Hosios Loukas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Monastery of Hosios Loukas

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra Municipality, Boeotia, Central Greece, Greece
Part of	Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios
Criteria	Cultural: (i)(iv)
Inscription	1990 (14th Session)
Area	1.43 ha (3.5 acres)
Buffer zone	5,443.31 ha (13,450.7 acres)

The Hosios Loukas (Greek: Ὅσιος Λουκᾶς) is an old monastery with strong walls. It is found near the town of Distomo in Greece. This special place was built in the mid-10th century. It is one of the most important examples of Middle Byzantine architecture and art. Since 1990, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It shares this honor with two other monasteries: Nea Moni and Daphnion.

History of the Monastery

The Hosios Loukas monastery sits in a beautiful spot. It is on the side of Mount Helicon. A hermit named Luke of Steiris started the monastery in the early 10th century. A hermit is someone who lives alone for religious reasons. His remains, called relics, are still kept at the monastery today.

Saint Luke was a holy man who passed away on February 7, 953. He was known for predicting that the island of Crete would be taken over. This prediction came true when Nicephorus Phocas recaptured Crete. People believe the monastery's first church, the Church of the Theotokos (also called Panagia), was built around this time.

Saint Luke's Tomb and Miracles

The most important part of the monastery is the tomb of Saint Luke. It was first in a hidden room but later moved. The monastery became rich because people believed Saint Luke's relics produced myron. This was a special perfumed oil that was said to cause healing miracles.

Visitors hoping for a miracle would sleep near the tomb. This practice was called incubation. They hoped to be healed while they slept. The beautiful mosaics around the tomb show Saint Luke. They also show the monastery's leader, Philotheos, presenting the new church to the saint.

Later, in 1206, the monastery was given to a group of religious leaders.

Amazing Architecture

Outside view of the monastery

Inside the main church

The Hosios Loukas complex has two main churches. The oldest one, also called Hosios Loukas, was built in the 10th century. It has a unique shape, like a cross inside a square. This was a new style for churches in Greece. Its walls are made of a mix of brick, stone, and marble. They even have interesting patterns that look like old writing.

Next to this older church is a larger main church called the Katholikon. It was likely built around 1011-1012. The Katholikon is famous for its special dome. This dome sits on eight supports arranged in a circle. The dome itself is round and rests on four curved supports called squinches. These help the round dome fit onto the square base of the church. The main part of the church, called the naos, is surrounded by walkways and small chapels.

Beautiful Decorations

Hosios Loukas is the biggest of three important monasteries from the Middle Byzantine period in Greece. It is special because it honors one specific saint. Saint Luke's prediction about taking back Crete is shown in an image of Joshua on the outside wall of the Panagia church. Joshua was seen as a "warrior of faith."

The Katholikon church has some of the best-preserved mosaics from a time called the Macedonian Renaissance. These mosaics are colorful pictures made from tiny pieces of stone or glass. Not all the original art is still there. For example, the large image of Christ Pantocrator in the dome is missing.

People knew this monastery all over the Byzantine Empire for its rich decorations. It had beautiful marble, carvings, gold, silver, murals (wall paintings), and mosaics. Inside, there were also many icons (religious paintings), fancy lights, silk curtains, and special cloths for the altar. Only a few of these items remain today, like the colored marble walls and window grilles. Even with some parts missing, the Katholikon gives us a great idea of what a church looked like after a period called Iconoclasm.

The Burial Crypt

Underneath the large domed Katholikon church is a hidden burial room called a crypt. You can only get to it by a staircase on the south side.

Mosaic of the Virgin with Child

The crypt has three main parts. There is an entrance area, a large main room with nine arched sections, and a special area for religious services. It also has three long, arched passages.

For hundreds of years, the crypt's frescoes (paintings on plaster) were covered in dust. But in the 1960s, experts cleaned them. They found the frescoes were very well preserved! Only a few parts, like the apse and some lower sections, had lost their plaster or had minor damage.

The crypt's frescoes show scenes from Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. There are also forty round portraits of apostles, martyrs, and holy men. These paintings are considered one of the most complete sets of wall paintings from the Middle Byzantine period. Most of these frescoes were painted after 1048 AD.

The special area in the crypt has an altar. This shows that religious services, like the Eucharist, were likely held here. These services might have been for burials or to honor important religious figures. They were also part of the healing ceremonies related to Saint Luke.

When people visited Hosios Loukas to seek healing from Saint Luke's cult, they would sleep in the crypt. Saint Luke was believed to be a miraculous healer and prophet during his life. After he died, all the miracles linked to him involved the healing power of his tomb. People believed that touching oil from a lamp above the tomb, or even moisture from the tomb, could help them. Some visitors stayed for up to six days near the tomb, hoping for a miracle.

Gallery

• Hosios Loukas
• 

  Interior mosaic with procession of angels

• 

  Fresco of the interior depicting martyrs

• 

  View of the dome

• 

  Clockwise:
  St John, Archangel Gabriel, Virgin Mary, Archangel Michael
  (narthex mosaic)

• 

  St John

• 

  St Mark

• 

  St Michael

• 

  St Paul

• 

  Dionysius the Areopagite

• 

  Zacharias

• 

  View of the lower church (crypt)

• 

  Clockwise:
  St Bartholomew, St John the Theologian, St Peter, St Paul (crypt fresco)

• 

  Clockwise:
  St Theoctistus, St Maximus, St Abramius, St Dorotheus

• 

  Touching of Thomas/Antipascha
  (crypt fresco)

• 

  St Andrew

• 

  St Luke

See also

• Macedonian art (Byzantine)
• History of Roman and Byzantine domes