Editing Meteora (section)

=== The Great Meteoron ===
{{Main|Monastery of Great Meteoron}}
[[File:Great_Meteoron_Monastery_02.jpg|thumb|The Great Meteoron]]
[[File:Megalo_Meteoro_panorama.jpg|thumb|Great Meteoron Monastery]]

The Holy [[Monastery of Great Meteoron]] is the oldest and largest of the monasteries of Meteora. The monastery is believed to have been built just before the mid 14th century by a monk from Mount Athos named Saint [[Athanasios the Meteorite]].<ref>Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. Meteora : The Rock Monasteries of Thessaly by Donald M Nicol. Chapman and Hall, 1963. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat06787a&AN=chc.b1193287&site=eds-live&scope=site. p. 3</ref> He began the build with a church in dedication to the [[Catholic Mariology|Mother of God]], the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]]. He later added small cells so that [[monk]]s could concentrate and live atop the rock formations.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Meteora Tourist Information|url=https://www.visitmeteora.travel/meteora-tourist-info/|access-date=2021-12-02|website=Visit Meteora|date=30 November 2015|language=en-US}}</ref> The monastery's second name is, The Holy Monastery of the [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]], which got its name from the second church St. Meteorites built. The successor of Saint Athanasios was Saint Joasaph, who continued to build more cells, a hospital, and renovated the churches atop the rocks. The Monastery thrived in the 16th century when it received many imperial and royal donations.<ref name=":12">Poulios, Ioannis. Living Sites : The Past in the Present : The Monastic Site of Meteora, Greece : Towards a New Approach to Conservation. Jan. 2008. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsble&AN=edsble.503480&site=eds-live&scope=site. p149</ref> At the time it had over three hundred monks living and worshipping within its cells. It is still a living monastery as there were three monks in residence as of 2015.<ref>Poulios, Ioannis. Living Sites : The Past in the Present : The Monastic Site of Meteora, Greece : Towards a New Approach to Conservation. Jan. 2008. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsble&AN=edsble.503480&site=eds-live&scope=site. p15</ref><ref name=":0" />

Being the largest among all the monasteries allows it to have a particular layout filled with many buildings. The [[katholikon]] is dedicated to the [[Transfiguration of Jesus]] and was the first church of the monastery. The hermitage of the first founder of the monastery is a small building carved in rock. The kitchen or what is commonly referred to as the [[hestia]] is a dome-shaped building near the [[refectory]]. There is also a hospital, with its famous roof of the ground floor made of brick and supported on four columns. The three old churches or chapels include: The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist which lies next to the katholikon sanctuary, The Saints Constantine and [[Helen of Troy|Helen]] Chapel which is an aisle-less church with large [[Vault (architecture)|vault]], and finally the chapel of Virgin Mary situated in the cave.<ref name=":0" /><ref>"Look inside Meteora, a Remote Complex of Monasteries Built Thousands of Feet above the Ground in Greece." The Business Insider (Blogs on Demand), June 2020. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.655327382&site=eds-live&scope=site.</ref><ref>Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. Meteora : The Rock Monasteries of Thessaly by Donald M Nicol. Chapman and Hall, 1963. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat06787a&AN=chc.b1193287&site=eds-live&scope=site. p. 78</ref>