Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Meteora

Twenty-four monasteries were built on rock cliffs in the deltaic plains of Meteora. The cliffs rise to a height of more than ; and the Holy Trinity Monastery is sited above sea level. The monasteries are situated in the Pineios Valley within the Thessalian plains, close to the town of Kalambaka. The rock cliffs, dated by chemical analysis to be 60-million years old, were created during earthquakes, and are of sandstone and conglomerate formations caused by fluvial erosion. The sediments were once in an inland sea during the Pliocene epoch. The cliffs rose as a cone during the earthquakes, forming steep rock columns, known as "heavenly columns". The area is hilly and forested, with river valleys, and a protected area known as Trikala Aesthetic Forest. Prior to the twentieth century, the Holy Trinity Monastery was very difficult to access, and required crossing a valley and climbing through the rock outcrop to reach the building's entrance. Provisions were placed in baskets drawn up by rope-ladders (now with a winch). In present day, one can walk from Kalambaka for along a foot track to reach the monastery, or use a winch-operated lift. There is a road from the back side of the cliff; and the monastery can be accessed via tunnels and 130 steps of stone. The grounds include a garden at the summit. To the northeast, there is a chapel () dedicated to St. Athanasius of Tzertzi (). ==History==

The history of building monasteries on top of perilous cliffs near Meteora occurred between the 14th and 15th centuries. Even prior to this, in the 11th century, religious communities had established hermitages at the foot of these cliffs. In the 14th century, the titular emperor of Serbs and Greeks, John Uroš, became a monk and moved to Meteora; he endowed, rebuilt and established monasteries here. During the political upheavals in the region during this century, monks retreated to the safe haven offered by the cliffs. though some sources say the construction dates of the monastery and its adjoining chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, are unknown. inscribed in 1988. == Architecture ==

The church plan is in the form of a cruciform type and has a dome which is supported on two columns. The monastery's main cathedral was constructed in the 15th century and decorated with frescoes in 1741 by two monks. A pseudo-trefoil window is part of the apse. There are white columns and arches, as well as rose-coloured tiles. A small (a church treasury or chamber for the sacred furnishings entrusted to a ) adjoining the church was built in 1684. Its broad esonarthex barrel vault was built in 1689 and embellished in 1692. The small chapel of St. John the Baptist, carved into the rock, contains frescoes from the seventeenth century. It was richly decorated and had precious manuscripts; however, these treasures were looted during World War II, when it was occupied by the Germans. The building's sixteenth-century frescoes are reported to be post-Byzantine paintings. A fresco of St Sisois and the skeleton of Alexander the Great adorns the walls. ==Monastic life==

At one time, fifty monks lived at Holy Trinity, but by the early twentieth century, there were only five. == In popular culture ==

The monastery was featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Clifton Webb's character visits Meteora, and goes up to the Holy Trinity monastery to do some library research. == Gallery ==

Meteora, Moni Agias Triados 2015-09 (1).jpg|Holy Trinity complex in Meteora Agias Triados frescos 2.jpg|Frescos inside the monastery Metheora Agia Triada Fresco.JPG|Fresco == See also ==