Holy Monastery of Varlaam
Address
Kalambaka 422 00
GPS
39.725208610204, 21.629863712439
The Monastery of All Saints, commonly called Varlaam, is built on an imposing rock, at the northwestern end of the Meteora stone town of Meteora and in close proximity to the Great Meteoro and the Monastery of Roussanos.
The Monastery of Varlaam owes its name to the ascetic-recluse Varlaam, who first inhabited the rock in the 14th century.
The history of the monastery essentially begins at the beginning of the 16th century, when the monks Nektarios and Theophanis, descendants of the wealthy Byzantine family of the Apsarades from Ioannina, settled on the rock and organized their community.
The katholikon of the monastery, dedicated to All Saints, is a cruciform inscribed church of the Athonite type and dates from 1541. The contribution of the monk Christophorus, who during the 18th century classified its valuable archive and copied a multitude of historical texts and manuscripts, was significant for the historical & cultural impact of the Monastery.
Access to the Monastery was by scaffolding, ladders and a net. In 1923, a staircase of 195 steps was constructed on the rock.
