THE HOLY CATHEDRAL OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN
–THE LEGENDARY “MONASTERY” –
AND THE CHURCH MUSEUM
It was founded in the middle of the 17th century by a nun who came to the island from Kythnos.
The nun, at her own expense, built the building complex and the church of the monastery, which is honored in the event of the Assumption of the Virgin. The monastery then became male. The construction of the church of Faneromeni Monastery followed the model of the post-Byzantine ecclesiastical architectural tradition. In other words, it is a three-aisled vaulted basilica with a dome, which is the usual type of temple in both mainland and island Greece. The decoration of the temple is amazing. The visitor can admire the marble iconostasis (work of the monk Gabriel), the remarkable portable icons, the ornate candles and the famous chandeliers.
The Ecumenical Patriarchs Paisios II, Samuel I and Gregory I, in a series of documents (1747, 1764, 1797) granted the monastery important privileges (Stavropegian, tax-free, etc.). The monks managed with personal struggles to increase the property of the monastery outside Hydra and in this way to support the inhabitants of the island, because Hydra was barren for cultivation. The monastery had a significant number of manuscript codes and printed books. The contribution of the monastery was important on the one hand in education (establishment, operation and maintenance of a school, etc.) and on the other hand in the Struggle for the Revolution of 1821 (center for decision-making for liberation). False
Witness of this fact is that a store of the City Hall of Hydra is a building of the Monastery of Faneromeni and operates until today within its complex!
The monastery was abolished by Decree of the Duchy (1833) and became a parish church.
Today it is the Holy Cathedral and is the seat of the metropolitan of Hydra, Spetses and Aegina. Important is the contribution of the church to education, health – with the sponsorships of the ecclesiastical hospital of Hydra “Panagia Faneromeni” from the income of the estate Metochi Thermisia Ermionidos – and to social solidarity with many benefits to the inhabitants of the island.
Among the many and important relics of the temple are the miraculous icon of Panagia Faneromeni, Panagia Maliki, the relics of Saints Constantine of Hydra and the Great Martyr Eustathios and many other saints, as well as the ornate cross from Constantinople that contains T. The visitor is awe-inspiring by the two ornate bell towers of the monastery, works of the years 1806 and 1874 respectively.
Numerous relics (icons, vestments, wood carvings, manuscripts, sacred utensils, etc.) are kept in the Ecclesiastical Museum of Hydra “Agios Makarios Notaras”. The museum started operating in 1999. In 2005 it was officially inaugurated by the Archbishop of Athens Christodoulos. The museum is open during the months of April to October, and from 10:00 to 14:00 p.m. The temple and the museum are located in the center of the island.
Information at tel. 22980-54071 and 52207