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October 2019
St Barnabas' Monastery and Museum, Famagusta, Cyprus
Saint Barnabas Monastery & Museum
The Monastery of St. Barnabas is at the opposite side of the Salamis-Famagusta road, by the Royal Tombs. You can easily tell it by its two fairly large domes. It was built to commemorate the foremost saint of Cyprus, whose life was so intertwined with the spread of the Christian message in the years immediately following the death of Christ.
Barnabas was a native of the ancient city Salamis, and was a Jew, though his family had been settled for some time in Cyprus. His real name was in fact Joses, or Joseph; Barnabas was the name given to him by the early Christian apostles because he was recognised as `a son of Prophecy', or as Luke puts it `a son of consolation'. There is no contradiction here. Luke is merely emphasising that one of the great historic functions of prophecy was to console the believer and keep him in the faith.
He was reputed to be an inspired teacher of Christianity, but more than that he played a very great role in the development of early Christianity. He was also the man to acknowledge that Paul's conversion to Christianity was absolutely sincere, and above all he recognised the genius of Paul, whom he introduced to the Christian fellowship in Jerusalem. When Barnabas was later sent to Antioch to supervise the work of the early Church there, he had Paul as his assistant. Later still, of course, he undertook his great missionary journey with Paul, visiting among other places, his own country of Cyprus.
Finally, of course, we know certainly that Paul and Barnabas had a strong diffrence of opinion about Barnabas' nephew, John Mark, and the two friends parted company. Paul wrote later that the rift was healed but by that time Barnabas was probably already back in Cyprus.
The monastery which bears Barnabas' name was originally built in the last part of the fifth century, to commemorate the discovery of his body, and the dignity and the seniority it brought to the early Christian Church of Cyprus. Parts of the early building have been preserved in the more recent churh which was built by Archbishop Philotheos in 1756. The money for the purchase of the land on which the monastery was built, is supposed to have been provided by the Byzantine Emperor at the time Barnabas' body was found.
When you look carefully at the church you will notice the traces of the original fifth century building and also places it seems to have been enlarged and changed, probably in the very late mediaeval period. But in the main it is fairly conventional Greek Orthodox architecture of the eighteen century.
On one of the walls, the story of how Barnabas' body was shown to the Archbishop in a dream, is rendered in small pictures. These were done in the present century, but some of the icons and statues are a good deal older.
On another wall, somewhat incongruously, hang wax replicas of limbs in a gesture of gratitude for the ailing limbs which the Apostle Barnabas is supposed to have miraculously cured. Close by, the image of st. Heraklion stares at you from every angle you choose. All these items, ancient and modern have been very well looked after and are shown with great oride by the curator of the church.
The marble columns supporting the domes are conspicuous and rather spectacular. It is impossible to be certain, but these may well have come from Salamis. In one sense, the little rock tomb in which Barnabas is supposed to have been found gives the authentic flavour of the Christian evangelist and martyr much more effectively.
The church of St Barnabas is exactly as it was when its last three monks left it in 1976. The church apparatus ; pulpits, wooden lectern, and pews are still in place. It houses a rich collection of painted and gilt icons mostly dating from the 18th century.
The carved blocks and capital blocks in the garden and cloister courtyard come from Salamis. The black basalt grinding mill come from Enkomi.
The cloister of the monastery have recently been restored and at present serve as the archaeological museum. This section houses an exquisite collection of ancient pottery displayed chronologically, representing the changes in morphology and decoration of pottery in Cyprus from the Neolithic to the Roman times. The rest of the collection covers bronze and marble art objects.
The Cistercian Maulbronn Monastery (1147) is the most complete and best-preserved medieval monastic complex north of the Alps. Surrounded by fortified walls, the main buildings date between the 12th and 16th centuries. The monastery's church, mainly in Transitional Gothic style, had a major influence in the spread of Gothic architecture over much of northern and central Europe. Its water-management system with an elaborate network of drains, irrigation canals and reservoirs, is of exceptional interest. UNESCO WHS description.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Poblet Monastery, Upper Cloister
The Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet (Catalan: Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet) is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the feet of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded by Cistercian monks from France on lands conquered from the Moors.
This monastery was the first of three sister monasteries, known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century. The other two are Vallbona de les Monges and Santes Creus.
Poblet was the royal pantheon of the kings of the Crown of Aragon since James I of Aragon. Some of the most important royal sepulchres have alabaster statues that lie over the tomb. The kings have lion sculptures at their feet, while the queens have dogs.
Peter IV of Aragon (1319 – 1387) made it a condition, under solemn oath at the moment of crowning, that all the Aragonese kings be buried there. Only Ferdinand II of Aragon broke the oath, after his kingdom had been merged with the Kingdom of Castile, and was buried in Granada.
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poblet_Monastery)
The monastery of Lamayuru is on spectacular position on one high cliff. Laughed them to XI the century the temple more ancient it accommodates famous effige of Vairocana a Buddha centers them of the meditation and one beautiful collection of thangka.
North India - Ladakh- Indo Valley
The Monastery seems hewn and carved out of the living rock, with all its material taken from the worksite itself. It dates back to well before 1315, from which date onwards its history has been recorded. Its belfry rises there, making itself heard, with its musical note ringing out from this rocky symphony. In 1315 the monastery was the seat of the archbishop and of the bishopric of Besharri.
The monastery has now become a center of pilgrimage and a source of light radiating in the spiritual Church of the East, one where thousands of faithful come to pray and meditate.
It is located underneath Bcharre and close to the great cedars of Lebanon
34.246253, 36.000848
Agia Moni Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Cyprus and was founded around 300 AD by Saints Nicholas and Eftychius. It is believed to have been built on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Hera.
The present monastery church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, stands on the foundations of a 12th-century Byzantine church.
The iconostasis
one of the many abandoned monasteries in Belgium. Taken in the chapel.
View the whole set here: www.urbex.name/religious/msf
The Shechen Monastery (Tibetan: ཞེ་ཆེན་, Wylie: Zhe-chen) is one of the six primary, or "mother," monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, in Tibet. It is located in Derge between Nangdo and Dzogchen Monastery. It was founded in 1695 Shechen Rabjam Tenpé Gyaltsen, though it is sometimes claimed to have been built by Gyurme Kunzang Namgyal in 1734. It became extremely influential in the 18th and 19th centuries, with up to 160 satellite monasteries dotting the Himalayas. The monastery was completely destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, but it was rebuilt in 1985 by Dilgo Khyentse.
There are also now Shechen monasteries in Nepal and India.
The monastery in Nepal was founded in 1980 near the great stupa of Boudhanath, just northeast of Kathmandu, and is known as Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery. The present abbot is the seventh Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, the grandson of Dilgo Khyentse. Prominent members of the monastery include the Yangsi (Tib.ཡང་སྲིད reincarnation) of Dilgo Khyentse, Matthieu Ricard and Changling Rinpoche.
The Khor Virap (Armenian: Խոր Վիրապ, meaning deep pit or "deep well") is an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery located in the Ararat plain in Armenia.
Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Grigor Lusavorich, who later became Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was initially imprisoned here for 13 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia. Saint Gregory subsequently became the king's religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country. In the year 301, Armenia was the first country in the world to be declared a Christian nation.A chapel was initially built in 642 AD at the site of Kirat Virap by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt. In 1662, the larger chapel known as the "St. Astvatsatsin" (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Now, regular Church services are held in this church. It is probably the most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia. (from Wikipedia)
The monastery of Agia Triada of Tzagarolon is one of the richest and most beautiful monasteries in Crete. It is built near the airport of Chania, in the position Tzobomylos of the Cape Melecha and at the foothills of Stavros Mount. The distance from Chania is only 15km.
The monastery was built by the Venetian nobles Jeremiah and Lawrence Tzagarolo. Jeremiah was a famous scholar of his era with rich education and was a friend of the Patriarch of Alexandria, Meletios Pigas. Jeremiah himself was a candidate for Patriarch of Constantinople. Moreover, Jeremiah designed and built the monastery complex of the monastery, being affected by the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Verona, Italy.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
The rebuilt "Brâncoveanu" Monastery is located in Sambata de Sus, town situated on Sambata (Saturday) river in Fagaras area, Romania. The history of Brâncoveanu Monastery started in the 17th century, when Preda Brâncoveanu erected a wood church. Constantin Brâncoveanu, the ruler of Wallachia (1688-1714), rebuilt a monastery in stone on the wood church place, around the year 1696 in an attempt to strengthen the unity of Orthodoxy in front of the new Habsburg Catholic rule in Transylvania. Constantin Brâncoveanu founded a school for writers and secretaries, a fresco painting workshop and a small printing house, which transformed the monastery into a strong social, cultural and religious center. (www.brasovtravelguide.ro/en/brasov/surroundings/sambata-m...)
Makaravank (Armenian: Մակարավանք) is a 10th to 13th century church complex in Achajur Village of Tavush Marz, Armenia, on the slope of Paitatap Mountain.
Though the monastery is no longer used for services, the complex is well preserved. There are 4 churches, a gavit (vestry) that serves the two largest of the churches, and other buildings which served secondary roles. At one time there used to be vast settlements around Makaravank, the presence of which was of great importance for the growth of the monastery.
The oldest church of the group was built during the 10th and 11th centuries. The materials used in its construction were mostly large pieces of roughly hewn red tufa (a common Armenian building material). One of the churches, named Surb Astvatsatsin church, was built in 1198 in white stone, on the eastern side of the complex. Surb Astvatsatsin is attributed to Yovhannes. The main church was built in 1205, using pink andesite, with a red andesite gavit.
(Wikipedia)
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Having explored monasteries of Lori province, we headed to the east to visit famous Sevan lake and sights located around its shores. This Makaravank monastery is lovely located in a hilly landscape among woods, and the overall area is especially beautiful during autumn...
I think what makes this Monastery is the people. The gent next to me, in the video, is of the Anglican Faith, well schooled in religious history. He had been coming here for around 20 years. I asked him why hadn't he converted to Russian Orthodox, the Abbot thought this highly amusing. He was about to head off and cut firewood with the monks. He had been friends with the Abbot since first coming here. The night before, the Abbot invited me to chat with him and his friend. The Abbot is a highly intelligent person, with diverse interests. Father "G", the candle maker monk, is too, I think. We shared coffee and chatted, along with his "biological" father, later in the morning. This Monastery is engaged with the community, servicing the people of the Eden/Monaro and Canberra. At Easter 6 monks looked after around 230 people. The monks have a disciplined life, eating two meals a day and working long days, yet they clearly enjoy life and laugh easily.
Monastery of Alcobaça, Portugal
The Alcobaça Monastery (Portuguese: Mosteiro de Alcobaça, Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Alcobaça.
The monastery was founded in the medieval period by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.
The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, it was one of the most important of the mediaeval monasteries in Portugal.
Due to its artistic and historical importance, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1989
in wikipedia
An old monastery surrounded by stupas outside Kyaukme.
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