Roussanou Monastery: A Privileged Position

The Rousanou Monastery (Agia Varvara), having visual contact with the Great Meteoron, the Varlaam monastery and the Anapafsa monastery, to the north, and with the Agia Triada monastery to the south, must be considered "privileged". The first settlers of the rock are considered to be the hieromonks Nikodimos and Benedictos who arrived here in 1388 AD and built a small church.

However, the official founders of the monastery are the monks Maximos and Ioasaph, who around 1530 AD rebuilt from the foundations the church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, which is the catholicon of the monastery, in which you can see remarkable hagiographies of the Cretan School, by an unknown artist (possibly Tzortzis). In the monastery you will also find a chapel of Agia Varvara. From the 19th century, the monastery went through a long phase of decline. Between 1948 and 1971, the only one who lived here was Sister Eusebia. When the old woman died, the monastery was deserted and the only ones who visited it were some monks from the Varlaam monastery, who used it as a hermitage.

Rousanou "came back to life" in 1988 when 8 nuns came and settled, while today about 10 nuns live here. To cover their needs, a new, multi-story building was erected below the monastery.

Rousanou Monastery - Visiting Hours (T/ +302432022649)

Summer hours (1/4 - 31/10) : 9:00-17:00 Closed every Wednesday (Sundays opens at 09:30) Winter hours (1/11 - 31/3) : 9:00-14:00 Closed every Wednesday