nearby villages.

Home Page | Liturgical Life | Products / Farm | Monastery Projects | Photo Gallery | Contact Form


Holy Monastery of
St John The Forerunner
P.O. Box 68, 40003 Anatoli Agias, Greece
Tel: ( + 30) 24940 81289