By Nicolas Bard

The Monastery of Agios Gerasimos is built at the foot of the lush Mount Ainos of Kefalonia, on an old monastery of 1200 (era of the Crusades), in the village of Valsamata and about 15 kilometers from Argostoli.

The monastery is dedicated to the Assumption of Theotokos and has been named by the inhabitants of the village as “New Jerusalem”. Both the monastery and its surroundings were granted by priest George Balsamos to Saint Gerasimos, who settled there in 1561. After living in “caves and the options of the earth”, he died on August 15, 1579. Larnaca.

Saint Gerasimos was a monk from Trikala Corinth and founded the monastery in the 16th century, renovating an older one, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Saint died in 1597 and was sainted in 1622. In the Monastery of St. Gerasimus there is and the tackle of his, which is now accessible. Also in the monastery is kept the tough of the saint, and crowds of believers flock to worship.

The Ascetic of Agios Gerasimos is located in the area of ​​Spilia Argostoli, where she built a female monastery named Nea Jerusalem at the site of Omala in Kefalonia, where she alone. St. Gerasimos’ ascension is located in the temple. It is a very narrow passage that leads through an almost vertical three -meter -long iron staircase into an underground space, separated from a narrow hole into two rooms. These two apartments communicate with each other with a square hole on the floor of 30×40 cm.

Outdoors of the monastery still saved the three large plane trees Planting the Saint himself, as well as the three wells he opened with his hands, according to tradition.

The first apartment is arc -shaped that the straight side is 5 meters long. The second is 2×5 rectangle. On the floor there are dirt and rocks. The sides are stone -built and end up in the vaulted stone roof. The walls are coated until the beginning of the ceiling with a ceiling or lime. It is also noteworthy that although visitors – pilgrims need to kneel while in the hermitage, they are not dirty with the muddy floor, and everyone can pass through this low passage.

Saint Gerasimos died on August 15, as did Our Lady. The priests dressed him up with the vestments, which he brings to this day, and then buried him on the south wall of the temple of the monastery. The first recovery of his body took place 2 years and 2 months after his death, on October 20, 1581, when the body was found indestructible, while giving a pleasant smell. Then the Venetians, alarmed by his impairment, asked to be buried again for 3 years. The second recovery of the body was done after 6 months and nothing had changed … The body of the saint remained indestructible!

Today the Kefalonians honor the Assumption of the Saint on August 16 and the recovery of the Holy Relics on October 20th. In those days there is also a brilliant procession of the Saint in which Larnaca is carried under the shadow of a plane tree, which was planted by the Saint himself, while the island and the area are flooded by believers coming to get the blessing of the saint from all over Greece and the world.

The monastery has a special energy, and if you find yourself in the area you will realize it from the very first minutes of your visit. Finally, the absolute tranquility there will help you think, calm and take a break from the intense and demanding daily life.