The restoration on the south side has been completed, while this year the works on the west wing will continue.
the projects restoration of the destroyed old monastery of Agios Dionysios on Olympus, in the gorge of Enipeas at an altitude of 850 meters, continue at a steady pace under the watchful eye of the monks. One or two monks are constantly among the ruins to supervise, to supervise the works, while every Saturday a divine service is performed by Father Ephraim.
The stay there lasts from Easter until the end of October, as long as the weather conditions allow. It is difficult to stay in the area in winter, as there is no electricity and therefore no heating. The old monastery, which was founded in 1542was initially set on fire in 1828 by the Turks, resulting in the loss of a significant part of its relics, while in 1943 it was blown up from the foundations by German troops.
This last catastrophic attack resulted in the monks moving to the current Holy Monastery of Agios Dionysios, just three kilometers from Litochoro. One of the monks who often leaves Metochi to go to the ruins of the “wounded” monastery is Father Amfilochios, who during a press mission in Pieria told the press the history of the old monastery and the wonderful way in which managed to “unblock” and proceed with the restoration work.
“The old monastery was blown up by the Germans from a reputation. That he was allegedly hiding guerrillas, which never happened. “said Father Amfilochios, explaining that the first German attempt to destroy the monastery was made from the air: “First the Germans tried to bomb the monastery by plane. We have the testimony of the pilot who flew. He could not achieve it and he considered it a miracle. As he said, as soon as he took off with the plane, a fog covered the monastery, as a result of which he could not locate it in order to bomb it “.
The Germans, however, insisted. They sent explosives with animals and managed to circle it with quantities of dynamite and blow up the foundations in 1943. With its destruction, the escort of the monastery – which was saved at the last moment taking only one image – went down to Metochi. The years passed, but the monks did not forget their old home and took action to restore it, based mainly on testimonies about the architecture of the monastery. Only at some point, in this whole project, there was great difficulty for the work to proceed properly as they did not know how the two wings were joined as the corners had been completely destroyed by the explosives and were uneven.
“And the engineer was having a hard time because the restoration had to be done exactly. One week after the presentation of this problem, we received in an envelope some photos of a German soldier, who was in the group of those who carried the explosives to blow it up. Shortly before the disaster, he had picked up the camera and captured the place exactly as it was before it was dismantled. He even sent us a photo that showed exactly what the corner of the monastery that needed restoration was like. “adds the monk Amfilochios.
The works, which have been in progress for years, are made with the same materials that were used in the construction of the monastery at that time, which remains characterized as a post-Byzantine monument. “The restoration is done with the materials of that time. Even the composition of the mud, which had seven species, even put theraic earth. The half-ruined walls that have existed since then have from 1943 until today, have been eaten by rain, snow, hail and the mud is not rubbed “points out the monk.
The restoration on the south side, where cells are preserved, vaulted spaces of small dimensions, with low entrance, has been completed. This year, work will continue on the west wing, where the monks’ cells were located, and the north side will remain, where the bank and kitchen were housed.
