PANTELEIMON CHURCH

 

This Monastery is located southeast of the village of the Island and north of the Monastery of Prodromos. The date of its establishment remains unknown. The biography of the monks Nektarios and Theofanis Apsaras reports that in 1506/7 the area was already occupied by a hermitage of Ag. Panteleimon.

 

The Monastery functioned until 1926. The katholikon (main church of the monastery) in its present form is a timber-roofed basilica with a raised place set apart for women (western side), a semi-circular apse (eastern side) and a porch (southern side). The present form is the result of a reconstruction performed during the late Turkish Occupation period, with constant repairs executed during and after the 19th century.

 

Wall-paintings have been recently discovered on the external side of the southern wall, belonging to the 1st phase of the church. These wall paintings, some of which have been re-painted, probably date back to the 15th century (the re-paintings probably date back to the 16th century).

 

In the interior of the church, to the left, there is the icon-stand with the icon of Ag. Panteleimon which is a copy of the older icon of the 15th - 16th century. To the right there is the icon of Ag. Anastasios Persis and Ag. Loukia, with scenes of the life of the Saint. It is a votive offering of Anastasios Melas (he was consul in Russia in 1867) from Ioannina and his wife Loukia. Votive offerings of his are also the four despotic icons, which are signed creations of the painter Adamantios Oressanos.

 

 

The two-storeyed cells where Ali Pasha was assassinated in 1822 are preserved on the southern side of the Monastery. Today the cells house the Museum of the Pre-revolutionary period (the period before the Revolution of 1821). Furthermore, the northern wing of cells houses the Record Office of the Metropolitan Church of Ioannina, with documents and books originating from the Monasteries of the Island.