Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery

The monastery is located on the medieval citadel of the town of Elassona, and was founded between 1295 and 1304,[1][2] probably by the co-rulers of Thessaly, the sebastokratores Constantine and Theodore.[3]

Only the main church (katholikon) survives from the original monastery complex. It comprises a domed main space with an ambulatory on three sides.[1][2] Its masonry is brick-enclosed, and features use of ancient spolia.[3] Various annexes were added at times to the katholikon, but none of them survives today, apart from a small chapel in the southern side, built in 1819 and dedicated to Saint Nektarios.[3]

The 14th-century frescoes that decorate its interior make it "one of the finest examples of Palaiologan-era architecture and painting".[1] Among the frescoes is a portrait of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328).[1] The wooden templon dates to 1840, was constructed by the master carver Demetrios of Metsovo.[3]

In a 1342 sigillion of Patriarch John XIV Kalekas, the stauropegic status of the monastery is confirmed.[2] A forged chrysobull attributed to Andronikos III Palaiologos concerning the possessions of the monastery contains extensive estates and subsidiary establishments (metochia) as far as Larissa.[2] The monastery amassed great wealth, and was the major spiritual centre of the region, particularly during the 16th and 18th centuries.[3]

Dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, until the 18th century it is recorded also as dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour.[3] The surname Olympiotissa derives from a famed icon of the Panagia, which is believed to have come from a no longer extant monastery at Karya, on the foot of Mount Olympus. Once a year, on 5 October, the icon is borne in a litany from the monastery to the Church of Saint Demetrios.[3]

Originally male, today it is a female monastery, and celebrates on 6 and 15 August.[3] The monastery also features a guest house, library, and a natural history museum.[3]

• Constantinides, Efthalia C. (1992). The Wall Paintings of the Panagia Olympiotissa at Elasson in Northern Thessaly. Athens: Canadian Archaeological Institute at Athens.