The origins of monastic life on the rock of Anapafsas date back to the 14th century, and the monastery likely owes its name to its earliest founder. From this initial period remains the chapel of St. Anthony, whose walls still preserve fragments of 14th-century frescoes.

The monastery was rebuilt in the early 16th century under St. Dionysius the Merciful, Metropolitan of Larissa, and Nikanor, the Exarch of Stagoi. They established the present katholikon (main church), which was decorated in 1527 by the renowned Cretan iconographer Theophanes Strelitzas. By the early 20th century, the monastery was abandoned and fell into decay. It was restored in the 1960s by the Archaeological Service.

Architecture and Layout

Because of the very limited space on the narrow rock plateau, the monastery was built as a tall rectangular structure with multiple levels. Upon ascending the first staircase, visitors reach the chapel of St. Anthony and the crypt, where manuscripts and sacred treasures were once stored. Traces of the original frescoes remain on the chapel’s walls.

The next floor houses the main church of the monastery, a small, nearly square single-nave structure preceded by a relatively large narthex (lite). The upper floor includes the monastery’s former refectory (now restored and used as a guesthouse), the ossuary, and the renovated Church of St. John the Baptist, restored in 1971.

Frescoes and Artistic Significance

The frescoes inside the katholikon are considered among the most important works of post-Byzantine art, representing the earliest signed work of Theophanes. His inscription—“by the hand of the monk Theophanes of Crete Strelitzas”—is preserved above the entrance between the narthex and the nave.

On the north wall of the narthex is the majestic depiction of the Second Coming, while the west wall features the Dormition of St. Ephraim the Syrian and the rare scene of Adam naming the animals. The lower zones of the other walls depict full-length saints, including the monastery’s founders, St. Dionysius and St. Nikanor, shown beside the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius the Meteorite.

In the upper register, the frescoes portray the Assumption of St. Nicholas and scenes from Christ’s miracles. In the main church, Christ Pantocrator dominates the dome, with prophets and the Evangelists in the surrounding zones. The walls of the nave feature full-length saints in the lower register, standing saints in sticharia above them, and at the top, Twelve scenes from the life, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ.

Because the interior surfaces were small, many scenes are painted on a miniature scale, similar to portable icons. Theophanes skillfully combined rich iconography with the refined technique and style characteristic of the Cretan School, leaving a masterpiece of late Byzantine religious art.