After the Fall of Constantinople by the Crusaders, in 1204, the Monastery was placed under the Despotate of Epirus (1204-1359) and remained part of it for as long as the Despotate existed (that is, until 1359, when it was re-integrated into the Byzantine Empire).
They also call it "Agia Lavra of Roumeli". The Holy Monastery of Panagia Varnakova, (it is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos), is one of the most historic Monasteries of Greece. It was founded during the mid-Byzantine period, in the year 1077, by Saint Arsenios Varnakovitis. The Monastery is located at the southwestern end of the prefecture of Fokida, in the Municipality of Efpalio, approximately 25 kilometers northeast of Nafpaktos, on the old road of Lidoriki. It is built on a small hill on the outskirts of the Vardousia Mountains and at an altitude of about 750 meters with a view towards mountainous Nafpaktia, Dorida, Mount Giona and the Morno river.
For the name "Varnakova" (or "Vernikova", or "Vernikova") there are various interpretations. According to one version, the name comes from a Slavic toponym of the 10th century. According to another, the icon of the Virgin Mary was brought here from the city of Varna in Bulgaria.
According to the founding inscription, which is located inside the catholicon, the Monastery was founded in 1077, during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (1071-1078) and during the era of Ecumenical Patriarch Cosmas I of Jerusalem (1075-1081). Its founder was Osios Arsenios Varnakovitis, a monk from Karya Doridas, who dedicated the first temple to the Nativity of the Virgin. At the same time, however, the Assumption of the Virgin was also celebrated, which eventually prevailed as the main festival of the Monastery.
During the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118) and Ecumenical Patriarch Nikolaos III Kyrdiniatis (Grammatikos) (1084-1111), the original church was completed and painted (in 1084, while in 1148 the construction of the monastic complex was completed, and it was founded and second most magnificent temple. Alexios Komnenos himself followed monasticism, took the name Akakios and after his death was buried in the Church of the Virgin Mary. In the same Church, Emmanuel Porphyrogenitus was also buried, who had succeeded John Andronikos and he Alexios Komnenos in throne.
In the Monastery, an inscription was found on a stone urn that mentions the names "Sevastoprator Anna and Konstantinos" (Komnenoi). During that period, the Monastery owns several shares in the surrounding area, with some of them coming from dedications of the Komnenos, a fact that testifies to its radiation. At the beginning of the 13th century, as mentioned in the monastery's charter for the year 1212, 96 hieromonks and deacons lived in Varnakova, while the property of the Monastery was large, commensurate with its prestige. In the Monastery, an inscription was found on a stone urn that mentions the names "Sevastoprator Anna and Konstantinos" (Komnenoi). During that period, the Monastery owns several shares in the surrounding area, with some of them coming from dedications of the Komnenos, a fact that testifies to its radiation. At the beginning of the 13th century, as mentioned in the monastery's charter for the year 1212, 96 hieromonks and deacons lived in Varnakova, while the property of the Monastery was large, commensurate with its prestige.
After the Fall of Constantinople by the Crusaders, in 1204, the Monastery was placed under the Despotate of Epirus (1204-1359) and remained part of it for as long as the Despotate existed (that is, until 1359, when it was re-integrated into the Byzantine Empire).
Οι Κομνηνοί, άρχοντες του Δεσποτάτου, είχαν τόσο σεβασμό στην Παναγία τη Βαρνάκοβα, ώστε μερικοί εξ αυτών επέλεξαν το καθολικό της Μονής ως τόπο ενταφιασμού τους.
Το 1919, ο αρχαιολόγος Αναστάσιος Ορλάνδος ανακάλυψε τους τάφους τους κάτω από το δάπεδο του εσωνάρθηκα, ενώ σώζονται μέχρι σήμερα στη Μονή οι επιτύμβιες πλάκες.
Ανάλογη με τους Κομνηνούς εύνοια προς το Μοναστήρι λέγεται πως επέδειξαν και οι τελευταίοι αυτοκράτορες του Βυζαντίου, οι Παλαιολόγοι.
After the end of the Byzantine Empire, towards the end of the 15th century, tradition wants the Monastery to be partially set on fire and then to decline. Varnakova, however, returns to history a few years later, in 1520, when Saint David (1520-1532) takes over as its abbot. The Monastery experienced significant prosperity at that time: there are testimonies that the monks were interested in the organization of a library while it was operating there, from the beginning of the 16th century (before 1550), with the monk teacher Nikodimos Kavasilas (circa 1595-1652) as the central figure and as in 1900, a famous Hellenic school at the Scholarchio level. In 1578 the monastery had about 200 monks, as the Prothonotary of the Patriarchate Theodosios Zygomalas informs us.
During the period of the Ottoman Empire, the countdown began as the Turks stole the property of the Monastery, which was then looted in the context of Turkish-Venetian conflicts (1687-1699). In a period of successive hostilities, Varnakova managed to survive thanks to the diplomacy of the then abbot Iakovos, on the one hand, and to her good relations with the Venetians, who still possessed Nafpaktos, near which most of her estates belonged, on the other.
In the period of the Turkish occupation, the Monastery played a decisive role as a national and patriotic center. It was the hideout-base of many Thieves and Armatoli from the surrounding area (such as the Municipality of Skaltsa or Skaltsodimos, Konstantaras or Zacharias, Kalyvas), while there were not a few cases where it was involved in armed confrontation with the Turks, due to hosting hunted Greek chieftains. In various battles of the region during the Revolution of 1821, the monk of the Parthenios Zografos monastery also took an important role, being called "Papaflessa of Dorida" for his action.
During the sixth year of the revolution (1826), a few weeks after the Exodus of Messolonghi, a force of 4,000 men of Kioutachis, advancing towards the east, laid siege to Varnakova, where Greeks who had escaped during the Exodus were accommodated. Kosmas Theoharis was the abbot at the time. Along with the monks and women and children, inside the monastery are several chieftains of the region, such as Kitsos Tzavelas). The siege lasted for days, but the Turks did not manage to capture the monastery. After repeated attempts, they decided to dig underground, under the Monastery, in order to blow it up. However, their secret is betrayed to the monks by an Albanian and On May 26, an exodus was decided, which took place, with the loss of two monks and a layman. Varnakova was then blown up by the Turks, and was rebuilt after five years, in 1831, with a (probably personal) grant of 1,800 palm trees from Ioannis Kapodistrias, who is considered the second founder of the Monastery.
With the establishment of the new Greek state, the Monastery functioned again. However, it had lost most of its property.
On Sunday, January 29, 2017, due to a large fire that broke out and spread rapidly within two hours, many buildings of the Monastery (except the old and the new church) suffered great destruction, while the records of the Monastery were lost, along with many historical relics. From its construction until today, many miracles are attributed to Panagia Varnakova. Some of them are recorded in the books published by the Monastery itself. The Monastery is known throughout Greece, Cyprus, Omogenia, as well as in several Orthodox communities of other countries[12].
Ο πρώτος ναός
The original church began to be built in 1077, and was completed and painted in 1084. In 1148, a second, larger church was created, either by building on pedestals or by expanding the first church. This new temple was of the architectural type of a basilica with a dome, with three pairs of columns in two rows, dividing its interior into three aisles. In its final form, the catholicon of the monastery consisted of an outer narthex (exonarthekas), an inner narthex (esonarthekas) and the main church, which was also the oldest part of the architectural ensemble. The inner narthex was erected from plinths in 1151 while the outer narthex in 1229, as stated in a chronicle of 1690, one of the many documents saved in the monastery treasury. The floor of the temple was decorated with marble inlays. This temple was set on fire in 1700 (perhaps, in fact, a similar fire had preceded it in the second half of the 15th century), renovated in 1805 and finally blown up on May 26, 1826, during the final phase of the siege of the Monastery.
Ο σημερινός ναός
The current church was built in 1831. Like the old one, it is a three-aisled basilica with a dome. Together with the church, the new bell tower was built, designed by Andreas Gasparis Kalandros, the person in charge of the reconstruction, who was influenced by the architecture of Heptanisio.
Πηγή: dogma.gr
