Sightseeing

Sights that everyone must see before leave the island!

  1.  Cave of Apocalypse (“Apocalypsis”)

St. John the Theologian, commonly identified with the Apostle John, was exiled on Patmos around 95 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian and received revelations from God by means of a voice from a cleft in the rock.

It is thought by some scholars that John was from Ephesus, which is a short boat ride from Patmos and which received the first of the letters addressed to the Seven Churches of Revelation.

John the Theologian is said to have made his home in this cave, though Patmians insist quite reasonably that he walked every inch of the small island, talking with its people. 

The cave is said to be the epicenter of his earth-shaking revelation, which he dictated to his disciple and which has come down as the Book of the Apocalypse, or Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible.

A sanctuary and the Monastery of the Apocalypse were later built around the cave that tradition identified as the site of John's visions.

The cave’s entrance is marked with a mosaic portraying the visions of John and inside the small grotto, you can see the nightly resting place of John's head, fenced off and outlined in beaten silver.

Available here is a brochure written by Archimandrite Koutsanellos, Superior of the Cave, which provides an excellent description of the religious significance of each niche in the rocks, as well as the many icons in the cave.

2. Monastery of St. John (Chora)

History. The Monastery of St. Johh the Theologian (“Agios Ioannis o Theologos”) is one of the most important landmarks of the island.

In 1088, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Comninos gave the island of Patmos to the soldier-priest Osios Christodoulos "the Blessed." The erection of the Monastery started the same year over the ruins of the ancient Temple of goddess Diane (“Artemis”) and the grater part of it was completed within three years. Monastery, situated at the top of the hill of the island’s capital town, called Chora (or Hora), is a building in the form of a mediaeval citadel with walls and battlements. This construction protected the Monastery from the threats of piracy.

The sacred church of the Monastery of a Byzantine art was dedicated by Osios Christodoulos to St. John the Theologian. Near this chapel, there is another one which is dedicated to Mother of God (“Theotokos”).

Museum. The treasury of the Monastery’s museum contains precious relics preserved for a lot of centuries. Among them we can name: sacerdotal garments of bishops woven in gold thread with pretty embroideries with precious stones. Into the glass cases of the museum there are laying a lot of sacred objects, namely: precious crosses, sacred communion cups, mitres of Emperors and Patriarchs.

Among these relics are also comprised: the mitre of Emperor of Byzantium Alexios 1st, the mitre of Neophytos VI, Oecumenique Patriarch, which is made of gold weighing 3 kilos and surmounted with precious stones, a medal Cross of Patriarch Gregory V, a martyr of the Greek Nation.

Library. It was founded by Osios Christodoulos, who, it is said, archived the first books. Today the Library possesses a quantity of 900 manuscripts among which the 325 are written over parchments. Also exist more than 2000 volumes of ancient editions and 13000 copies of various documents. A catalogue of these books was authored by John Sakelion, whose book appeared in the year 1890.

The catalogue was later completed by the Deacon Callimachus. Among the most important manuscripts we must name the following: the manuscript of Diodore Sikeliotis, the Purple Code, an incomplete copy of Evangelist Mark's Gospel, the book of Job, manuscripts of the 7th and 8th century AD, sermons of St. Gregory the Theologian, the Gospel of Four, one manuscript dated from 1345 AD, which contains very beautiful images of the Evangelists, 29 roll manuscripts on parchments containing the test of Messes written by St. Vassilios the Great and St.John the Chrysostome and many other of several prelates, the Glossarion (vocabulary), which is a dictionary of the Greek language written on parchment, donated by the Emperor Alexios Comninos I, by which the Emperor donated the island of Patmos to Osios Christodoulos. Finally there exist a lot of documents of the Byzance Emperors, the Patriarchs, the Princes and other Dignitaries.

3. The School of Patmos (“Patmiada Scholi”)

This educative Institution was founded by deacon Makarios Kalogeras since 1733. During Turk's domination the School of Patmos developed a preponderant activity about revival of the Greek Nation. The great men of the contemporary history of the Greek Nation were the most students of the Patmos School.

The  most important Associates of the "Philiki Eteria" (patriotic association og the greek revolution of 1821), Emmanuel Xanthos, Demetrios Tsesmelis and the great Master of Greek educative development Adamantios Korais, the Patriarch and martyr of the Greek Nation, Gregory V', the Patriarch Anthimos I' and some of the eminent men, all of them had attended the School of Patmos.

4. Kasteli, The ancient Acropolis

On this hill (kasteli area), near the port of Patmos, called Skala, was an ancient acropolis from the 4th century BC. There are findings of ancient ruins, buildings, cemeteries and fortresses. In Kastelli there used to be a temple dedicated to Apollo.