Monastery of Evangelistria of Ano Pedina

At the entrance of the picturesque village of Ano Pedina, in Zagori, is the impressive Monastery of Evangelistria, an excellent example of the traditional architecture of Zagorochoria.

The date of its foundation is unknown, but it is believed that it was built in this location before 1700. Its catholicon, which is dedicated to the Annunciation, it was constructed in 1793, as the founding inscription informs us. Here was a monk one of the most important representatives of the modern Greek Enlightenment, Neophytos Doukas, who came from Ano Pedina and was dedicated to the monastery by his widow mother when he was ten years old. In the period 1820-1822, the monastery was at the focus of the conflict between Ali Pasha in Ioannina and the sultan. Around the middle of the 19th century it had obtained great property and in 1857 the desolate nearby Monastery of Agia Paraskevi was annexed. In 1930 it became the metochi of the monastery of Vellas and in 1997-2004 operated as a women’s monastery.

The monastery externally has the aspect of a fortress, since it is protected by tall walls that were built in 1783 or in 1786 and it has complexes of cells. The catholicon, a spacious basilica with a dome and a narthex, is decorated internally with beautiful icons that, as mention the inscriptions by the entrance, were made in 1809 by the local painter Lazaros Papaioannou and the nephew of Lazos Kanikis, with a sponsorship by Christodoulos Marinos from Kapesovo and his wife Ekaterini – as a matter of fact the sponsor is depicted next to the inscription with his name.

Noteworthy is the depiction of ancient Greek philosophers and historians at the left aisle, in a small internal dome, while also interesting are the screen, the bishopric throne and the pulpit, wonderful works of woodcarving from the beginning of the 19th century. At the monastery there are remarkable portable icons of the 18th century, a Gospel with silver coating and two reliquaries of the 19th century.