Poros Monastery of Zoodohos Pigi

Location: Monastiri

The monastery of Zoodochos Pigi on Poros: On the slopes of a large pine forest, 4 km east of the main city on Poros, lies the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi. This old monastery is an integral part of the history of Poros and has a rich heritage displayed within its walls. The Archbishop of Athens, Iakovos the Second, founded the monastery after experiencing a miracle at the eventual site. He was suffering from a serious disease that was cured when he drank some Holy Water from a spring near the site.

Moreover, the monastery was invaluable during the Greek Liberation War in 1821. Not only it offered spiritual assistance to the freedom fighters, but also financial as well as social. The first orphanage, as well as the first Ecclesiastical School in independent Greece, was founded within the confines of this very Monastery by Ioannis Kapodistrias.

The orphanage was built specially for the orphans of the men who fought in the Greek revolution. Valuable articles such as the Holy Relic of Saint John the Baptist were also kept at the monastery. Saint Nektarios, a saint who lived in the 20th century, stayed in the monastery for a few months along with other ascetic people, adding to the sanctity of the place.